# Tuapeka (New Zealand electorate)

Tuapeka is a former parliamentary electorate in the Otago region of New Zealand, from 1871 to 1911.

## Population centres

The 1870 electoral redistribution was undertaken by a parliamentary select committee based on population data from the 1867 New Zealand census. Eight sub-committees were formed, with two members each making decisions for their own province; thus members set their own electorate boundaries. The number of electorates was increased from 61 to 72, and Tuapeka was one of the new electorates. The Tuapeka electorate was landlocked and inland from the Bruce electorate. The town of Lawrence was within the electorate.
In the 1875 electoral redistribution, the electorate's area was unaltered, but boundary changes were introduced in subsequent electoral redistributions. In the 1890 electoral redistribution, the electorate moved further inland and the settlements of Tapanui and Roxburgh were gained. In the 1892 electoral redistribution, the electorate moved further inland again and Tapanui was lost again, but Alexandra was gained. In the 1907 electoral redistribution, the shape of the electorate changed significantly, and Lawrence was lost to the Bruce electorate, but large areas were gained from the Mount Ida electorate, including Ranfurly.
In the 1911 electoral redistribution, the Tuapeka electorate was abolished, and the vast majority of its area went to the Otago Central electorate.

## History

From 1855 to 1862 Vincent Pyke represented Castlemaine and Castlemaine Boroughs in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Pyke represented Tuapeka from the 1893 election to 4 June 1894, when he died.
William Chapple, who represented Tuapeka for just four months following a by-election in 1908, later became an MP in the House of Commons, representing Stirlingshire (1910–1918) and Dumfrieshire (1922–1924).

### Members of Parliament

Key
Independent Conservative Liberal Independent Liberal Reform
| Election | Winner |
| 1871 election | James Brown |
| 1875 election | James Brown |
| 1879 election | James Brown |
| 1881 election | James Brown |
| 1884 election | James Brown |
| 1887 election | James Brown |
| 1890 election | Hugh Valentine |
| 1893 election | Vincent Pyke |
| 1894 by-election | William Larnach |
| 1896 election | William Larnach |
| 1898 by-election | Charles Rawlins |
| 1899 election | James Bennet |
| 1902 election | James Bennet |
| 1905 election | James Bennet |
| 1908 by-election | William Chapple |
| 1908 election | Robert Scott |
| (Electorate abolished 1911; see Otago Central) |||

## Election results
### 1908 by-election

1908 Tuapeka by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent Liberal | William Chapple | 1,075 | 36.24 |
| | Liberal | James Horn | 1,045 | 35.23 |
| | Conservative | Robert Scott | 846 | 28.52 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 30 | 1.01 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,966 | |

### 1899 election

1899 general election: Tuapeka :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | James Bennet | 1,758 | 50.91 | |
| | Conservative | Charles Rawlins | 1,372 | 39.73 | −0.54 |
| | Independent Liberal | Alexander Fraser | 323 | 9.35 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 386 | 11.18 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,453 | 73.16 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,720 | | |

### 1898 by-election

1898 Tuapeka by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Charles Rawlins | 1,118 | 45.34% |
| | Independent | John Johnson Ramsay | 844 | 34.23% |
| | Independent | Robert Gilkison | 504 | 20.44% |
| | Independent | Henry Symes | 296 | 12.00% |
| | Independent | James Sim | 14 | 0.57% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 274 | 11.11% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,466 | |

### 1894 by-election

1894 Tuapeka by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | William Larnach | 1,373 | 51.00% |
| | Independent | Scobie Mackenzie | 1319 | 49.00% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 54 | 2.01% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,692 | |

### 1890 election

1890 general election: Tuapeka :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Hugh Valentine | 885 | 51.96 |
| | Independent | James Clark Brown | 818 | 48.04 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 63 | 3.69 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,703 | 68.78 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,476 | |