From its initial definition of the Maori electorates in 1867 to the 1954 Maori electoral boundary redefinition, the Southern Maori electorate covered the entire
South Island plus it included
Stewart Island.[1] It did not include the
Chatham Islands, which did not belong to any Maori electorate until after a change to the Legislative Act and from the
1922 election, the Chatham Islands belonged to the
Western Maori electorate.[2] The 1954 redefinition responded to the fact that the Southern Maori electorate had a much lower voter base than the three other Maori electorates, and this was responded to by adding the south-eastern part of the
North Island to the Southern Maori electorate. Population centres that came to the electorate through this measure included
Wellington,
Masterton,
Palmerston North,
Napier, and
Wairoa. These changes became effective with the
1954 election.[3]
The next redistribution of Maori electoral boundaries was carried out in 1983, just after the responsibility for doing so had been transferred to the
Representation Commission. The North Island boundaries of the Southern Maori electorate were adjusted, and Palmerston North transferred to the Western Maori electorate in that process. These boundaries were used in the
1984 election.[4] Further boundary adjustments were undertaken in 1987, which became operative with the
1987 election.[5]
Tribal areas
Ngāi Tahu and
Ngati Kahungunu were the dominant tribes within the area covered by the electorate.
History
The Southern Maori electorate included the whole of the South Island to 1954, but its population was less than that of the other Māori electorates. In 1954 the boundaries were extended to include much of the East Coast of the North Island up to Napier and Wairoa in Hawkes Bay.
McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books.
ISBN0-477-01384-8.
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.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer.
OCLC154283103.