Dunedin West

Dunedin West was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, in the city of Dunedin. It existed for three periods between 1881 and 1996 and was represented by seven Members of Parliament.

Population centres

The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–76 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 Dunedin West, and two electorates that had previously been abolished to be recreated. This necessitated a major disruption to existing boundaries.

The 1981 census had shown that the North Island had experienced further population growth, and three additional general seats were created through the 1983 electoral redistribution, bringing the total number of electorates to 95. The South Island had, for the first time, experienced a population loss, but its number of general electorates was fixed at 25 since the 1967 electoral redistribution. More of the South Island population was moving to Christchurch, and two electorates were abolished, while two electorates were recreated (including Dunedin West). In the North Island, six electorates were newly created, three electorates were recreated, and six electorates were abolished.

The electorate was urban, and comprised a number of suburbs in the west of Dunedin.

History

The electorate existed in the 19th century from 1881 to 1890. It was represented by:

• Thomas Dick 1881–84 (defeated)
• William Downie Stewart 1884–90 (retired)

The electorate was recreated, from 1908 to 1946. Stewart's son, also called William Downie Stewart, represented the electorate for the Reform Party from 1914 to 1935, when he was defeated by Labour's Gervan McMillan.

In 1984 the electorate was recreated again, until the introduction of MMP in 1996. Clive Matthewson represented the electorate from 1984 to 1996. He left the New Zealand Labour Party in 1995, and was one of the founders of the United New Zealand party.

Members of Parliament

Dunedin West was represented by seven Members of Parliament.

Key

  Independent     Liberal     Reform     Labour     United NZ  

Election	Winner
1881 election		Thomas Dick
1884 election		William Downie Stewart
1887 election
(Electorate abolished 1890–1908, see Dunedin)
1908 election		John A. Millar
1911 election
1914 election		William Downie Stewart, Jr.
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election
1931 election
1935 election		Gervan McMillan
1938 election
1943 election		Philip Connolly
(Electorate abolished 1946–1984)
1984 election		Clive Matthewson
1987 election
1990 election
1993 election
(Electorate abolished in 1996)

Election results

1931 election

General election, 1931: Dunedin West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform	William Downie Stewart, Jr.	5,016	51.73
	Labour	John Gilchrist	4,092	42.20
	Independent Liberal	J. McDonald	588	6.06
Majority			924	9.53
Informal votes			96	0.98
Turnout			9,792	84.92
Registered electors			11,531