Egmont (New Zealand electorate)

Egmont is a former New Zealand electorate, in south Taranaki. It existed from 1871 to 1978.

Geographic coverage

Egmont is the old name of the mountain that is the Taranaki landmark of Mount Taranaki. A village north of the mountain is also called Egmont.

History

This rural electorate was formed in 1871.[1] Mount Egmont, after which it is named, was confiscated from Māori by the New Zealand Government under the powers of the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863, following the Second Taranaki War.

William Gisborne was the first elected representative in 1871, elected unopposed. He was a minister in the third Fox Ministry and resigned from Parliament when the government fell on 10 September 1872.[2][3] Harry Atkinson won the resulting 1872 by-election. He held the electorate until 1891, when he resigned.[4] During this time, he was Premier on four occasions.

Atkinson's resignation caused the 1891 by-election, which was won by Felix McGuire.[5] He held the electorate until 1896,[6] when he (successfully) stood for the Hawera electorate instead.[7] He was succeeded by Walter Symes from 1896 until 1902, when he (successfully) stood for Patea.[8] The next representative was William Thomas Jennings from 1902 until 1908, when he (successfully) stood for Taumarunui.[9]

Bradshaw Dive was elected in 1908 and held the electorate for one term.[10] He was defeated in 1911 by Thomas Mackenzie, who resigned in 1912.[11] Charles Wilkinson won the resulting 1912 by-election and retired in 1919. He was succeeded by Oswald Hawken, who won the 1919 election, but was defeated in 1928 by Wilkinson coming out of his retirement. This time, Wilkinson held the electorate until 1943, when he retired for good.

The electorate was then held by three members of the National Party; Ernest Corbett (1943–57), William Sheat (1957–66) and Venn Young (1966–78).

Egmont was abolished in 1978, and was replaced by the Waitotara electorate.

Members of Parliament

Egmont was represented by twelve Members of Parliament:

Key

  Independent     Conservative     Liberal     Reform     National  

Election	Winner
1871 election		William Gisborne
1872 by-election		Harry Atkinson
1876 election
1879 election
1881 election
1884 election
1887 election
1890 election
1891 by-election		Felix McGuire
1893 election
1896 election		Walter Symes
1899 election
1902 election		William Jennings
1905 election
1908 election		Bradshaw Dive
1911 election		Thomas Mackenzie
1912 by-election		Charles Wilkinson
1914 election
1919 election		Oswald Hawken
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election		Charles Wilkinson
1931 election
1935 election
1938 election
1943 election		Ernest Corbett
1946 election
1949 election
1951 election
1954 election
1957 election		William Sheat
1960 election
1963 election
1966 election		Venn Young
1969 election
1972 election
1975 election
(Electorate abolished 1978)

Election results

1931 election

1931 general election: Egmont[12][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent	Charles Wilkinson	4,409	58.71
	Reform	Frederick Gawith	3,101	41.29
Majority			1,308	17.42
Informal votes			27	0.36
Turnout			7,537	85.71
Registered electors			8,794

1928 election

1928 general election: xyz[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent	Charles Wilkinson	4,577	58.17
	Reform	Oswald Hawken	3,291	41.83
Majority			1,286	16.34
Informal votes			55	0.69
Turnout			7,923	91.46
Registered electors			8,663

1912 by-election

1912 Egmont by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Reform	Charles Wilkinson	2,721	55.9
	Liberal	David Lyon Abbott Astbury[15]	2,139	43.9
Informal votes			11	0.20
Majority			582	12.0
Turnout			4,871
	Reform gain from Liberal		Swing

1905 election

1905 general election: Egmont[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	William Thomas Jennings	2,621	53.39
	Independent Liberal	Charles Leech	1,970	40.13
	Socialist	Harry Campbell	215	4.37
Informal votes			103	2.09
Majority			651	13.26
Turnout			4,909

1899 election

1899 general election: Egmont[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Walter Symes	2,253	53.16
	Conservative	William Monkhouse	1,985	46.84
Majority			268	6.32
Turnout			4,238	76.71
Registered electors			5,525

1893 election

1893 general election: Egmont[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Felix McGuire	1,305	48.88
	Conservative	Benjamin Robbins	1,170	43.82
	Liberal	E. G. Allsworth	195	7.30
Majority			135	5.06
Turnout			2,670	72.81
Registered electors			3,667

1891 by-election

1891 Egmont by-election[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Felix McGuire	986	51.92
	Independent	Robert Bruce	913	48.04
Majority			73	3.84
Turnout			1,899

1890 election

1890 general election: Egmont[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Harry Atkinson	1,096	58.08
	Independent	Felix McGuire	791	41.92
Majority			305	16.16
Turnout			1,887	70.72
Registered electors			2,668

Notes

1. Scholefield 1950, p. 157.
2. Bohan, Edmund (22 June 2007). "Gisborne, William 1825 - 1898". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
3. Scholefield 1925, p. 95.
4. Scholefield 1925, pp. 75–76.
5. Scholefield 1950, pp. 93, 122.
6. Scholefield 1925, p. 113.
7. Scholefield 1950, p. 158.
8. Scholefield 1925, p. 137.
9. Scholefield 1925, p. 105.
10. Scholefield 1925, p. 88.
11. Scholefield 1925, p. 114.
12. The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 2. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
13. "Notice of nominations received and polling places appointed". Opunake Times. 24 November 1931. p. 3. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
14. Skinner, W. A. G. (1929). The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. p. 2. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
15. "Electoral District of Egmont". Hawera & Normanby Star. XVIII. 9 September 1912. p. 1. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
16. "The General Election, 1905". National Library. 1906. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
17. "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
18. "The General Election, 1893". National Library. 1894. p. 1. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
19. "Egmont Election: Success of the Local Candidate". Taranaki Herald. XL (9011). 18 February 1891. p. 2. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
20. "The General Election, 1890". National Library. 1891. Retrieved 25 February 2012.

References

• Scholefield, Guy (1925) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record (2nd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.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)