Pencarrow is a former Parliamentary
electorate in the lower
Hutt Valley of New Zealand, from 1978 to 1996.
Population centres
The 1977 electoral redistribution was the most overtly political since the Representation Commission had been established through an amendment to the Representation Act in 1886, initiated by
Muldoon's
National Government.[1] As part of the
1976 census, a large number of people failed to fill out an electoral re-registration card, and census staff had not been given the authority to insist on the card being completed. This had little practical effect for people on the general roll, but it transferred
Māori to the general roll if the card was not handed in. Together with a northward shift of New Zealand's population, this resulted in five new electorates having to be created in the upper part of the
North Island.[2] The electoral redistribution was very disruptive, and 22 electorates were abolished, while 27 electorates were newly created (including Pencarrow) or re-established. These changes came into effect for the
1978 election.[3]
The electorate is based on the southern part of the city of
Lower Hutt.
History
Pencarrow existed from 1978, replacing the
Petone electorate. In the 1978 election, the electorate was won by
Fraser Colman, who had been MP for Petone since the
1967 by-election.[4] Colman retired in
1987 and was succeeded by
Sonja Davies.[5] After her retirement in
1993, she was succeeded by
Trevor Mallard. When the Pencarrow electorate was abolished in 1996, Mallard transferred to the
Hutt South electorate.[6]
McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books.
ISBN0-477-01384-8.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer.
OCLC154283103.
Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington.
ISBN0-475-11200-8.