John Kerr was a 19th century Member of Parliament from Nelson

Nelson, New Zealand

Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Following the resignation from Parliament of Joseph Shephard

Joseph Shephard

Joseph Shephard was a 19th century Member of Parliament from Nelson, New Zealand.He unsuccessfully contested the Waimea electorate in the 1867 by-election....

, who had been appointed to the Legislative Council, a Waimea by-election was held on 3 June 1885. It was contested by six candidates: Kerr (253 votes), W. N. Franklyn (250 votes), William White (94 votes), Christian Dencker (91 votes), W. Wastney (59 votes) and Jesse Piper

Jesse Piper

Jesse Piper was a Nelson City Councillor and Mayor.- Early life:Piper was born in 1836 at Hastings, Sussex, England. He went to sea as a youth. On the outbreak of the Crimean War joined the storeship HMS Apollo and sailed to Malta...

 (32 votes). Kerr was thus elected.

Kerr represented the Waimea

Waimea (New Zealand electorate)

Waimea was a parliamentary electorate in the Nelson Province of New Zealand, from 1853 to 1887.-Geographic coverage:Waimea was located in the northern part of the South Island, facing the Tasman Bay. It is the area around the town of Nelson, but excluded Nelson itself. It includes Wakefield,...

 electorate until 1887, and then the Motueka

Motueka (New Zealand electorate)

Motueka is a former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate. The electorate of Motueka and Massacre Bay, created for the New Zealand general election, 1853, was succeeded by the electorate of Motueka in the 1860-1861 election, and lasted until 1890...

 electorate from 1887 to 1890. In the 1890 general election

New Zealand general election, 1890

The New Zealand general election of 1890 was one of New Zealand's most significant. It marked the beginning of party politics in New Zealand with the formation of the First Liberal government, which was to enact major welfare, labour and electoral reforms, including giving the vote to women.It was...

, he contested the Nelson electorate

Nelson (New Zealand electorate)

Nelson is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. From 1853 to 1860, the electorate was called Town of Nelson. From 1860 to 1881, it was City of Nelson...

 and was narrowly defeated by Joseph Harkness

Joseph Harkness

Joseph George Harkness JP was a 19th century independent conservative Member of Parliament from Nelson, New Zealand.Harkness, the son of William Harkness, was born and educated at Nelson, attending Richmond School and Nelson College . He became a school teacher for a time.Harkness dairy farmed in...

. The 1893 general election

New Zealand general election, 1893

The New Zealand general election of 1893 was held on Tuesday, 28 November in the general electorates, and on Wednesday, 20 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 12th session of the New Zealand Parliament...

 was contested by four candidates in Nelson: John Graham

John Graham (politician)

John Graham was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Nelson in the South Island.-Early life:Graham was born in Nelson in 1843, the eldest son of one of the earliest settlers of the region.-Member of Parliament:...

 (1289 votes – elected), Richmond Hursthouse

Richmond Hursthouse

Richmond Hursthouse was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Nelson, New Zealand, and a cabinet minister.He represented the Motueka electorate from 1876 to 1887 when he was defeated....

 (1011 votes), Kerr (910 votes) and William Lock

William Lock

William Lock was Mayor of Nelson from 1913 to 1915 and again from 1921 to 1927. Lock was an auctioneer, and a grain and produce merchant for 40 years. During his term as Mayor, HMS New Zealand visited Nelson in 1913...

(74 votes).