# 1922 New Zealand general election

The 1922 New Zealand general election was held on Monday, 6 December in the Māori electorates, and on Tuesday, 7 December in the general electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 21st session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 700,111 (87.7%) voters turned out to vote. In one seat (Bay of Plenty) there was only one candidate.
1922 was the year when residents of the Chatham Islands were enfranchised for the first time (included in Lyttelton and Western Māori electorates).

## Result

William Massey formed a government, but with the loss in support for the Reform Party he had to negotiate for support with Independents, and with two Liberal Party members.
Liberal was in decline and disorganised. Just before the 1925 election (held on 4 November), two Liberal MPs from Christchurch who had supported Massey (along with Independents Harry Atmore and Allen Bell) were appointed to the Legislative Council. They were Leonard Isitt and George Witty who were both appointed to the Legislative Council by Gordon Coates on 28 October 1925. Both were Liberals and their retirement removed "a source of some bitterness from the Party’s ranks (Coates rewarded them with seats in the Legislative Council the day after the election)". Gordon Coates was Reform, and both of their seats went to Reform candidates in 1925.

## Party Totals
### Party totals

Election results :
| Party | Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won |
| | Reform Party | 76 | 249,735 | 39.35 | 37 |
| | Liberal Party | 56 | 166,708 | 26.26 | 22 |
| | Labour Party | 41 | 150,448 | 23.70 | 17 |
| | Others | 39 | 67,837 | 10.69 | 4 |
| Total | Total | 212 | 634,728 | | 80 |
*Note: For numbers of candidates see Wilson (1985) p. 295; for numbers of votes and percentage see Wilson (1985) p. 289. Electorate results given below include 38 Reform and 21 Liberal members. The figures given in the table agree with Mackie and Rose, as well as the article on New Zealand elections.

### Votes summary

Popular Vote
Reform
39.35%
Liberal
26.26%
Labour
23.70%
Others
10.69% :
Parliament seats
Reform
46.25%
Liberal
27.50%
Labour
21.25%
Others
5.00% :

## Electorate results

The results of the 1922 election were as follows:
Key
Reform  Liberal  Labour  Independent Liberal  Independent
Electorate results for the 1922 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Ashburton | | William Nosworthy | William Nosworthy | William Nosworthy | 1,482 | | Henry Manwell Jones |
| Avon | | Dan Sullivan | Dan Sullivan | Dan Sullivan | 2,036 | | George Warren Russell |
| Awarua | | John Hamilton | | Philip De La Perrelle | 51 | | John Hamilton |
| Auckland Central | | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | 1,003 | | Albert Glover |
| Auckland East | | Clutha Mackenzie | | John A. Lee | 751 | | Clutha Mackenzie |
| Auckland West | | Michael Joseph Savage | Michael Joseph Savage | Michael Joseph Savage | 1,349 | | John Farrell |
| Bay of Islands | | Vernon Reed | | Allen Bell | 188 | | Vernon Reed |
| Bay of Plenty | | Kenneth Williams | Kenneth Williams | Kenneth Williams | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Buller | | Harry Holland | Harry Holland | Harry Holland | 1,541 | | John Menzies |
| Chalmers | | James Dickson | James Dickson | James Dickson | 679 | | Joseph Stephens |
| Christchurch East | | Henry Thacker | | Tim Armstrong | 1,094 | | Henry Thacker |
| Christchurch North | | Leonard Isitt | Leonard Isitt | Leonard Isitt | 1,950 | | John Archer |
| Christchurch South | | Ted Howard | Ted Howard | Ted Howard | 3,140 | | H C Lane |
| Clutha | | Alexander Malcolm | | John Edie | 120 | | Alexander Malcolm |
| Dunedin Central | | Charles Statham | Charles Statham | Charles Statham | 723 | | John Gilchrist |
| Dunedin North | | Jim Munro | Jim Munro | Jim Munro | 55 | | James Clark |
| Dunedin West | | Thomas Sidey | Thomas Sidey | Thomas Sidey | 1,281 | | John McManus |
| Dunedin South | | William Downie Stewart | William Downie Stewart | William Downie Stewart | 1,727 | | C M Moss |
| Eden | | James Parr | James Parr | James Parr | 675 | | Rex Mason |
| Egmont | | Oswald Hawken | Oswald Hawken | Oswald Hawken | 372 | | D L A Astbury |
| Ellesmere | | Heaton Rhodes | Heaton Rhodes | Heaton Rhodes | 732 | | J C Free |
| Franklin | | William Massey | William Massey | William Massey | 2,750 | | Joseph Rea |
| Grey Lynn | | Fred Bartram | Fred Bartram | Fred Bartram | 1,407 | | William John Holdsworth |
| Gisborne | | Douglas Lysnar | Douglas Lysnar | Douglas Lysnar | 500 | | George Wildish |
| Hamilton | New electorate | New electorate | | Alexander Young | 2,043 | | Arthur Shapton Richards |
| Hawke's Bay | | Hugh Campbell | | Gilbert McKay | 317 | | Andrew Hamilton Russell |
| Hurunui | | George Forbes | George Forbes | George Forbes | 1,198 | | S Andrew |
| Hutt | | Thomas Wilford | Thomas Wilford | Thomas Wilford | 802 | | David Pritchard |
| Invercargill | | Josiah Hanan | Josiah Hanan | Josiah Hanan | 993 | | J Armstead |
| Kaipara | | Gordon Coates | Gordon Coates | Gordon Coates | 2,464 | | Robert Hornblow |
| Kaiapoi | | David Jones | | David Buddo | 65 | | David Jones |
| Lyttelton | | James McCombs | James McCombs | James McCombs | 614 | | Robert Macartney |
| Manawatu | | Edward Newman | | Joseph Linklater | 1,505 | | F D Whibley |
| Manukau | | Frederic Lang | | Bill Jordan | 209 | | Frederic Lang |
| Marsden | | Francis Mander | | Alfred Murdoch | 136 | | William Jones |
| Masterton | | George Sykes | George Sykes | George Sykes | 556 | | A. C. Holmes |
| Mataura | | George Anderson | George Anderson | George Anderson | 1,041 | | David McDougall |
| Motueka | | Richard Hudson | Richard Hudson | Richard Hudson | 538 | | R Patterson |
| Napier | | Vigor Brown | | Lew McIlvride | 763 | | John Mason |
| Oamaru | | Ernest Lee | | John MacPherson | 14 | | Ernest Lee |
| Ohinemuri | | Hugh Poland | Hugh Poland | Hugh Poland | 939 | | Stephen Allen |
| Oroua | | David Guthrie | David Guthrie | David Guthrie | 43 | | John Cobbe |
| Nelson | | Harry Atmore | Harry Atmore | Harry Atmore | 2,164 | | Albert Gilbert |
| Otaki | | William Hughes Field | William Hughes Field | William Hughes Field | 58 | | G. H. M. McClure |
| Pahiatua | | Archibald McNicol | | Alfred Ransom | 59 | | Archibald McNicol |
| Palmerston | | Jimmy Nash | Jimmy Nash | Jimmy Nash | 1,067 | | Joe Hodgens |
| Parnell | | James Samuel Dickson | James Samuel Dickson | James Samuel Dickson | 2,324 | | S M Wren |
| Patea | | Edwin Dixon | | James Randall Corrigan | 151 | | Edwin Dixon |
| Raglan | | Richard Bollard | Richard Bollard | Richard Bollard | 776 | | S C G Lye |
| Rangitikei | | Billy Glenn | Billy Glenn | Billy Glenn | 1,007 | | F P Brady |
| Riccarton | | George Witty | George Witty | George Witty | 235 | | Bert Kyle |
| Roskill | | Vivian Potter | Vivian Potter | Vivian Potter | 2,007 | | Alfred Hall-Skelton |
| Rotorua | | Frank Hockly | Frank Hockly | Frank Hockly | 404 | | Cecil Clinkard |
| Stratford | | Robert Masters | Robert Masters | Robert Masters | 363 | | John Hine |
| Taranaki | | Sydney George Smith | Sydney George Smith | Sydney George Smith | 134 | | Charles Bellringer |
| Tauranga | | William Herries | William Herries | William Herries | 1,440 | | Laurence Johnstone |
| Temuka | | Thomas Burnett | Thomas Burnett | Thomas Burnett | 407 | | Thomas Herbert Langford |
| Thames | | Thomas William Rhodes | Thomas William Rhodes | Thomas William Rhodes | 790 | | W A Allan |
| Timaru | | James Craigie | | Frank Rolleston | 288 | | Percy Vinnell |
| Waikato | | Alexander Young | | Frederick Lye | 44 | | J T Johnson |
| Waimarino | | Robert William Smith | | Frank Langstone | 887 | | Robert William Smith |
| Waipawa | | George Hunter | George Hunter | George Hunter | 1,076 | | John Joshua Langridge |
| Wairarapa | | Alex McLeod | Alex McLeod | Alex McLeod | 698 | | John Wiltshire Card |
| Waitemata | | Alexander Harris | Alexander Harris | Alexander Harris | 1,271 | | Frank Henry Burbush |
| Wairau | | Richard McCallum | | William Girling | 186 | | Richard McCallum |
| Waitaki | | John Bitchener | John Bitchener | John Bitchener | | | William Paul |
| Waitomo | | William Thomas Jennings | | John Rolleston | 25 | | William Thomas Jennings |
| Wakatipu | | James Horn | James Horn | James Horn | 1,637 | | J Ritchie |
| Wallace | | Adam Hamilton | | John Charles Thomson | 205 | | Adam Hamilton |
| Wanganui | | Bill Veitch | Bill Veitch | Bill Veitch | 1,072 | | John Coull |
| Wellington Central | | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | 4,202 | | William Bennett |
| Wellington North | | John Luke | John Luke | John Luke | 375 | | Harry Combs |
| Wellington East | | Alfred Newman | | Alec Monteith | 473 | | Thomas Forsyth |
| Wellington South | | George Mitchell | | Robert McKeen | 422 | | George Mitchell |
| Wellington Suburbs | | Robert Wright | Robert Wright | Robert Wright | 291 | | Alexander Croskery |
| Westland | | Tom Seddon | | James O'Brien | 487 | | Tom Seddon |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | | Āpirana Ngata | Āpirana Ngata | Āpirana Ngata | 1,501 | | Taranaki Kanara te Uamairangi |
| Northern Maori | | Taurekareka Henare | Taurekareka Henare | Taurekareka Henare | 1,441 | | Nau Parone Kawiti |
| Southern Maori | | Henare Uru | Henare Uru | Henare Uru | 87 | | Peter MacDonald |
| Western Maori | | Māui Pōmare | Māui Pōmare | Māui Pōmare | 798 | | Ngarangi Katitia |

## Summary of changes

A boundary redistribution resulted in the abolition of one seat:
* Bruce, held by John Edie
At the same time, one new seat was created:
* Hamilton