Southern Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Northern Maori, Western Maori and Eastern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated, and Southern Maori was replaced with the Te Tai Tonga and Te Puku O Te Whenua electorates.
Population centres 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. 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 , the Chatham Islands belonged to the Western Maori electorate. 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 .
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 . Further boundary adjustments were undertaken in 1987, which became operative with the .
Tribal areas Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti 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.
The first member of parliament for the new Māori electorate of Southern Maori from 1868 was John Patterson; he retired in 1870.
In 1932, Eruera Tirikātene won the electorate in a by-election and became the first Rātana MP; and then a Labour MP following the Labour-Ratana pact. When he died in 1967 his daughter Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan took over the seat in a 1967 by-election.
In 1993 the National Party did not stand a candidate in the electorate as their proposed candidate did not apply in time.
In 1996 with mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation, the Te Tai Tonga electorate covering the South Island took over the major part of the Southern Maori electorate. Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan who had held the Southern Maori electorate for many years narrowly lost the new seat to Tu Wyllie of New Zealand First and retired from politics.
Members of Parliament The Southern Maori electorate was represented by ten Members of Parliament:
Key
ElectionWinner 1868 Māori election John Patterson 1871 election Hōri Kerei Taiaroa 1876 election 1879 by-election Ihaia Tainui 1879 election 1881 by-election Hōri Kerei Taiaroa (2nd period) 1881 election 1884 election 1885 by-election Tame Parata 1887 election 1890 election 1893 election 1896 election 1899 election 1902 election 1905 election 1908 election 1911 election Taare Parata 1914 election 1918 by-election Hopere Uru 1919 election 1922 by-election Henare Uru 1922 election 1925 election 1928 election Tuiti Makitānara 1931 election 1932 by-election Eruera Tirikātene 1935 election 1938 election 1943 election 1946 election 1949 election 1951 election 1954 election 1957 election 1960 election 1963 election 1966 election 1967 by-election Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan 1969 election1972 election1975 election1978 election1981 election1984 election1987 election1990 election1993 election (Electorate abolished in 1996; see )
Election results Note that the affiliation of many early candidates is not known.
1993 election
1990 election
1987 election
1984 election
1981 election
1978 election
1975 election
1972 election
1969 election
1967 by-election
1966 election
1963 election
1960 election
1957 election
1954 election
1951 election
1949 election
1946 election
1932 by-election
1931 election
1922 by-election
1918 by-election
1899 election
1896 election
1893 election
1887 election
1885 by-election
1879 by-election
Notes
References