# Hurunui (New Zealand electorate)

Hurunui was a parliamentary electorate in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, from 1902 (when it replaced Ashley) to 1963.

## Population centres

The Representation Act 1900 had increased the membership of the House of Representatives from general electorates 70 to 76, and this was implemented through the 1902 electoral redistribution. In 1902, changes to the country quota affected the three-member electorates in the four main centres. The tolerance between electorates was increased to ±1,250 so that the Representation Commissions (since 1896, there had been separate commissions for the North and South Islands) could take greater account of communities of interest. These changes proved very disruptive to existing boundaries, and six electorates were established for the first time, including Hurunui, and two electorates that previously existed were re-established.
The Hurunui electorate was rural. In the 1902 election, there were 34 polling stations, ranging from Amberley (the principal station), Kaikōura, Ashley, Sefton, Waikari, and Mackenzie. In 1905, election meetings were held in Hawarden and Balcairn.

## History

The Hurunui electorate was first formed for the 1902 election, when it replaced the Ashley electorate. The first election in the new electorate was contested by five candidates: Richard Meredith of the Liberal Party, who was the incumbent from the Ashley electorate, Andrew Rutherford who also stood as a Liberal, George Forbes who stood as an Independent Liberal, as he did not gain the Liberal Party's nomination, Henry Reece, and George Thomas Pulley. Rutherford was successful, gaining almost twice the number of votes than the second-placed candidate, Reece.
Three candidates contested the 1905 election. Rutherford was returned with more than twice the votes of Obed Frederick Clothier, and George Thomas Pulley came a distant third.
Rutherford retired in 1908, and George Forbes and Obed Frederick Clothier contested the 1908 election. Forbes was successful, and started his long parliamentary career that would see him hold the electorate for the next 35 years to 1943. Forbes was Prime Minister from 1930 to 1935.
William Gillespie succeeded Forbes in 1943 and held the electorate until his death in 1961.
The last member was Lorrie Pickering of the National Party from the 1961 by-election to 1963. Pickering transferred to the new Rangiora electorate in 1963.
In 1954, Norman Kirk stood in Hurunui as the Labour candidate, his first venture into national (parliamentary) politics. He increased Labour's share of the vote considerably, but did not win.

### Members of Parliament

The electorate was represented by four Members of Parliament.
Key
Liberal  United  National
| Election | Winner |
| 1902 election | Andrew Rutherford |
| 1905 election | Andrew Rutherford |
| 1908 election | George Forbes |
| 1911 election | George Forbes |
| 1914 election | George Forbes |
| 1919 election | George Forbes |
| 1922 election | George Forbes |
| 1925 election | George Forbes |
| 1928 election | George Forbes |
| 1931 election | George Forbes |
| 1935 election | George Forbes |
| 1938 election | George Forbes |
| 1943 election | William Gillespie |
| 1946 election | William Gillespie |
| 1949 election | William Gillespie |
| 1951 election | William Gillespie |
| 1954 election | William Gillespie |
| 1957 election | William Gillespie |
| 1960 election | William Gillespie |
| 1961 by-election | Lorrie Pickering |
| (Electorate abolished in 1963; see Rangiora) |||

## Election results
### 1961 by-election

1961 Hurunui by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | National | Lorrie Pickering | 6,644 | 52.91 |
| | Labour | Arthur Adcock | 4,760 | 37.91 |
| | Social Credit | Jack Clark | 1,153 | 9.18 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,884 | 15.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,557 | 74.13 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,940 | |
| | National hold | National hold | Swing | |

### 1960 election

1960 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | William Gillespie | 8,307 | 55.2 | +2.6 |
| | Labour | Arthur Adcock | 5,576 | 37.0 | −3.3 |
| | Social Credit | Jack Clark | 1,180 | 7.8 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,731 | 18.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 90.2 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,745 | | |

### 1957 election

1957 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | William Gillespie | 7,614 | 53.4 | +0.1 |
| | Labour | Lyn Christie | 5,865 | 40.3 | +7.4 |
| | Social Credit | Laurie Cate | 1,057 | 7.3 | −7.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,749 | 12.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 93.2 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,657 | | |

### 1954 election

1954 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | William Gillespie | 6,454 | 52.3 | −8.7 |
| | Labour | Norman Kirk | 4,059 | 32.9 | |
| | Social Credit | Laurie Cate | 1,829 | 14.8 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,395 | 19.4 | −2.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,524 | 91.8 | +3.9 |

### 1951 election

1951 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | William Gillespie | 8,086 | 61.0 | +1.5 |
| | Labour | Ed Cassidy | 5,165 | 39.0 | −1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,921 | 22.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 87.9 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,099 | | |

### 1949 election

1949 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | William Gillespie | 7,952 | 59.5 | +3.9 |
| | Labour | Arthur J. Smith | 5,417 | 40.5 | −3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,535 | 19.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 93.3 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 14,397 | | |

### 1946 election

1946 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | National | William Gillespie | 7,121 | 55.6 |
| | Labour | John Mathison | 5,681 | 44.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,440 | 11.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 93.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13,626 | |

### 1943 election

There were four candidates in 1943, with the election won by William Gillespie over James William Morgan.

### 1938 election

1938 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | George Forbes | 5,679 | 52.23 | +3.03 |
| | Labour | Harold Denton | 5,144 | 47.31 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 49 | 0.45 | −0.22 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 535 | 4.92 | −7.16 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,872 | 94.71 | +4.28 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,479 | | |

### 1935 election

1935 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United | George Forbes | 4,897 | 49.20 | −24.47 |
| | Labour | Donald Cyrus Davies | 3,694 | 37.11 | |
| | Independent | Oliver Duff | 1,362 | 13.68 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 67 | 0.67 | −0.13 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,203 | 12.08 | −35.27 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,953 | 90.43 | +10.60 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,006 | | |

### 1931 election

1931 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United | George Forbes | 6,151 | 73.67 | +17.62 |
| | Labour | R J Logan | 2,198 | 26.33 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 67 | 0.80 | −0.33 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,953 | 47.35 | +28.06 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,416 | 79.83 | −10.26 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,543 | | |

### 1928 election

1928 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United | George Forbes | 5,344 | 56.05 | +0.91 |
| | Reform | Leslie Robert Cathcart Macfarlane | 3,505 | 36.76 | |
| | Labour | Frederick Turley | 576 | 6.04 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 108 | 1.13 | +0.21 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,839 | 19.29 | +8.08 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,533 | 90.09 | −0.56 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,581 | | |

### 1925 election

1925 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Forbes | 3,989 | 55.14 | −2.95 |
| | Reform | J G Armstrong | 3,178 | 43.93 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 67 | 0.92 | −0.45 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 811 | 11.21 | −5.35 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,234 | 90.65 | +5.23 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,980 | | |

### 1922 election

1922 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Forbes | 3,963 | 58.09 | +5.98 |
| | Reform | S Andrew | 2,765 | 40.53 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 94 | 1.37 | +0.51 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,198 | 17.56 | +6.01 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,822 | 85.42 | +4.66 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,986 | | |

### 1919 election

1919 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Forbes | 3,008 | 52.11 | −12.80 |
| | Reform | J G Armstrong | 2,341 | 40.55 | |
| | Independent | G G Gardner | 373 | 6.46 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 50 | 0.86 | −0.16 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 667 | 11.55 | −18.28 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,772 | 80.76 | −2.03 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,147 | | |

### 1914 election

1914 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Forbes | 3,233 | 64.91 | +6.02 |
| | Reform | William Banks | 1,747 | 35.08 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 46 | 0.92 | −0.10 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,486 | 29.83 | +11.02 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,980 | 82.79 | +3.63 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,015 | | |

### 1911 election

1911 general election: Hurunui, First ballot :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Forbes | 2,940 | 58.89 | +1.01 |
| | Reform | David Macfarlane | 2,001 | 40.08 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 51 | 1.02 | +0.52 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 939 | 18.81 | +2.74 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,992 | 79.16 | +14.17 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,306 | | |

### 1908 election

1908 general election: Hurunui, Second ballot :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | George Forbes | 2,150 | 57.88 | +9.66 |
| | Conservative | Obed Cloither | 1,553 | 41.81 | +10.02 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 11 | 0.29 | 0.54 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 597 | 16.07 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,714 | 64.99 | −9.61 |
1908 general election: Hurunui, First ballot :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | George Forbes | 2,056 | 48.22 |
| | Conservative | Obed Cloither | 1,357 | 31.83 |
| | Ind. Labour League | G D Greenwood | 509 | 11.93 |
| | Independent Liberal | George Pulley | 309 | 7.24 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 32 | 0.75 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,263 | 74.60 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,714 | |

### 1902 election

1902 general election: Hurunui :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Andrew Rutherford | 1,577 | 44.24 |
| | Conservative | Henry Fear Reece | 880 | 24.69 |
| | Liberal | Richard Meredith | 834 | 23.40 |
| | Liberal | George Forbes | 205 | 5.75 |
| | Independent Liberal | George Pulley | 68 | 1.90 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 697 | 19.55 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,564 | 85.69 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,519 | |