Avon (New Zealand electorate)

Avon is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was created for the 1861 general election and existed until 1996. It was represented by 13 Members of Parliament and was held by Independents, Liberal Party or Labour Party representatives.

Population centres

The electorate was in Christchurch, New Zealand, named after the Avon River. For the 1887 by-election, polling booths were in Riccarton and Papanui.[1] For the 1887 general election, polling booths were in Papanui, Bright's Road, Spreydon and New Brighton.[2] For the 1890 election, polling booths were in Papanui, Richmond, Belfast, Ohoka and Clarkville.[3]

History

The electorate was created in 1861, and existed continuously until 1996, when with MMP it was absorbed into the new Christchurch East electorate.

Alfred Richard Creyke stood in the 1861 general election (held on 1 February) in the Avon electorate for Parliament, whilst William Thomson stood in the same electorate for the Canterbury Provincial Council. Thomson proposed Creyke and vice versa; both were elected unopposed.[4] Creyke thus became the first representative.[5] Creyke resigned from Parliament on 21 April 1862.[6]

Creyke was succeeded by William Thomson, who was elected in the 11 June 1862 by-election and took his oath on 30 July 1862.[7] He retired on 27 January 1866.[8] Thomson was succeeded by Crosbie Ward, who won the 1866 election. Ward resigned in the following year.[9]

William Reeves won the resulting 1867 by-election by-election. He resigned in the following year.[10] William Rolleston represented the electorate from the resulting 1868 by-election (elected unopposed) to 1884.[11] In the 1879 general election, he was returned unopposed.[12] Rolleston did not stand in the Avon electorate in the 1884 election, but (successfully) contested Geraldine instead.[11]

Rolleston was succeeded by Leonard Harper in the Avon electorate.[13] Harper resigned on 3 May 1887,[13][14] and the resulting by-election was contested by Edwin Blake and William Dunlop, who received 255 and 252 votes, respectively.[1] The 1887 general election was contested by Edwin Blake and E. G. Wright.[15] Blake won the election by a good margin.[2] In the 1890 election, Edwin Blake and George Gatonby Stead received 774 and 587 votes, respectively.[3] At the end of the parliamentary term in 1893, Blake retired from politics.

William Tanner won the 1893 election. In the previous Parliament, he had represented the Heathcote electorate.[16] Tanner was initially an independent, but joined the Liberal Party for the 1905 election. In the 1908 election, he was beaten by George Warren Russell in the second ballot (the voting system in place from 1908 until 1913).[17] In the 1911 election, four candidates contested the electorate, with Russell representing the liberal Ward Government, James McCombs standing as an Independent Liberal, J. O. Jamieson as an opposition candidate and W. R. Smith representing labour interests. Russell and McCombs polled 3,040 and 2,817 votes, respectively, and proceeded to the second ballot.[18] Russell won the second ballot with 3,854 to 3,583 votes.[19] Russell was defeated in the 1919 election by Labour's Dan Sullivan.[20] Sullivan was successful at the next eight subsequent elections. In the 1943 election, he was opposed by James Neil Clarke of the National Party, who a few years later became Deputy-Mayor of Christchurch.[21] Sullivan died in office on 8 April 1947.[20]

Sullivan's death caused the 1947 by-election by-election, which was won by John Mathison of the Labour Party.[22] He was a cabinet minister from 1957 to 1960 in the Second Labour Government and retired from Parliament in 1972.[23]

Mathison was succeeded by Mary Batchelor, who represented the electorate for five parliamentary terms.[24] Batchelor in turn was succeeded by Larry Sutherland, who won the 1987 election. He served the electorate until its abolition in 1996. He successfully contested the replacement electorate of Christchurch East in the 1996 election.[25]

Members of Parliament

Key

  Independent     Liberal–Labour     Liberal     Labour  

Election	Winner
1861 election		Alfred Richard Creyke
1862 by-election		William Thomson
1866 election		Crosbie Ward
1867 by-election		William Reeves
1868 by-election		William Rolleston
1871 election
1875 election
1879 election
1881 election
1884 election		Leonard Harper
1887 by-election		Edwin Blake
1887 election
1890 election
1893 election		William Tanner
1896 election
1899 election
1902 election
1905 election
1908 election		George Warren Russell
1911 election
1914 election
1919 election		Dan Sullivan
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election
1931 election
1935 election
1938 election
1943 election
1946 election
1947 by-election		John Mathison
1949 election
1951 election
1954 election
1957 election
1960 election
1963 election
1966 election
1969 election
1972 election		Mary Batchelor
1975 election
1978 election
1981 election
1984 election
1987 election		Larry Sutherland
1990 election
1993 election
(Electorate abolished in 1996; see Christchurch East)

Election results

1993 election

1993 general election: Avon[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Larry Sutherland	9,835	50.68	+0.03
	Alliance	Marie Venning	4,192	21.60
	National	David Kearns	3,799	19.57
	NZ First	Celeste Ryall	906	4.66
	Christian Heritage	Bill Smith	396	2.04
	Independent	Dave Penney	110	0.56	-0.03
	McGillicuddy Serious	Kate Middleton	97	0.49
	Natural Law	David Lees	69	0.35
Majority			5,643	29.08	+6.05
Turnout			19,404	82.52	+1.67
Registered electors			23,514

1990 election

1990 general election: Avon[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Larry Sutherland	9,345	50.65	-13.29
	National	Wendy Rush	5,095	27.61	-17.81
	NewLabour	Val Quinn	2,170	11.76
	Green	Dan-mark Gibson	1,238	6.71
	Democrats	Sue Stevens	275	1.49	-7.70
	Social Credit	Kevin Lawrence Earle	110	0.59
	Independent	Dave Penney	109	0.59
	Independent	Colin Thomas Mehlhopt	63	0.34
	Independent	Roger Keys	28	0.15
	Communist League	Eugen Filo LePou	16	0.08
Majority			4,250	23.03	-11.86
Turnout			18,449	80.85	-1.62
Registered electors			22,818

1987 election

1987 general election: Avon[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Larry Sutherland	11,585	63.94
	National	Wendy Rush	5,263	45.42
	Democrats	Sue Stevens	1,065	9.19
	Wizard Party	I D Costello	205	1.76
Majority			6,322	34.89
Turnout			18,118	82.47	-9.72
Registered electors			21,968

1984 election

1984 general election: Avon[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Mary Batchelor	11,838	60.00	-0.42
	National	Andrew Cowie	4,067	20.61
	NZ Party	Robin Groufsky	2,701	13.69
	Social Credit	W F Morgan	941	4.77
	Values	D W Anker	180	0.91
Majority			7,771	39.39	-0.64
Turnout			19,727	92.19	+5.14
Registered electors			21,397

1981 election

1981 general election: Avon[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Mary Batchelor	11,500	60.42	+4.35
	National	Colin McNicholl	3,880	20.38
	Social Credit	Peter Barrow	3,557	18.68	+6.05
	Wizard Party	I D Costello	95	0.49
Majority			7,620	40.03	-4.41
Turnout			19,032	87.05	+18.15
Registered electors			21,861

1978 election

1978 general election: Avon[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Mary Batchelor	11,972	64.77	+5.35
	National	T P George	3,757	20.32	-7.64
	Social Credit	Peter Barrow	2,335	12.63	+6.54
	Values	Robert Clarkson	399	2.15	-4.36
	Socialist Action	L A McGregor	20	0.10
Majority			8,215	44.44	+12.99
Turnout			18,483	68.90	-10.78
Registered electors			26,824

1975 election

1975 general election: Avon[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Mary Batchelor	10,395	59.42	-6.14
	National	T P George	4,892	27.96
	Values	Robert Clarkson	1,140	6.51
	Social Credit	Peter Barrow	1,067	6.09	-1.76
Majority			5,503	31.45	-8.19
Turnout			17,494	79.68	-6.45
Registered electors			21,954

1972 election

1972 general election: Avon[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Mary Batchelor	10,013	65.56
	National	Gordon Thomas	3,958	25.91
	Social Credit	Peter Barrow	1,200	7.85	-0.79
	New Democratic	R H Thelning	101	0.66
Majority			6,055	39.64
Turnout			15,272	86.13	-0.13
Registered electors			17,730

1969 election

1969 general election: Avon[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Mathison	9,389	64.63	+5.83
	National	Alistair Ansell	3,789	26.08
	Social Credit	Peter Barrow	1,256	8.64	-7.66
	Communist	Jack Locke	92	0.63
Majority			5,600	38.55	+4.63
Turnout			14,526	86.26	+4.07
Registered electors			16,839

1966 election

1966 general election: Avon[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Mathison	9,069	58.80	-2.81
	National	Dick Dawson	3,837	24.88
	Social Credit	Peter Barrow	2,515	16.30
Majority			5,232	33.92	-0.74
Turnout			15,421	82.19	-3.42
Registered electors			18,761

1963 election

1963 general election: Avon[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Mathison	9,095	61.61	+4.67
	National	Stanley Lester Dodwell	3,978	26.94
	Social Credit	Henry Parker	1,544	10.45
	Communist	Ralph Blackcock	145	0.98
Majority			5,117	34.66	-7.02
Turnout			14,762	85.61	-1.97
Registered electors			17,242

1960 election

1960 general election: Avon[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Mathison	8,683	56.94	-10.55
	National	Herbert Pickering	4,467	29.29
	Social Credit	G M Edmonds	1,973	12.93
	Communist	Frank McNulty	126	0.82
Majority			4,216	27.64	-14.61
Turnout			15,249	87.58	-4.08
Registered electors			17,411

1957 election

1957 general election: Avon[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Mathison	9,743	67.49	+9.17
	National	William Ernest Olds	3,643	25.23
	Social Credit	Charles E. Cullen	1,049	7.26
Majority			6,100	42.25	+5.76
Turnout			14,435	91.66	+1.61
Registered electors			15,748

1954 election

1954 general election: Avon[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Mathison	7,919	58.32	-5.02
	National	A N Stone	2,964	21.83
	Social Credit	F W Stevens	2,694	19.84
Majority			4,955	36.49	+9.82
Turnout			13,577	90.05	-1.87
Registered electors			15,076

1951 election

1951 general election: Avon[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Mathison	10,001	63.34	-1.80
	National	D W Russell	5,789	36.66
Majority			4,212	26.67	-3.62
Turnout			15,790	88.18	-3.44
Registered electors			17,906

1949 election

1949 general election: Avon[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Mathison	9,877	65.14	-0.17
	National	G W Kinzett	5,284	34.85
Majority			4,593	30.29	-1.09
Turnout			15,161	91.62	+7.19
Registered electors			16,547

1947 by-election

1947 Avon by-election[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Mathison	8,513	65.31
	National	Robert Alexander McDowell	4,422	33.92	+2.56
	Independent	John Ramby Robertson	100	0.77
Majority			4,091	31.38	−5.89
Turnout			13,035	84.43	−9.31
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.33

1946 election

1946 general election: Avon[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Dan Sullivan	9,539	68.64
	National	Robert Alexander McDowell	4,359	31.36
Majority			5,180	37.27
Turnout			13,898	92.74

1943 election

There were three candidates in 1943, with the election won by Dan Sullivan over James Neil Clarke.[31]

1935 election

1935 general election: Avon[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Dan Sullivan	8,955	71.11	+7.65
	Independent	Lancelot Charles Walker	3,545	28.15
Informal votes			93	0.73	+0.46
Majority			5,410	57.76
Turnout			12,593

1931 election

1931 general election: Avon[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Dan Sullivan	7,166	63.46	+7.00
	United	Harben Robert Young	4,127	36.54
Majority			3,039	26.91	-7.13
Informal votes			31	0.27	-0.92
Turnout			11,324	84.82	-3.42
Registered electors			13,350

1928 election

1928 general election: Avon[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Dan Sullivan	6,376	56.45	-1.70
	United	George Thomas Baker[35]	2,531	22.41
	Reform	Frederick Boulton Hughes[36]	2,387	21.14
Majority			3,845	34.04	+17.73
Informal votes			136	1.19	+0.22
Turnout			11,430	88.24	-3.35
Registered electors			12,953

1925 election

1925 general election: Avon[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Dan Sullivan	6,377	58.16	+13.65
	Reform	Walter Edmund Leadley[38]	4,588	41.84
Majority			1,789	16.32	-3.99
Informal votes			107	0.97	-0.24
Turnout			11,072	91.59	-0.17
Registered electors			12,088

1922 election

1922 general election: Avon[39][40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Dan Sullivan	4,462	44.50	-13.52
	Liberal	George Warren Russell	2,426	24.20	-15.33
	Reform	Albert Edward Loach	1,731	17.27
	Independent	Ann Elizabeth Herbert	1,407	14.03
Majority			2,036	20.31	+1.80
Informal votes			122	1.20	-1.05
Turnout			10,148	91.76	+9.95
Registered electors			11,059

1919 election

1919 general election: Avon[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Dan Sullivan	5,168	58.03	+27.70
	Liberal	George Warren Russell	3,520	39.52	-3.46
	Reform	John Louis "Jack" Carl[42][43]	218	2.45
Majority			1,648	18.50	+5.84
Informal votes			205	2.25	+1.64
Turnout			9,111	81.81	-6.31
Registered electors			11,137

1914 election

1914 general election: Avon[44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	George Warren Russell	3,642	42.99	-8.83
	Social Democrat	Dan Sullivan[45]	2,569	30.32
	Reform	Henry Dyke Acland	2,261	26.69
Majority			1,073	12.67	+9.02
Informal votes			52	0.61	+0.42
Turnout			8,524	88.12	+3.30
Registered electors			9,673

1911 election

Avon general election, 1911, first ballot[46][47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	George Warren Russell	3,040	39.39	+6.12
	Independent Labour	James McCombs	2,817	36.50
	Conservative	John Owen Jameson[48][49]	1,062	13.76
	Labour	William Robert Smith[50]	798	10.34	+7.01
Majority			223	2.89	+2.54
Informal votes			66	0.85
Registered electors			8,784
Turnout			7,783	88.60	+9.07

Avon general election, 1911, second ballot[46]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	George Warren Russell	3,854	51.82	-0.20
	Labour	James McCombs[51]	3,583	48.18
Majority			271	3.64	-4.59
Informal votes			14	0.19
Turnout			7,451	84.82	+8.63
Registered electors			8,784

1908 election

1908 general election: Avon, first ballot[52]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	George Warren Russell	2,185	33.27
	Liberal–Labour	William Tanner	2,162	32.92
	Conservative	John Jamieson	1,322	20.13
	Ind. Labour League	Dan Sullivan	679	10.34
	Liberal	William Robert Smith	219	3.33
Majority			23	0.35
Turnout			6,567	79.53
Registered electors			8,257

1908 general election: Avon, second ballot[53]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	George Warren Russell	3,416	52.02
	Liberal–Labour	William Tanner	2,875	43.78
Majority			541	8.24
Turnout			6,291	76.19
Registered electors			8,257

1899 election

1899 general election: Avon[54]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal–Labour	William Tanner	2,074	51.85	+0.76
	Conservative	Arthur Rhodes	1,926	48.15
Majority			148	3.70	-11.34
Turnout			4,000	81.75	+10.92
Registered electors			4,893

1896 election

1896 general election: Avon[55]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal–Labour	William Tanner	1,552	51.09	-2.80
	Conservative	George McIntyre	1,095	36.04	+2.63
	Conservative	George Swann	307	10.11
	Independent	Charles Burgess	84	2.76
Majority			457	15.04	-5.43
Turnout			3,038	70.83
Registered electors			4,289

1893 election

1893 general election: Avon[56][57]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal–Labour	William Tanner	1,719	53.89
	Independent	George McIntyre	1,066	33.42
	Conservative	John Leaf Wilson	405	12.70
Majority			653	20.47	+6.81
Turnout			3,190	73.83	+19.13
Registered electors			4,321

1890 election

1890 general election: Avon[58]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Edwin Blake	774	59.44
	Conservative	George Stead	588	45.16
Majority			186	14.28
Turnout			1,302	54.70
Registered electors			2,380

Notes

1. "THE AVON ELECTION". The Star (5944). 2 June 1887. p. 3. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
2. "Avon". The Star (6043). 27 September 1887. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
3. "Avon". The Star (7029). 6 December 1890. p. 4. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
4. "Elections". Lyttelton Times. XV (859). 2 February 1861. p. 4. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
5. Cyclopedia Company Limited (1903). "Mr. Alfred Richard Creyke". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Canterbury Provincial District. Christchurch. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
6. Wilson 1985, p. 191.
7. "GENERAL ASSEMBLY". Otago Witness (560). 23 August 1862. p. 2. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
8. Wilson 1985, p. 240.
9. Wilson 1985, p. 243.
10. Scholefield 1950, p. 134.
11. Scholefield 1950, p. 136.
12. "The General Elections". The Star (3551). 28 August 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
13. Scholefield 1950, p. 112.
14. "HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES". The Star (5920). 5 May 1887. p. 4. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
15. "Avon". The Star (6034). 16 September 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
16. Scholefield 1950, p. 142.
17. Scholefield 1950, p. 137.
18. "Official Results". The Press. LXVII (14224). 12 December 1911. p. 8. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
19. "Official returns". The Press. LXVII (14229). 18 December 1911. p. 7. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
20. Scholefield 1950, p. 141.
21. "More Candidates". Evening Post. CXXXVI (31). 5 August 1943. p. 6. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
22. Scholefield 1950, p. 126.
23. Wilson 1985.
24. Bryce, Fiona (1 April 2005). "Where are they now?... Former MP Mary Batchelor". The Star. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
25. "Obituaries — Hon Jonathan Elworthy, Larry Sutherland". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
26. Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1993. p. 8.
27. Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1990. p. 11.
28. Norton 1988, p. 196.
29. Norton 1988, p. 195.
30. "The General Election, 1949". National Library. 1950. pp. 1–5, 8. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
31. "Public Notices". The Press. LXXIX (24076). 12 October 1943. p. 1. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
32. The New Zealand Official Year-Book. Government Printer. 1936. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
33. The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 1. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
34. The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. 1929. p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
35. "Electoral Notices". The Press. LXIV (19454). 30 October 1928. p. 15. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
36. "Christchurch Seats". Auckland Star. LIX (245). 16 October 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
37. The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. 1926. p. 4. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
38. "Tribute to Mr Leadley". The Press. LXI (18528). 2 November 1925. p. 15. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
39. Hislop, J. (1923). The General Election, 1922. Government Printer. p. 5. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
40. "Election Notices". The Press. LVIII (17623). 28 November 1922. p. 14. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
41. Hislop, J. (1921). The General Election, 1919. National Library. p. 4. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
42. "Election Notices". The Press. LV (16716). 27 December 1919. p. 14. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
43. "Avon". The Press. LV (16707). 16 December 1919. p. 11. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
44. Hislop, J. (1915). The General Election, 1914. National Library. p. 21. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
45. "The Avon Seat". The Star (11215). 22 October 1914. p. 8. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
46. "The General Election, 1911". National Library. 1912. pp. 4, 8. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
47. "Thacker and Davey in Second Ballot". The Evening Post. LXXXII (141). 12 December 1911. p. 7. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
48. "Things going merrily in Christchurch". Evening Post. LXXXII (121). 18 November 1911. p. 9. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
49. "The Avon Election". The Press. LXVII (14218). 5 December 1911. p. 8. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
50. "Notes". The Press. LXVII (14207). 22 November 1911. p. 10. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
51. "Labour Party's Support". Wairarapa Daily Times. LXIV (11219). 9 December 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
52. AtoJs 1908 election 1909, p. 32.
53. AtoJs 1908 election 1909, p. 17.
54. "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
55. "Electoral District of Avon". The Press. LIII (9593). 7 December 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
56. "The General Election, 1893". National Library. 1894. p. 2. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
57. "The General Election". Nelson Evening Mail. XXVII (281). 29 November 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
58. "The General Election, 1890". National Library. 1891. Retrieved 25 February 2012.

References

• Mansfield, F. W. (1909). The General Election, 1908. National Library. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
• Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand parliamentary election results, 1946–1987. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Department of Political Science. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)