Westland was a parliamentary 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...

 in the West Coast of New Zealand from 1866 to 1868 and 1890 to 1972. In 1972 the Tasman

Tasman (New Zealand electorate)

Tasman is a former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, from 1972 to 1996.-History:The Tasman and West Coast electorates replaced the former Buller and Westland electorates in 1972....

 and West Coast

West Coast (New Zealand electorate)

West Coast is a former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, from 1972 to 1996.-History:The West Coast and Tasman electorates replaced the former Buller and Westland electorates in 1972....

 electorates replaced the former Buller

Buller (New Zealand electorate)

Buller is a former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, from 1871 to 1972.-History:Early members for Buller were:*Eugene O'Conor from 1871 to 1875 and again from 1884 to 1893 *Joseph Henry from 1876 to 1879...

 and Westland electorates.

History

The electorate was formed for the 4th New Zealand Parliament

4th New Zealand Parliament

The 4th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand.Elections for this term were held in 61 electorates between 12 February and 6 April 1866 to elect 70 MPs. Parliament was prorogued in late 1870. During the term of this Parliament, two Ministries were in power...

 in 1866. William Sefton Moorhouse

William Sefton Moorhouse

William Sefton Moorhouse was a New Zealand politician. He was the second Superintendent of Canterbury Province.-Early life:...

 stood in the electorate and was returned 16 March 1866 in favour of W. Shaw.

The general election was held on 22 February 1866 in the Mount Herbert electorate

Mount Herbert (New Zealand electorate)

Mount Herbert was a former parliamentary electorate in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand, from 1866 to 1870.-History:The electorate was formed for the 4th New Zealand Parliament in 1866, replacing the Ellesmere electorate. The general election was held on 22 February 1866...

, in which Moorhouse was returned unopposed. Having been elected in two electorates, Moorhouse chose to represent Westland. Moorhouse resigned on 20 February 1868.

Joseph Grimmond

Joseph Grimmond

Joseph Grimmond was a 19th century Member of Parliament from the West Coast, New Zealand.He represented the Hokitika electorate from 1887 to 1890, when he was defeated for Westland....

, who had since 1887 represented the Hokitika electorate

Hokitika (New Zealand electorate)

Hokitika is a former parliamentary electorate in the West Coast region of New Zealand, based on the town of Hokitika. It existed from 1871 to 1890 and was represented by nine Members of Parliament. For a time, it was one of the two-member electorates in New Zealand.-History:The Hokitika electorate...

, contested the Westland electorate 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...

 against Richard Seddon

Richard Seddon

Richard John Seddon , sometimes known as King Dick, is to date the longest serving Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is regarded by some, including historian Keith Sinclair, as one of New Zealand's greatest political leaders....

, with Seddon being successful.

Members of Parliament for Westland

The electorate was represented by seven Members of Parliament:

1866 to 1868

Election	Winner
1866 election 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....		William Sefton Moorhouse William Sefton Moorhouse William Sefton Moorhouse was a New Zealand politician. He was the second Superintendent of Canterbury Province.-Early life:...  (Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... )

1890 to 1972

Name	Elected	Left Office	Reason
Richard Seddon Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon , sometimes known as King Dick, is to date the longest serving Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is regarded by some, including historian Keith Sinclair, as one of New Zealand's greatest political leaders....  (Liberal 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... )	1890 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...	1906	died
Thomas Seddon Thomas Seddon (New Zealand) Thomas Edward Youd "Tom" Seddon was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. He inherited the seat of Westland on the sudden death of his father Richard John Seddon in 1906, and held it to 1922, when he was defeated...  (Liberal 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... )	1906	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...	defeated
James O'Brien James O'Brien (New Zealand) James O’Brien was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.He represented the Westland seat in Parliament from 1922, when he defeated Tom Seddon...  (Labour 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.... )	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...	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...	defeated
Thomas Seddon Thomas Seddon (New Zealand) Thomas Edward Youd "Tom" Seddon was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. He inherited the seat of Westland on the sudden death of his father Richard John Seddon in 1906, and held it to 1922, when he was defeated...  (Liberal 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... )	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...	defeated
James O'Brien James O'Brien (New Zealand) James O’Brien was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.He represented the Westland seat in Parliament from 1922, when he defeated Tom Seddon...  (Labour 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.... )	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...	1947	died
James Begg Kent James Begg Kent James Begg Kent was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.He represented the West Coast electorate of Westland from 1947 to 1960, when he retired.-References:*New Zealand Parliamentary Record 1840-1984 by J. O...  (Labour 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.... )	1947	1960 New Zealand general election, 1960 The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.-Background:...	retired
Paddy Blanchfield Paddy Blanchfield Patrick Blanchfield MBE was a Labour Member of the Parliament of New Zealand for Westland and the West Coast.-Member of Parliament:...  (Labour 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.... )	1960 New Zealand general election, 1960 The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.-Background:...	1972 New Zealand general election, 1972 The New Zealand general election of 1972 was held to elect MPs to the 37th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Labour Party, led by Norman Kirk, defeated the governing National Party.-Background:...	electorate abolished, elected for West Coast West Coast (New Zealand electorate) West Coast is a former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, from 1972 to 1996.-History:The West Coast and Tasman electorates replaced the former Buller and Westland electorates in 1972....