18th New Zealand Parliament

The 18th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1911 general election in December of that year.

18th Parliament of New Zealand
← 17th Parliament 19th Parliament →
Overview
Legislative body	New Zealand Parliament
Term	15 February 1912 – 5 November 1914
Election	1911 New Zealand general election
Government	Reform Government — Liberal Government until 10 July 1912
House of Representatives
Members	80
Speaker of the House	Frederic Lang — Arthur Guinness until 10 June 1913†
Prime Minister	William Massey — Thomas Mackenzie until 10 July 1912 Joseph Ward until 12 March 1912
Leader of the Opposition	Joseph Ward from 11 September 1913 — William Massey until 10 July 1912
Legislative Council
Members	37 (at start) 39 (at end)
Speaker of the Council	Charles Bowen
Sovereign
Monarch	HM George V
Governor	HE Rt. Hon. The Earl of Liverpool

1911 general election

The Second Ballot Act 1908 was used for the 1911 general election. The first ballot was held on Thursday, 7 December in the general electorates. The second ballots were held one week later on 14 December. The Second Ballot Act did not apply to the four Māori electorates and the election was held on Tuesday, 19 December.[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 42 represented North Island electorates, 34 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates.[2] 590,042 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 83.5%.[1]

Sessions

The 18th Parliament sat for four sessions (there were two sessions in 1912), and was prorogued on 20 November 1914.[3]

Session	Opened	Adjourned
first	15 February 1912	1 March 1912
second	27 June 1912	7 November 1912
third	26 June 1913	16 December 1913
fourth	25 June 1914	5 November 1914

Party standings

Start of Parliament

Party		Leader(s)	Seats at start
	Reform Party	William Massey	37
	Liberal Party	Joseph Ward	33
	Labour Party	Alfred Hindmarsh	4
	Independents		6

End of Parliament

Party		Leader(s)	Seats at end
	Reform Party	William Massey	38
	Liberal Party	Joseph Ward	31
	United Labour Party	Alfred Hindmarsh	3
	Social Democrat Party	James McCombs	2
	Independents		6

Ministries

The Liberal Government of New Zealand had taken office on 24 January 1891.[4] Joseph Ward formed the Ward Ministry on 6 August 1906.[5][6] The Ward Ministry remained in power until Ward's resignation as Prime Minister in March 1912.[7][5] The Liberal Party remained in power only on the casting vote of the Speaker, Arthur Guinness, selected Thomas Mackenzie as Prime Minister and he formed the Mackenzie Ministry on 28 March 1912.[7][8] In July 1912, Mackenzie lost a vote of no confidence, resigned as Prime Minister and handed over to William Massey of the Reform Party, bringing to an end the long reign of the Liberal Party.[9] The Massey Ministry lasted for the remainder of the parliamentary term.[10]

Initial composition of the 18th Parliament

The following are the results of the 1911 general election:

Key

Reform	Liberal	Labour	Independent Liberal	Independent Labour
Socialist	Liberal–Labour	Independent	Affiliation unknown

Electorate results for the 1911 New Zealand general election[11]

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates[nb 1]
Ashburton		William Nosworthy			913†		John Kennedy
Auckland Central		Albert Glover			2,261		Michael Joseph Savage
Auckland East		Arthur Myers			1,993		Arthur Withy
Auckland West		Charles Poole		James Bradney	1,577		Charles Poole
Avon		George Warren Russell			271†		James McCombs
Awarua		Joseph Ward			628		John Hamilton
Bay of Islands		Vernon Reed			183		George Wilkinson[12]
Bay of Plenty		William MacDonald			535		Harry De Lautour
Bruce		James Allen			675		Parker McKinlay
Buller		James Colvin			150		Fergus Ferguson Munro
Chalmers		Edward Henry Clark			326†		John Thomas Johnson
Christchurch East		Thomas Davey			1181†		Henry Thacker
Christchurch North		Leonard Isitt			749†		John Hall
Christchurch South		Harry Ell			631		Gains Whiting
Clutha		Alexander Malcolm			375		George Livingstone[13]
Dunedin Central		James Arnold		Charles Statham	1544		James Arnold
Dunedin North		George Thomson			759†		Robert Douglas
Dunedin South		Thomas Sidey			745		John McManus
Dunedin West		John A. Millar			639†		Harry Bedford
Eden		John Bollard			663		William Speight
Egmont		Bradshaw Dive		Thomas Mackenzie	327		Bradshaw Dive
Ellesmere		Heaton Rhodes			1581		George Armstrong
Franklin		William Massey			1963		John McLarin[14]
Gisborne		James Carroll			Uncontested
Grey		Arthur Guinness			1138		Paddy Webb
Grey Lynn		George Fowlds		John Payne	38†		George Fowlds
Hawke's Bay		Alfred Dillon		Hugh Campbell	1107†		Horace Simson
Hurunui		George Forbes			939		David Macfarlane
Hutt		Thomas Wilford			1931		Michael Reardon
Invercargill		Josiah Hanan			667†		Thomas Fleming
Kaiapoi		David Buddo			209†		Richard Moore
Kaipara		John Stallworthy		Gordon Coates	572†		John Stallworthy
Lyttelton		George Laurenson			2079		Colin Cook
Manukau		Frederic Lang			2307		Ralph Stewart
Marsden		Francis Mander			544		Edmund Purdie
Masterton		Alexander Hogg		George Sykes	581†		Alexander Hogg
Mataura		George Anderson			857		John MacGibbon
Motueka		Roderick McKenzie			1104		Frederick Smith
Napier		Vigor Brown			1064		Henry Hill[15]
Nelson		John Graham		Harry Atmore	1516†		Walter Moffatt
Oamaru		Thomas Young Duncan		Ernest Lee	1364		Thomas Young Duncan
Ohinemuri		Hugh Poland			1207†		Pat Hickey
Oroua		David Guthrie			1092		Robert Hornblow
Otago Central	New electorate			Robert Scott	1810		William Mason
Otaki		William Hughes Field		John Robertson	21†		William Hughes Field
Pahiatua		Robert Ross		James Escott	573†		Robert Ross
Palmerston		David Buick			832		Robert McNab
Parnell		Frank Lawry		James Samuel Dickson	438†		John Findlay
Patea		George Pearce			960		Patrick O'Dea
Raglan	New electorate			Richard Bollard	919†		Allen Bell
Rangitikei		Robert William Smith		Edward Newman	1028		William Meldrum
Riccarton		George Witty			1373†		Charles Ensor
Selwyn		Charles Hardy		William Dickie	271		Charles Hardy
Stratford		John Hine			730		Joseph McCluggage
Taranaki		Henry Okey			754		Charles Bellringer
Taumarunui		William Thomas Jennings		Charles Wilson	125		William Thomas Jennings
Tauranga		William Herries			1941		Robert King
Temuka	New electorate			Thomas Buxton	1372		William Jeffries
Thames		Edmund Taylor		Thomas William Rhodes	66		Edmund Taylor
Timaru		James Craigie			1226		Joseph Moore
Waikato		Henry Greenslade		Alexander Young	1128		Henry Greenslade
Waimarino	New electorate			Robert William Smith	480†		Frank Hockly
Waipawa		Charles Hall		George Hunter	569		Albert Jull
Wairarapa		Walter Clarke Buchanan			125		J. T. Marryat Hornsby
Wairau		John Duncan		Richard McCallum	142†		John Duncan
Waitaki		William Steward		Francis Henry Smith	84†		John Macpherson
Waitemata		Leonard Phillips		James Samuel Dickson	407†		William Joseph Napier
Wakatipu		William Fraser			91		James Horn
Wallace		John Charles Thomson			1962		Alan Carmichael
Wanganui		James Thomas Hogan		Bill Veitch	1156†		James Thomas Hogan
Wellington East		David McLaren		Alfred Newman	65†		David McLaren
Wellington Central		Francis Fisher			131†		Robert Fletcher
Wellington North		Alexander Herdman			1807		Arnold Woolford Izard
Wellington South		Robert Wright		Alfred Hindmarsh	254†		Robert Wright
Wellington Suburbs and Country		John Luke		William Henry Dillon Bell	399		Frank Moore
Westland		Tom Seddon			271		Henry Michel
Māori electorates[nb 2]
Eastern Maori		Āpirana Ngata			Uncontested
Northern Maori		Te Rangi Hīroa			405		Riapo Timoti Puhipi
Southern Maori		Tame Parata		Taare Parata	31		Hopere Uru
Western Maori		Henare Kaihau		Māui Pōmare	565		Henare Kaihau

Table footnotes:

1. † in Majority column depicts electorates in which a second ballot was held.
2. The affiliation of many of the Maori candidates is unknown or uncertain; note that the Second Ballot Act 1908 did not apply to Maori constituencies.

By-elections during 18th Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 18th Parliament.

Electorate and by-election		Date	Incumbent		Cause	Winner
Egmont	1912	17 September		Thomas Mackenzie	Resignation		Charles Wilkinson
Grey	1913[16]	17 & 24 July		Arthur Guinness	Death		Paddy Webb
Lyttelton	1913[17]	9 & 16 December		George Laurenson	Death		James McCombs

Name	Year	Seat	From		To
Alfred Hindmarsh	1912	Wellington South		Labour		United Labour
John Payne		Grey Lynn				Independent Labour
Bill Veitch		Wanganui		Independent Labour		United Labour

Notes

1. "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
2. Scholefield 1950, p. 90.
3. Scholefield 1950, p. 69.
4. Scholefield 1950, p. 40.
5. Scholefield 1950, pp. 42–43.
6. Hall-Jones, John. "Hall-Jones, William 1851–1936". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
7. Bassett, Michael. "Ward, Joseph George 1856–1930". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
8. Scholefield 1950, p. 43.
9. Brooking, Tom. "Mackenzie, Thomas Noble 1853–1930". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
10. Scholefield 1950, pp. 43–44.
11. "The General Election, 1911". National Library. 1912. pp. 1–14. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
12. "Political Gossip". The Marlborough Express. C (266). 16 November 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
13. "Clutha". Otago Witness (3008). 8 November 1911. p. 37. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
14. "Electoral district of Franklin: nominations". Auckland Star. XLII (290). 6 December 1911. p. 16. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
15. Matthews, Kay Morris. "Henry Hill". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
16. "Declaration of Result of Poll and Notification of Second Ballot". Grey River Argus. 24 July 1913. p. 1. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
17. "Mr McCombs Returned". Northern Advocate. 17 December 1913. p. 4. Retrieved 13 August 2011.

References

• Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.