For the former Canadian electoral district, see
Wellington South.
Wellington South is a former New Zealand parliamentary
electorate. It existed for two periods between 1881 and 1946. It was represented by seven
Members of Parliament.
Population centres
The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the
1875–1876 election. In the six years since, New Zealand's European population had increased by 65%. In the 1881 electoral redistribution, the
House of Representatives increased the number of European representatives to 91 (up from 84 since the 1875–76 election). The number of Māori electorates was held at four. The House further decided that electorates should not have more than one representative, which led to 35 new electorates being formed, including Wellington South, and two electorates that had previously been abolished to be recreated. This necessitated a major disruption to existing boundaries.[1]
The first representative was
William Hutchison, who was elected in
1881.[4] In the
1884 election, Hutchison was defeated by
George Fisher.[5] When Wellington South was abolished in 1887, Fisher transferred to Wellington East.[6]
It was then re-created in 1908 and abolished in 1946. It was largely replaced by the
Island Bay electorate,[2] to which
Robert McKeen transferred.[7]
Election results
Wellington South was represented by seven Members of Parliament.[8]