# Parnell (New Zealand electorate)

Parnell was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Auckland, New Zealand, from 1861 to 1954, with one break of eight years.

## Population centres

In the 1860 electoral redistribution, the House of Representatives increased the number of representatives by 12, reflecting the immense population growth since the original electorates were established in 1853. The redistribution created 15 additional electorates with between one and three members, and Parnell was one of the single-member electorates. The electorates were distributed to provinces so that every province had at least two members. Within each province, the number of registered electors by electorate varied greatly. The Parnell electorate had 268 registered electors for the 1861 election.
Over the years, Parnell sometimes comprised a small area, and sometimes it covered quite a large area. Much of the area covered fluctuated between the Parnell and Manukau electorates.
In 1927 the Representation Commission proposed altering the Parnell boundaries; which if confirmed would have made the electorate "dry" or no-licence, and without an authority which could issue temporary licences for the Ellerslie and Alexandra Park raceways. Following objections, the boundary between the Parnell and Auckland East electorates was adjusted to include a hotel in the Parnell electorate (so retaining its licensing committee). John A. Lee later claimed that this adjustment cost him his Auckland East seat in the 1928 election. In 1936 Lee tried to weaken Endean's grip on Parnell (the only non-Labour seat in Auckland) with the Orakei state housing scheme, and proposed to evict the Māori marae (see Bastion Point). Michael Joseph Savage reversed the Cabinet decision when he returned from the Coronation in England.
In the 1937 electoral redistribution, Parnell was abolished and replaced with the Remuera electorate, covering almost exactly the same area as Parnell had since the 1927 electoral redistribution.
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 Parnell. The Parnell electorate existed alongside the Remuera electorate. It was abolished again with the next electoral redistribution, which was held in 1952 and became effective with the 1954 election. Most of the Parnell electorate's area went once again to the Remuera electorate.

## History

The electorate was represented by ten Members of Parliament:

### Members of Parliament

Key
Independent  Conservative  Liberal  Reform  United  National
| Election | Winner |
| 1861 election | Reader Wood |
| 1865 by-election | Robert Creighton |
| 1866 election | Frederick Whitaker |
| 1867 by-election | Charles Heaphy |
| 1870 by-election | Reader Wood |
| 1871 election | Reader Wood |
| 1875 election | Reader Wood |
| 1878 by-election | Frederick Moss |
| 1879 election | Frederick Moss |
| 1881 election | Frederick Moss |
| 1884 election | Frederick Moss |
| 1887 election | Frederick Moss |
| 1890 election | Frank Lawry |
| 1893 election | Frank Lawry |
| 1896 election | Frank Lawry |
| 1899 election | Frank Lawry |
| 1902 election | Frank Lawry |
| 1905 election | Frank Lawry |
| 1908 election | Frank Lawry |
| 1911 election | James Dickson |
| 1914 election | James Dickson |
| 1919 election | James Dickson |
| 1922 election | James Dickson |
| 1925 election | James Dickson |
| 1928 election | Harry Jenkins |
| 1930 by-election | Bill Endean |
| 1931 election | Bill Endean |
| 1935 election | Bill Endean |
| (electorate abolished 1938–1946; see Remuera) |||
| 1946 election | Duncan Rae |
| 1949 election | Duncan Rae |
| 1951 election | Duncan Rae |
| (electorate abolished 1954; see Remuera) |||

## Election results
### 1951 election

1951 general election: Parnell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | Duncan Rae | 6,355 | 57.13 | +3.58 |
| | Labour | Hugh Watt | 4,768 | 42.86 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,587 | 14.26 | +6.04 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,123 | 87.36 | −6.54 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,732 | | |

### 1949 election

1949 general election: Parnell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | Duncan Rae | 6,255 | 53.55 | +3.80 |
| | Labour | Bill Schramm | 5,295 | 45.33 | |
| | Communist | Rita Smith | 131 | 1.12 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 960 | 8.22 | +6.53 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 54 | 0.46 | −1.72 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,735 | 93.90 | −0.51 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,497 | | |

### 1946 election

1946 general election: Parnell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | National | Duncan Rae | 6,059 | 49.75 |
| | Labour | Bill Schramm | 5,853 | 48.06 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 266 | 2.18 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 206 | 1.69 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,178 | 94.41 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,898 | |

### 1935 election

1935 general election: Parnell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Reform | Bill Endean | 5,758 | 39.36 | −25.87 |
| | Labour | Arthur Osborne | 5,028 | 34.37 | |
| | Independent | Alexander Herdman | 3,334 | 22.79 | |
| | Independent Liberal | Frederick Coles Jordan | 507 | 3.46 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 174 | 1.18 | −0.10 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 730 | 4.99 | −37.66 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,627 | 90.42 | +11.48 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,176 | | |

### 1931 election

1931 general election: Parnell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Reform | Bill Endean | 7,374 | 65.23 | +17.68 |
| | Labour | John William Yarnall | 2,553 | 22.58 | |
| | Independent | William Collingbourne Hewitt | 1,377 | 12.18 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,821 | 42.65 | +26.75 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 147 | 1.28 | +0.97 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,451 | 78.94 | +6.20 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 14,506 | | |

### 1930 by-election

1930 Parnell by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Reform | Bill Endean | 4,852 | 47.55 | |
| | United | W. Alan Donald | 3,230 | 31.65 | |
| | Labour | Tom Bloodworth | 2,122 | 20.80 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,622 | 15.90 | +8.88 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 32 | 0.31 | −0.37 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,236 | 72.74 | −13.81 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 14,073 | | |

### 1928 election

1928 general election: Parnell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | United | Harry Reginald Jenkins | 5,642 | 46.64 |
| | Reform | James Samuel Dickson | 4,793 | 39.62 |
| | Labour | John William Yarnall | 1,661 | 13.73 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 849 | 7.02 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 83 | 0.68 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,179 | 86.54 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 14,073 | |

### 1919 election

1919 general election: Parnell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Reform | James Samuel Dickson | 5,706 | 62.50 |
| | Labour | Tom Bloodworth | 2,287 | 25.05 |
| | Liberal | Rosetta Baume | 1,026 | 11.23 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 110 | 1.20 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,419 | 37.45 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,129 | 76.17 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,985 | |
$^b$ Rosetta Baume was one of three women in 1919 who stood at short notice when women were able to stand as candidates for election to parliament.

### 1911 election

1911 general election: Parnell, first ballot :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Reform | James Samuel Dickson | 3,585 | 44.19 |
| | Liberal | John Findlay | 2,971 | 36.62 |
| | Labour | Joe Mack | 1,557 | 19.19 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 614 | 7.57 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 93 | 1.13 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,206 | 81.97 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,011 | |
1911 general election: Parnell, second ballot :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Reform | James Samuel Dickson | 4,264 | 52.71 |
| | Liberal | John Findlay | 3,826 | 47.29 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 438 | 5.41 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 25 | 0.31 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,115 | 81.06 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,011 | |

### 1899 election

1899 general election: Parnell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Frank Lawry | 2,263 | 49.93 |
| | Conservative | Hugh Campbell | 1,423 | 31.40 |
| | Conservative | John Candlish Allen | 846 | 18.67 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 840 | 18.53 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,532 | 74.55 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,079 | |

### 1890 election

1890 general election: Parnell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Frank Lawry | 656 | 59.47 |
| | Independent | J M Lennox | 447 | 40.52 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 209 | 18.94 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,103 | 64.27 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,716 | |