Ashley (New Zealand electorate)

Ashley was a New Zealand electorate situated north of Christchurch. It was in use from 1866 to 1902, and was replaced with the Hurunui electorate.

Population centres

In the 1865 electoral redistribution, the House of Representatives focussed its review of electorates to South Island electorates only, as the Central Otago Gold Rush had caused significant population growth, and a redistribution of the existing population. Fifteen additional South Island electorates were created, including Ashley, and the number of Members of Parliament was increased by 13 to 70.[1]

The Ashley electorate was formed from a corner of Cheviot electorate, and included the towns of Ashley, Amberley, and Oxford. The electorate's boundaries remained roughly the same until the 1881 elections, when it expanded slightly into Kaiapoi electorate and Amberley was returned to Cheviot. In the 1887 elections, the electorate expanded westwards into Cheviot's southern tip. In the 1890 elections, Cheviot itself was abolished, and the majority of its territory was absorbed into Ashley — to compensate, territory was taken from Ashley in the south and given to Kaiapoi. In the 1893 elections, Ashley expanded further north, taking the town of Kaikoura from Wairau electorate, but ceded Oxford to Kaiapoi in the south. In the 1902 elections, Ashley was dissolved, being replaced with an electorate called Hurunui, covering much the same area.

History

The first representative was Lancelot Walker, who won the 1866 election. Walker resigned in the following year[2] and was succeeded by Henry Tancred in the 1867 by-election.[3]

Tancred retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1870[3] and was succeeded by John Evans Brown.[2]

In the 1890 election, the electorate was contested by Richard Meredith, James Dupré Lance and John George Knight,[4] who received 648, 611 and 137 votes, respectively. Meredith was thus declared elected.[5]

Members of Parliament

Key

  Independent     Liberal  

Election Winner
1866 election Lancelot Walker
1867 by-election Henry Tancred [3]
1871 election[6] John Brown
1876 election[7]
1879 election[8] William Moorhouse
1881 election William Pearson
1884 election
1887 election
1888 by-election John Verrall
1890 election Richard Meredith
1893 election
1896 election
1899 election

Election results

1899 election

General election, 1899: Ashley[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Richard Meredith 1,943 61.98
Conservative Thomas Caverhill 1,192 38.02
Majority 751 23.96
Turnout 3,135 70.15
Registered electors 4,469

1893 election

General election, 1893: Ashley[10][11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Richard Meredith 1,668 58.84 +12.61
Conservative David Duncan Macfarlane 1,078 38.02
Liberal David Dick 89 3.14
Majority 590 20.81 +18.51
Turnout 2,835 70.42

1890 election

General election, 1890: Ashley[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Richard Meredith 643 46.22
Independent James Dupré Lance 611 43.92
Liberal John George Knight 137 9.84
Majority 38 2.73
Turnout 1,391 55.90
Registered electors 2,488

1888 by-election

Ashley by-election, 1888[13][14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Independent John Verrall 234 33.86 +21.67
Independent Alfred Saunders 232 33.57
Independent Marmaduke Dixon[15][16] 225 32.56
Majority 2 0.29 -27.21
Turnout 691

1887 election

General election, 1887: Ashley[17][18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Independent William Fisher Pearson 501 57.65
Independent Robert Luke Higgins 262 30.15
Independent John Verrall 106 12.20
Majority 239 27.50
Turnout 869 58.96
Registered electors 1,474

Notes

  1. ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 36.
  2. 1 2 Wilson 1985.
  3. 1 2 3 Parton, H. N. "Tancred, Henry John". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  4. ↑ "Ashley Electoral District". The Press. XLVIL (7721). 28 November 1890. p. 8. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  5. 1 2 "The General Election, 1890". National Library. 1891. p. 2. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  6. ↑ "The General Elections". The Star (852). 20 February 1871. p. 3. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  7. ↑ "Ashley Polling". The Star (2435). 12 January 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  8. ↑ "The General Assembly Elections". XXIII (3454). Grey River Argus. 13 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  9. ↑ "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  10. ↑ "The General Election, 1893". National Library. 1894. p. 2. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "Election Notices". The Press. L (8656). 4 December 1893. p. 1. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  12. ↑ "Ashley". The Star (4813). 29 November 1893. p. 1. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Page 1 Advertisements Column 5". The Press. XLV (7124). 21 July 1888. p. 1. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  14. ↑ "Ashley Election". The Press. XLV (7132). 31 July 1888. p. 5. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  15. ↑ Scholefield 1940, pp. 209f.
  16. ↑ "Marmaduke Dixon – 1828–1895". Waimakariri Libraries. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  17. ↑ "The General Election, 1887". National Library. 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  18. ↑ "Ashley". The Press. XLIV (6861). 20 September 1887. p. 6. Retrieved 14 February 2014.

References

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