Ponsonby (New Zealand electorate)

Ponsonby was a parliamentary electorate in Auckland, New Zealand, from 1887 to 1890 and from 1946 to 1963. The Ponsonby electorate was represented by two Members of Parliament.

Population centres

In the 1887 electoral redistribution, although the Representation Commission was required through the Representation Act 1887 to maintain existing electorates "as far as possible", rapid population growth in the North Island required the transfer of three seats from the South Island to the north. Ten new electorates were created, including Ponsonby, and one former electorate was recreated.^[1] The electorate was based on the suburb of Ponsonby.^[2]

In December 1887, the House of Representatives voted to reduce its membership from general electorates from 91 to 70. The 1890 electoral redistribution used the same 1886 census data used for the 1887 electoral redistribution. In addition, three-member electorates were introduced in the four main centres. This resulted in a major restructuring of electorates, and the Ponsonby electorate was abolished again.^[3] The vast majority of its area went to the City of Auckland electorate, and the balance to the Newton electorate.^[4]

The 1941 New Zealand census had been postponed due to World War II, so the 1946 electoral redistribution had to take ten years of population growth and movements into account. The North Island gained a further two electorates from the South Island due to faster population growth. The abolition of the country quota through the Electoral Amendment Act, 1945 reduced the number and increased the size of rural electorates. None of the existing electorates remained unchanged, 27 electorates were abolished, 19 electorates were created for the first time, and eight former electorates were re-established, including Ponsonby.^[5]

History

The electorate's first representative was Thomas Peacock, who had represented Auckland electorates since the 1881 election. At the end of the parliamentary term in 1890, Peacock retired and the Ponsonby electorate was abolished.^[6]

The electorate was re-established for the 1946 election, and it was represented by Ritchie Macdonald of the Labour Party for its existence until its abolition in 1963.^[7] Macdonald successfully contested the Grey Lynn electorate in the 1963 election. Both the Social Credit and Communist Party candidates for Ponsonby in 1960 likewise contested Grey Lynn in 1963.^[8]

Members of Parliament

The electorate was represented by two Members of Parliament.^[9]

Key

  Independent   Labour

Election	Winner
1887 election		Thomas Peacock
(Electorate abolished 1890–1946; see City of Auckland)
1946 election		Ritchie Macdonald
1949 election
1951 election
1954 election
1957 election
1960 election
(Electorate abolished 1963; see Grey Lynn)

Election results

1960 election

1960 general election: Ponsonby^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ritchie Macdonald	9,138	62.99	−4.10
	National	Neil Fergusson McLaughlan	4,394	30.29
	Social Credit	Bill Ross	612	4.21	+0.04
	Communist	George Jackson	361	2.48	+0.75
Majority			4,744	32.70	−7.40
Turnout			14,505	86.90	−5.03
Registered electors			16,690

1957 election

1957 general election: Ponsonby^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ritchie Macdonald	11,029	67.09	+6.45
	National	Gordon Smith	4,437	26.99
	Social Credit	Bill Ross	686	4.17
	Communist	George Jackson	286	1.73
Majority			6,592	40.10	+12.54
Turnout			16,438	91.93	+3.11
Registered electors			17,880

1954 election

1954 general election: Ponsonby^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ritchie Macdonald	8,684	60.64	+4.48
	National	Harold Barry	4,734	33.05
	Social Credit	John Stackpole	716	5.00
	Communist	Hugh McLeod	186	1.29
Majority			3,948	27.56	+15.24
Turnout			14,320	88.82	+1.66
Registered electors			16,122

1951 election

1951 general election: Ponsonby^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ritchie Macdonald	6,855	56.16	−1.46
	National	Peter Dempsey	5,351	43.83
Majority			1,504	12.32	−5.32
Turnout			12,206	87.16	−6.56
Registered electors			14,004

1949 election

1949 general election: Ponsonby^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ritchie Macdonald	7,439	57.62	−5.37
	National	Brian Kingston	5,161	39.97
	Independent Liberal	William Frederick Jamieson	169	1.30
	Communist	Henry Mornington Smith	140	1.08
Majority			2,278	17.64	−8.35
Turnout			12,909	93.72	−0.97
Registered electors			13,774

1946 election

1946 general election: Ponsonby^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ritchie Macdonald	8,314	62.99
	National	Peter Dempsey	4,883	37.01
Majority			3,431	25.99
Turnout			13,197	94.69
Registered electors			13,937

Notes

1. McRobie 1989, pp. 50–53.
2. McRobie 1989, p. 50.
3. McRobie 1989, pp. 54ff.
4. McRobie 1989, pp. 50, 54.
5. McRobie 1989, pp. 91–96.
6. Wilson 1985, pp. 226, 270.
7. Wilson 1985, pp. 214, 270.
8. Wilson 1985, p. 214.
9. Wilson 1985, p. 270.
10. Norton 1988, pp. 320.
11. "The General Election, 1949". National Library. 1950. pp. 1–5, 8. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
12. "The General Election, 1946". National Library. 1947. pp. 1–11, 14. Retrieved 1 January 2014.

References

• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
• Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.