Avon is a former 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...

 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...

.

Population centres

The electorate is in the eastern suburbs of Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

, New Zealand, based on the suburb of Avonside

Avonside

Avonside is an eastern suburb in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is one of the oldest suburbs of the city, with only Heathcote being older.-History:...

.

History

The electorate was created in 1861, and existed continuously until 1996, when with MMP

Mixed member proportional representation

Mixed-member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is a voting system originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and nowadays adopted by numerous legislatures around the world...

 it was absorbed into the new Christchurch East electorate.

The first representative was Alfred Richard Creyke

Alfred Richard Creyke

Alfred Richard Creyke JP was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand. He was a significant landholder in Canterbury...

. He was elected unopposed in the 1861 general election. He resigned from Parliament on 21 April 1862.

Creyke was succeeded by William Thomson

William Thomson (politician)

William Thomson was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Christchurch, New Zealand.He represented the Avon electorate from 1862 to 1866, when he retired.-References:...

, who served from 11 June 1862 (probably the date of the by-election

New Zealand by-elections

By-elections in New Zealand occur to fill vacant seats in the New Zealand Parliament. The death, resignation, or expulsion of a sitting electorate MP can cause a by-election...

) and took his oath on 30 July 1862. He retired on 27 January 1866.

Election results

Name	Party	Elected	Left Office	Reason
Alfred Richard Creyke Alfred Richard Creyke Alfred Richard Creyke JP was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand. He was a significant landholder in Canterbury...	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... 1861	1862	resigned
William Thomson William Thomson (politician) William Thomson was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Christchurch, New Zealand.He represented the Avon electorate from 1862 to 1866, when he retired.-References:...	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...	1862 by-election	1866	retired
Crosbie Ward Crosbie Ward Crosbie Ward was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand. He was born in County Down, Ireland.He represented the Town of Lyttelton electorate from 1858 to 1866. He was a cabinet minister, Postmaster-General and Secretary for Crown Lands. He then represented the Avon...	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...	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....	1867	resigned
William Reeves William Reeves (journalist) William Reeves was a New Zealand 19th century journalist and politician. He was the father of the author and politician the Hon. William Pember Reeves....	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...	1867 by-election	1868	resigned
William Rolleston William Rolleston William Rolleston was a New Zealand politician, public administrator, educationalist and Canterbury provincial superintendent.-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...	1868 by-election, 1871, 1875-76, 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... , 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...	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:...	contested Geraldine Geraldine (New Zealand electorate) Geraldine was a former parliamentary electorate in the South Canterbury region of New Zealand that existed three times from 1875 to 1911. It was represented by six Members of Parliament.-History:...
Leonard Harper Leonard Harper Leonard Harper was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand.He represented the Cheviot electorate from 1876 to 1878, when he resigned. He then represented the Avon electorate from 1884 to 1887, when he again resigned. He bought Ilam homestead, once the largest residential...	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...	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:...	May 1887	resigned
Edwin Blake Edwin Blake Edwin Blake was a 19th century Liberal Party Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand.Blake was a civil engineer and surveyor, and he was born in Hampstead, England. He represented the Avon electorate from the 1887 Avon by-election to 1893, when he retired.He died on 18 March 1914 and was...	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...	1887 by-election Avon by-election, 1887 The Avon by-election was held in 1887 to elect a member for the Avon electorate to the New Zealand House of Representatives, during the 9th session of Parliament. The election was held on 1 June 1887, 52 days before the next general election. Edwin Blake won the election against William Dunlop,... , 1887 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.... , 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...	1893 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...	retired
William Tanner William Tanner (New Zealand) William Wilcox Tanner was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. In 1905 he was associated with the New Liberal Party group.-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...	1893 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... , 1896 New Zealand general election, 1896 The New Zealand general election of 1896 was held on Wednesday, 4 December in the general electorates, and on Thursday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 13th session of the New Zealand Parliament... , 1899 New Zealand general election, 1899 The New Zealand general election of 1899 was held on Wednesday, 6 December in the general electorates, and on Tuesday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 14th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 373,744 voters turned out to... , 1902 New Zealand general election, 1902 The New Zealand general election of 1902 was held on Tuesday, 25 November in the general electorates, and on Monday, 22 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 15th session of the New Zealand Parliament...	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...	joined Liberal Party 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...
	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...	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...	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...	defeated
George Warren Russell	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...	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... , 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	defeated
Daniel Giles Sullivan Daniel Giles Sullivan Daniel Giles "Dan" Sullivan was a New Zealand Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister and Mayor of Christchurch.-Early years:...	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....	1919, 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... , 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... , 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... , 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... , 1946 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...	1947	died
John Mathison John Mathison John Mathison OBE was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was a cabinet minister from 1957 to 1960 in the Second Labour Government....	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 by-election, 1949 New Zealand general election, 1949 The 1949 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 29th term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the opposition National Party... , 1951 New Zealand general election, 1951 The 1951 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 30th term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, increasing its lead over the opposition Labour Party.-Background:... , 1954 New Zealand general election, 1954 The 1954 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 31st term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, but with a slightly reduced majority... , 1957 New Zealand general election, 1957 The 1957 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 32nd term. It saw the governing National Party narrowly defeated by the Labour Party... , 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:... , 1963 New Zealand general election, 1963 The 1963 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 34th term. The results were almost identical to those for the previous election, and the governing National Party remained in office.... , 1966 New Zealand general election, 1966 The 1966 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 35th term. It saw the governing National Party win a third consecutive term in office... , 1969 New Zealand general election, 1969 The 1969 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 36th term. It saw the governing National Party win a fourth consecutive term, under Prime Minister Keith Holyoake.-The Election:...	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:...	retired
Mary Batchelor Mary Batchelor Mary Dorothy Batchelor, QSO was a Labour Member of Parliament for the Avon electorate for 15 years from 1972 to 1987....	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....	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:... , 1975 New Zealand general election, 1975 The 1975 New Zealand general election was held to elect MPs to the 38th session of the New Zealand Parliament. It was the first election in New Zealand where 18-20 year olds and all permanent residents of New Zealand were eligible to vote, although only citizens were able to be... , 1978 New Zealand general election, 1978 The 1978 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to elect the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, retain office, although the opposition Labour Party managed to win the largest share of the vote... , 1981 New Zealand general election, 1981 The 1981 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 40th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, win a third term in office, although the opposition Labour Party, led by Bill Rowling, actually won the largest share of... , 1984 New Zealand general election, 1984 The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 41st New Zealand Parliament. It marked the beginning of the Fourth Labour Government, with David Lange's Labour Party defeating long-serving Prime Minister Robert Muldoon of the National Party. It was also the...	1987 New Zealand general election, 1987 The 1987 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 43rd sitting of the New Zealand Parliament. The governing New Zealand Labour Party, led by Prime Minister David Lange, was re-elected for a second term, although the Opposition National Party made gains...
Larry Sutherland Larry Sutherland Larry Walter Sutherland was a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1987 to 1999, representing the Labour Party. He was first elected to Parliament in the 1987 elections as MP for the Christchurch seat of Avon, replacing the retiring Mary Batchelor...	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....	1987 New Zealand general election, 1987 The 1987 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 43rd sitting of the New Zealand Parliament. The governing New Zealand Labour Party, led by Prime Minister David Lange, was re-elected for a second term, although the Opposition National Party made gains... , 1990 New Zealand general election, 1990 The 1990 New Zealand general election was held on 27 October to determine the composition of the 43rd New Zealand parliament. The governing Labour Party was defeated, ending its controversial two terms in office... , 1993 New Zealand general election, 1993 The 1993 New Zealand general election was held on 6 November 1993 to determine the composition of the 44th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Jim Bolger, win a second term in office, despite a major swing back towards the Labour Party. The new Alliance and New...	1996 New Zealand general election, 1996 The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...	seat abolished with introduction of MMP Mixed member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is a voting system originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and nowadays adopted by numerous legislatures around the world... ; contested Christchurch East Christchurch East Christchurch East is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate. It is currently held by Lianne Dalziel of the Labour Party.-History:The electorate was first created, as Christchurch City East, for the... instead