King Country (New Zealand electorate)

King Country was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It existed from 1972 to 1996 and was represented by Jim Bolger of the National Party for those 24 years.

Population centres

Since the 1969 election, the number of electorates in the South Island was fixed at 25, with continued faster population growth in the North Island leading to an increase in the number of general electorates. There were 84 electorates for the 1969 election,^[1] and the 1972 electoral redistribution saw three additional general seats created for the North Island, bringing the total number of electorates to 87.^[2] Together with increased urbanisation in Christchurch and Nelson, the changes proved very disruptive to existing electorates. ^[2] In the South Island, three electorates were abolished, and three electorates were newly created.^[3] In the North Island, five electorates were abolished, two electorates were recreated, and six electorates were newly created (including King Country).^[4]

The King Country electorate was formed from area that previously belonged to the Waimarino and Waitomo electorates, which were both abolished.^[5] The King Country electorate covered a largely rural area with a dispersed population. It has no cities. The largest towns are Ōtorohanga and Te Kūiti.

History

The previous representative of the Waimarino electorate was Roy Jack who transferred to the enlarged Rangitikei electorate in 1972.^[6] David Seath had held the Waitomo electorate since 1954 and he retired in 1972.^[7] This gave Jim Bolger the opportunity to stand in the new King Country electorate when it was formed in 1972, and the area being a traditional stronghold for National, he won the election with ease.^[8] Bolger became Prime Minister in 1990 while representing the King Country electorate.^[9]

The electorate combined with the adjacent rural electorate of Taranaki in 1996 to form the Taranaki-King Country electorate for MMP.

Election results

Key

  National

Election	Winner
1972 election		Jim Bolger
1975 election
1978 election
1981 election
1984 election
1987 election
1990 election
1993 election
(Electorate abolished in 1996; see Taranaki-King Country)

1993 election

1993 general election: King Country^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Jim Bolger	8,396	51.8	−12.6
	Labour	Murray Simpson	3,890	24.0
	Alliance	Ian Herbert	3,518	21.7
	Christian Heritage	Mark Anthony Jones	539	3.3
	McGillicuddy Serious	Anand Hasyo	220	1.3
	Natural Law	Euan Frederick Williams	115	0.7
Majority			4,506	27.8	−17.2
Turnout			16,678

1990 election

1990 general election: King Country^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Jim Bolger	10,406	64.4	+0.2
	Labour	Cameron Gordon	3,132	19.4
	Green	Laurence Cadman	1,368	8.4
	NewLabour	Dion Martin	497	3.0
	Social Credit	Mervyn Williamson	496	3.0
	McGillicuddy Serious	Craig Louis Simmons	107	0.6
	Democrats	Steven Wilton	77	0.4
	Imperial British Conservative	Kate McDonald	53
Majority			7,274	45.0	+10.1
Turnout			16,136

1987 election

1987 general election: King Country^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Jim Bolger	10,942	64.2	+9.1
	Labour	Leo Menefy	4,988	29.3
	Democrats	Wayne Campbell Robert Morris	1,115	6.5
Majority			5,954	34.9	+4.1
Turnout			20,143	86.4	−4.6

1984 election

1984 general election: King Country^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Jim Bolger	10,040	55.1	+6.0
	Labour	James Edward Simons	4,423	24.3
	Social Credit	Derek Mason	2,027	11.1	−24.6
	NZ Party	Graham Short	1,580	8.7
	Values	Peter Winter	139	0.8
Majority			5,617	30.8	+17.4
Turnout			20,477	91.0	+5.0

1981 election

1981 general election: King Country^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Jim Bolger	7,937	49.1	+4.5
	Social Credit	Derek Mason	5,779	35.7	+9.2
	Labour	Pai Tahere	2,460	15.2
Majority			2,158	13.4	−4.7
Turnout			18,878	86.0	+21.5

1978 election

1978 general election: King Country^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Jim Bolger	6,804	44.6	−11.5
	Labour	Leo Menefy	4,034	26.5
	Social Credit	Derek Mason	3,997	26.2	+15.4
	Values	R Azariah	409	2.7
Majority			2,770	18.1	−8.2
Turnout			23,726	64.5	−15.8

1975 election

1975 general election: King Country^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Jim Bolger	9,180	56.1	+8.1
	Labour	Thomas David Varnham	4,864	29.8
	Social Credit	Derek Mason	1,759	10.8	+1.7
	Values	Richard Louis Osborn	546	3.3
Majority			4,316	26.3	+17.9
Turnout			20,440	80.3	−7.2

1972 election

1972 general election: King Country^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Jim Bolger	7,107	48.0
	Labour	Brent Clifton Sakey	5,867	39.6
	Social Credit	Derek Mason	1,351	9.1
	Liberal Reform	Saxby John Telfer	191	1.3
	Independent	Richard Alan Soundy	185	1.3
	New Democratic	John William Norman	111	0.7
Majority			1,240	8.4
Turnout			17,014	87.5