Auckland East was a New Zealand electorate

New Zealand electorates

An electorate is a voting district for elections to the Parliament of New Zealand. In informal discussion, electorates are often called seats. The most formal description, electoral district, is rarely seen outside of electoral legislation. Before 1996, all Members of Parliament were directly...

, situated in the east of Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

.

History

The Auckland East electorate was established for the 1860-1861 elections, when the Auckland electorate was split in half. It consisted of most of modern Auckland's central business district. Its boundaries remained largely static until 1875-1876 elections, when the focus of the electorate shifted eastwards, making room for Auckland North electorate. It was abolished in the 1887 elections

New Zealand general election, 1887

The New Zealand general election of 1887 was held on 26 September to elect 95 MPs to the tenth session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 7 September. 175,410 votes were cast....

, with most of its territory being absorbed by the neighbouring Parnell electorate

Parnell (New Zealand electorate)

Parnell was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Auckland, New Zealand, from 1861 to 1954.The electorate was represented by ten Members of Parliament:* Reader Wood 1861–65 & 1870–78* Robert James Creighton 1865–66* Frederick Whitaker 1866–67...

.

At the 1905 elections

New Zealand general election, 1905

The New Zealand general election of 1905 was held on Wednesday, 6 December in the general electorates, and on Wednesday, 20 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 16th session of the New Zealand Parliament...

, a new electorate of the same name was created, again by abolishing a multi-member seat called City of Auckland. The boundaries of the new Auckland East were similar to those of the original, although its borders often shifted. By the 1938 elections

New Zealand general election, 1938

The 1938 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 26th term. It resulted in the governing Labour Party being re-elected, although the newly-founded National Party gained a certain amount of ground.-Background:The Labour Party had won...

, it had lost most of the central business district, and was more focused on Parnell

Parnell, New Zealand

Parnell is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is often billed as Auckland's "oldest suburb" since it dates from the earliest days of the European settlement of Auckland in 1841...

, Newmarket

Newmarket, New Zealand

Newmarket is an Auckland suburb to the south-east of the central business district. With its high building density, especially of retail shops, it is considered New Zealand's premier retailing area, and a rival of local competitor Auckland CBD...

, and Grafton

Grafton, New Zealand

Grafton is a suburb of Auckland City, New Zealand. The suburb is named for the Duke of Grafton, a patron of the first Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson, and was once known as 'Grafton Heights', denoting it's history as a well-off suburb in Auckland's earliest decades...

. It was abolished in the 1946 elections

New Zealand general election, 1946

The 1946 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 28th term. It saw the governing Labour Party re-elected, but by a substantially narrower margin than in the three previous elections...

, with most of its territory becoming part of a re-established Parnell electorate

Parnell (New Zealand electorate)

Parnell was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Auckland, New Zealand, from 1861 to 1954.The electorate was represented by ten Members of Parliament:* Reader Wood 1861–65 & 1870–78* Robert James Creighton 1865–66* Frederick Whitaker 1866–67...

.

The first seat called Auckland East existed before political parties. The second seat was initially held by the Liberals

New Zealand Liberal Party

The New Zealand Liberal Party is generally regarded as having been the first real political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. Out of office, the Liberals gradually found themselves pressed between the conservative Reform Party and the growing Labour Party...

, but later swung to the rising Labour Party

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

, with the United Party

United Party (New Zealand)

The United Party of New Zealand, a party formed out of the remnants of the Liberal Party, formed a government between 1928 and 1935, and in 1936 merged with the Reform Party to establish the National Party...

 (the Liberals' successor) capturing it only once after its initial loss. The seat also briefly belonged to the Reform Party

New Zealand Reform Party

The Reform Party, formally the New Zealand Political Reform League, was New Zealand's second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party...

, which captured it in a by-election but was unable to keep it.

Election results

Key

1860 to 1887
Election	Winner
1860–61		Thomas Russell Thomas Russell (New Zealand) Thomas Russell was a lawyer, politician, businessman and entrepreneur in 19th-century New Zealand. Russell was one of the first two New Zealand-trained lawyers admitted to the bar. He was the founder of a number of major New Zealand-based companies including the Bank of New Zealand and the New...
1866 New Zealand general election, 1866 The New Zealand general election of 1866 was held between 12 February and 6 April to elect 70 MPs to the fourth term of the New Zealand Parliament. 13,196 votes were cast....		Archibald Clark Archibald Clark (politician) Archibald Clark was a 19th century Member of Parliament in the Auckland Region, New Zealand. He was the first Mayor of Auckland in 1851. His company, Archibald Clark and Sons, manufactured clothing and was a wholesaler.-Early life:...
1871		Julius Vogel Julius Vogel Sir Julius Vogel, KCMG was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works...
1875–76		William Rees William Lee Rees William Lee Rees was an English-born New Zealand cricketer, politician and lawyer.-Early years:...
1879 New Zealand general election, 1879 The New Zealand general election of 1879 was held between 28 August and 15 September to elect a total of 88 MPs to the 7th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 1 and 8 September. A total number of 82,271 voters turned out to vote.The election came about when George...		William Speight William Speight William James Speight was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Auckland, New Zealand.He contested the Auckland East electorate in the 1879 general election against James Clark and with 371 to 363 votes obtained a narrow victory. He represented the electorate until the end of the parliamentary...
1881 New Zealand general election, 1881 The New Zealand general election of 1881 was held 9 December to elect a total of 95 MPs to the 8th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 8 December...		Sir George Grey George Grey George Grey may refer to:*Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet , British politician*George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent *Sir George Grey , Governor of Cape Colony, South Australia and New Zealand...
1884 New Zealand general election, 1884 The New Zealand general election of 1884 was held on 22 July to elect a total of 95 MPs to the 9th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 21 July. A total number of 137,686 voters turned out to vote.-References:...
1905 to 1946
1905 New Zealand general election, 1905 The New Zealand general election of 1905 was held on Wednesday, 6 December in the general electorates, and on Wednesday, 20 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 16th session of the New Zealand Parliament...		Frederick Baume Frederick Baume Frederick Ehrenfried Baume was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party.From 1902 to 1905 he was one of the three Members of Parliament representing the multi-member City of Auckland electorate....
1908 New Zealand general election, 1908 The New Zealand general election of 1908 was held on Tuesday, 17 November, 24 November and 1 December in the general electorates, and on Wednesday, 2 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 17th session of the New Zealand Parliament...
1910 by-election		Arthur Myers Arthur Myers Sir Arthur Mielziner Myers was a New Zealand politician. He was Mayor of Auckland City from 1905 to 1909, Member of the House of Representatives from 1910 to 1921, and a Cabinet Minister...
1911 New Zealand general election, 1911 The New Zealand general election of 1911 was held on Thursday, 7 and 14 December in the general electorates, and on Tuesday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 18th session of the New Zealand Parliament...
1914 New Zealand general election, 1914 The New Zealand general election of 1914 was held on 10 December to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 19th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 616,043 voters were registered, of which 84.7% voters turned out to vote....
1919
1921 by-election		Clutha Mackenzie Clutha Mackenzie Sir Clutha Nantes Mackenzie was a Reform Party Member of Parliament.He won the Auckland East electorate in a 1921 by-election after the resignation of Arthur Myers; but was defeated in the next election in 1922 by John A...
1922 New Zealand general election, 1922 The New Zealand general election of 1922 was held on Monday, 6 December in the Māori electorates, and on Tuesday, 7 December in the general electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 21st session of the New Zealand Parliament...		John A. Lee John A. Lee John Alfred Alexander Lee DCM was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialists in New Zealand's political history.-Early life:...
1925 New Zealand general election, 1925 The New Zealand general election of 1925 was held 4 November to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 22nd session of the New Zealand Parliament...
1928 New Zealand general election, 1928 The New Zealand general election of 1928 was held on Tuesday, 13 November in the Māori electorates, and on Wednesday, 14 November in the general electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 23rd session of the New Zealand Parliament...		James Donald James Donald (New Zealand) James Bell Donald was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in Auckland, New Zealand. He was a cabinet minister from 1928 to 1931 in the United Government....
1931 New Zealand general election, 1931 The 1931 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 24th term. It resulted in the newly formed coalition between the United Party and the Reform Party remaining in office as the Liberal-Reform Government, although the opposition Labour...		Frederick Schramm Frederick Schramm Frederick William Schramm was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party He was the eleventh Speaker of the House of Representatives, from 1944 to 1946....
1935 New Zealand general election, 1935 The 1935 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 25th term. It resulted in the Labour Party's first electoral victory, with Michael Joseph Savage becoming the first Labour Prime Minister...
1938 New Zealand general election, 1938 The 1938 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 26th term. It resulted in the governing Labour Party being re-elected, although the newly-founded National Party gained a certain amount of ground.-Background:The Labour Party had won...
1943 New Zealand general election, 1943 The 1943 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 27th term. With the onset of World War II, elections were initially postponed, but it was eventually decided to hold a general election in September 1943, around two years after it...