21st New Zealand Parliament

The 21st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1922 general election in December of that year.

21st Parliament of New Zealand
← 20th Parliament 22nd Parliament →
Parliament House, Wellington
Overview
Legislative body	New Zealand Parliament
Term	7 February 1923 – 1 October 1925
Election	1922 New Zealand general election
Government	Reform Government
House of Representatives
Members	80
Speaker of the House	Charles Statham
Prime Minister	Gordon Coates from 30 May 1925 ––William Massey until 14 May 1925 †
Leader of the Opposition	George Forbes ––Thomas Wilford until 13 August 1925
Legislative Council
Members	38
Speaker of the Council	Sir Walter Carncross
Leader of the Council	Sir Francis Bell also as Prime Minister 14–30 May 1925
Sovereign
Monarch	HM George V
Governor-General	HE Gen. Sir Charles Fergusson

1922 general election

Main article: 1922 New Zealand general election

The 1922 general election was held on Monday, 6 December in the Māori electorates and on Tuesday, 7 December in the general electorates, respectively.[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 45 represented North Island electorates, 31 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates.[2] 700,111 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 88.7%.[1]

Sessions

The 21st Parliament sat for four sessions (there were two sessions in 1923), and was prorogued on 14 October 1925.[3]

Session	Opened	Adjouned
first	7 February 1923	17 February 1923
second	14 June 1923	29 August 1923
third	26 June 1924	6 November 1924
fourth	25 June 1925	1 October 1925

Party standings

Start of Parliament

Party		Leader(s)	Seats at start
	Reform Party	William Massey	37
	Liberal Party	Thomas Wilford	22
	Labour Party	Harry Holland	17
	Independents		4

End of Parliament

Party		Leader(s)	Seats at end
	Reform Party	Gordon Coates	37
	Liberal Party	George Forbes	22
	Labour Party	Harry Holland	17
	Independents		4

Ministries

The second Massey Ministry led by William Massey of the Reform Party had come to power in August 1919.[4] Massey ruled until his death on 10 May 1925.[5] Francis Bell had been acting Prime Minister during Massey's illness and took on the temporary leadership following Massey's death.[6] Bell led the Bell Ministry from 14 to 30 May 1925, when the Reform Party elected Gordon Coates as its leader.[7] The Coates Ministry was in place for the remainder of the parliamentary term and for the duration of the 22nd Parliament.[8]

Reform had a narrow margin of three votes in the house if Liberal and Labour combined as they did when the house resumed in February 1923 (but Bell, Witty and Isitt voted with Massey). Hence the Government could not introduce any controversial legislation, and Massey said it was "hell most of the time". [9]

Initial composition of the 21st Parliament

The results of the 1922 election were as follows:

Key

  Reform     Liberal     Labour     Independent Liberal     Independent  

Electorate results for the 1922 New Zealand general election[10][11][12]

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Ashburton		William Nosworthy			1,482[13]		Henry Manwell Jones
Avon		Dan Sullivan			2,036		George Warren Russell
Awarua		John Hamilton		Philip De La Perrelle	51[14]		John Hamilton
Auckland Central		Bill Parry			1,003		Albert Glover
Auckland East		Clutha Mackenzie		John A. Lee	751		Clutha Mackenzie
Auckland West		Michael Joseph Savage			1,349		John Farrell
Bay of Islands		Vernon Reed		Allen Bell	188		Vernon Reed
Bay of Plenty		Kenneth Williams			Uncontested
Buller		Harry Holland			1,541[13]		John Menzies
Chalmers		James Dickson			679		Joseph Stephens[15]
Christchurch East		Henry Thacker		Tim Armstrong	1,094		Henry Thacker
Christchurch North		Leonard Isitt			1,950		John Archer
Christchurch South		Ted Howard			3,140		H C Lane
Clutha		Alexander Malcolm		John Edie	120		Alexander Malcolm
Dunedin Central		Charles Statham			723		John Gilchrist
Dunedin North		Jim Munro			55		J J Clark
Dunedin West		Thomas Sidey			1,281		John McManus
Dunedin South		William Downie Stewart			1,727		C M Moss
Eden		James Parr			675		Rex Mason
Egmont		Oswald Hawken			372		D L A Astbury
Ellesmere		Heaton Rhodes			732		J C Free
Franklin		William Massey			2,750		Joseph Rea
Grey Lynn		Fred Bartram			1,407		William John Holdsworth
Gisborne		Douglas Lysnar			500[13]		George Wildish[16]
Hamilton	New electorate			Alexander Young	2,043		Arthur Shapton Richards
Hawke's Bay		Hugh Campbell		Gilbert McKay	317		Andrew Hamilton Russell[17]
Hurunui		George Forbes			1,198		S Andrew
Hutt		Thomas Wilford			802[13]		David Pritchard
Invercargill		Josiah Hanan			993		J Armstead
Kaipara		Gordon Coates			2,464		Robert Hornblow
Kaiapoi		David Jones		David Buddo	65[18]		David Jones
Lyttelton		James McCombs			614		Robert Macartney
Manawatu		Edward Newman		Joseph Linklater	1,505		F D Whibley
Manukau		Frederic Lang		Bill Jordan	209		Frederic Lang
Marsden		Francis Mander		Alfred Murdoch	136		William Jones
Masterton		George Sykes			556[13]		A. C. Holmes
Mataura		George Anderson			1,041		David McDougall
Motueka		Richard Hudson			538		R Patterson
Napier		Vigor Brown		Lew McIlvride	763		John Mason
Oamaru		Ernest Lee		John MacPherson	14		Ernest Lee
Ohinemuri		Hugh Poland			939		Stephen Shepherd Allen
Oroua		David Guthrie			43		John Cobbe
Nelson		Harry Atmore			2,164[13]		A. Gilbert
Otaki		William Hughes Field			58[13]		G. H. M. McClure
Pahiatua		Archibald McNicol		Alfred Ransom	59		Archibald McNicol
Palmerston		Jimmy Nash			1,067		Joe Hodgens
Parnell		James Samuel Dickson			2,324		S M Wren
Patea		Edwin Dixon		James Randall Corrigan	151		Edwin Dixon
Raglan		Richard Bollard			776		S C G Lye
Rangitikei		William Spiers Glenn			1,007		F P Brady
Riccarton		George Witty			235		Bert Kyle
Roskill		Vivian Potter			2,007		Alfred Hall-Skelton[19]
Rotorua		Frank Hockly			404		Cecil Clinkard
Stratford		Robert Masters			363		John Hine
Taranaki		Sydney George Smith			134		Charles Bellringer
Tauranga		William Herries			1,440[20]		Laurence Johnstone
Temuka		Thomas Burnett			407		Thomas Herbert Langford
Thames		Thomas William Rhodes			790		W A Allan
Timaru		James Craigie		Frank Rolleston	288[13]		Percy Vinnell
Waikato		Alexander Young		Frederick Lye	44		J T Johnson
Waimarino		Robert William Smith		Frank Langstone	887		Robert William Smith
Waipawa		George Hunter			1,076		John Joshua Langridge
Wairarapa		Alexander Donald McLeod			698		J W Card
Waitemata		Alexander Harris			1,271		Frank Henry Burbush[19]
Wairau		Richard McCallum		William Girling	186		Richard McCallum
Waitaki		John Bitchener					William Paul
Waitomo		William Thomas Jennings		John Rolleston	25		William Thomas Jennings
Wakatipu		James Horn			1,637		J Ritchie
Wallace		Adam Hamilton		John Charles Thomson	205		Adam Hamilton
Wanganui		Bill Veitch			1,072		John Coull
Wellington Central		Peter Fraser			4,202		William Bennett
Wellington North		John Luke			375		Harry Combs
Wellington East		Alfred Newman		Alec Monteith	473		Thomas Forsyth
Wellington South		George Mitchell		Robert McKeen	422		George Mitchell
Wellington Suburbs		Robert Wright			291		Alexander Croskery
Westland		Tom Seddon		James O'Brien	487		Tom Seddon
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Āpirana Ngata			1,501		Taranaki Kanara te Uamairangi
Northern Maori		Taurekareka Henare			1,441		Nau Parone Kawiti
Southern Maori		Henare Uru			87		Peter MacDonald
Western Maori		Māui Pōmare			798		Ngarangi Katitia

By-elections during 21st Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 21st Parliament.

Electorate and by-election		Date	Incumbent		Cause	Winner
Tauranga	1923	28 March		William Herries	Death		Charles MacMillan
Oamaru	1923	1 May		John MacPherson	Election declared void[21]		John Macpherson
Franklin	1925	17 June		William Massey	Death		Ewen McLennan

Notes

1. "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
2. Scholefield 1950, p. 90.
3. Scholefield 1950, p. 69.
4. Scholefield 1950, pp. 44–45.
5. Gustafson, Barry. "Massey, William Ferguson - Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
6. Gardner, William James. "Bell, Francis Henry Dillon 1851–1936". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
7. Scholefield 1950, p. 46.
8. Scholefield 1950, pp. 46–47.
9. Bassett 1982, p. 32-33.
10. The General Election, 1922. Government Printer. 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
11. McRobie 1989, pp. 83f.
12. Hislop 1923, pp. 1–6.
13. "Official Counts". The Evening Post. CIV (144). 15 December 1922. p. 8. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
14. "Awarua". Hawera & Normanby Star. XLII. 14 December 1922. p. 7. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
15. "Labour's Candidates". Maoriland Worker. 12 (299). 22 November 1922. p. 12. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
16. "Women Take Part". The Evening Post. CXX (107). 1 November 1935. p. 14. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
17. Pugsley, Chris. "Russell, Andrew Hamilton". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
18. "The Official Count". Auckland Star. LIII (295). 13 December 1922. p. 5. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
19. "Electoral". Auckland Star. LIII (296). 14 December 1922. p. 16. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
20. "The Final Counts". The New Zealand Herald. LIX (18276). 18 December 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
21. "Result of Oamaru Petition". The Evening Post. 31 March 1923. p. 7. Retrieved 15 August 2011.

References

• Bassett, Michael (1982). Three Party Politics in New Zealand 1911–1931. Auckland: Historical Publications. ISBN 0-86870-006-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Hislop, J. (1923). The General Election, 1922. Government Printer. Retrieved 20 November 2014.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Scholefield (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)