Nelson (New Zealand Electorate) - History

History

An electorate based on the Nelson has been contested at every election since the first Parliament in 1853. Two of the original 24 electorates from the 1st Parliament still exist (New Plymouth is the other one), but Nelson is the only original electorate that has existed continuously.

The electorate was initially known as Town of Nelson. From 1866 to 1881, it was called City of Nelson. Since 1881, it has been known as simply Nelson.

From 1853 to 1881, Nelson was a two member electorate. James Mackay and William Travers were the first two representatives elected in 1853. Travers and William Cautley (MP for Waimea) both resigned on 26 May 1854. Travers subsequently contested the seat that Cautley had vacated, being elected in the 21 June 1854 Waimea by-election. Samuel Stephens, who succeeded Travers in Nelson, died before the end of the first term, but the seat remained vacant.

Alfred Domett retired from politics at the end of the 3rd Parliament. Edward Stafford resigned in 1868 during the term of the 4th Parliament. Nathaniel Edwards won the resulting by-election. Martin Lightband resigned after a year in Parliament in 1872 and was succeeded by David Luckie.

Nelson became a single member electorate in 1881. Henry Levestam, who was first elected in an 1881 by-election to replace Adams was confirmed by the voters at the next three general elections (1881, 1884 and 1887), but he died in office on 11 February 1889.

Joseph Harkness won the resulting 1889 by-election and was confirmed in the 1890 election. He retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1893 and was succeeded by John Graham, who with the 1893 election started a representation of the electorate that would last until his retirement in 1911.

Harry Atmore an Independent Member of Parliament succeeded John Graham in the 1911 election, but he was defeated at the next election in 1914 by Thomas Field of the Reform Party. At the subsequent election in 1919, Atmore defeated Field and represented the electorate until his death on 21 August 1946.

Atmore's death did not cause a by-election, as the 1946 election was held in November of that year. The contest was won by Edgar Neale of the National Party. He held the electorate until 1957, when he retired.

Atmore was succeeded by Stanley Whitehead of the Labour Party in the 1957 election. This started Labour's dominance in the electorate, which was to last for four decades. Whitehead died on 9 January 1976 in the office and this caused the 1976 by-election, which was won by Labour's Mel Courtney. In the 1981 election, Courtney stood as an Independent against Labour's Philip Woollaston, with the latter the successful candidate. Woollaston retired in 1990 and was succeeded by Labour's John Blincoe. When the electorate was enlarged for the 1996 election, Blincoe lost against National's Nick Smith. Smith is the incumbent.

The gap between National and Labour contesting the list vote has narrowed - 43% to 36% in Labour's favour at the 2005 election versus a 45%-19% split three years earlier. Nelson is also an electorate in which the Green Party performs better than the national average - nearly nine percent in 2002 and 7.7 percent in 2005.