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1901 Wellington City Council election

1901 Wellington City Council election
← 1899 24 April 1901 1902 →
Turnout8,533 (82.24%)
 
Candidate John Aitken Thomas Wilford
Party Independent[a] Independent Liberal
Popular vote 5,801 2,732
Percentage 67.98 32.02
Mayor before election

John Aitken

 Elected mayor

John Aitken

Council election
All 12 at-large seats on the Wellington City Council
Affiliation Seats ±
  Ratepayers / Progressive 6
  Progressive 3
  Ratepayers 2
  Ind. Labour / Progressive 1

The 1901 Wellington City Council election was a local election held on 24 April in Wellington, New Zealand as part of that year's nation-wide local elections. Voters elected the mayor of Wellington for a one-year term and 15 city councillors for a two-year term. In person voting and the first-past-the-post voting system were used.

Background

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Electoral reforms were implemented in 1901, which extended the municipal term for councillors to biennial terms and saw the abolition of the ward system, implementing the process of electing councillors at large instead.[1]

Candidates

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Wellington Ratepayers' Association

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The Wellington Ratepayers' Associations endorsed 12 candidates, including William Henry Peter Barber, Frederick Bolton, Paul Coffey, Robert Davenport, James Devine, James Godber, John Luke, Matthew Murdoch, David Nathan, Allan Orr, John Smith Jr., and George Winder.[2]

Municipal Progressive Association

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The Municipal Progressive Association endorsed the incumbent mayor John Aitken for re-election, as well as 12 candidates for council. These included William Henry Peter Barber, William Evans, James Godber, Alfred Hindmarsh, Charles Hayward Izard, John Luke, Matthew Murdoch, Robert McKenzie, David McLaren, Robert Tolhurst, John Smith Jr., and George Winder.[3]

Independent Labour

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Candidates with connections to the organised labour and trade union movement included David McLaren, Robert McKenzie, Allan Orr, Paul Coffey, Edmond Carrigan, and Alfred Hindmarsh.[3][4]

Results

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The results of the election were:[5][2][3][4]

Affiliation Candidate Votes %
Ratepayers David Nathan 5,847 68.52
Ratepayers / Progressive John Luke 5,316 62.30
Ratepayers / Progressive William Henry Peter Barber 5,170 60.59
Progressive William Evans 5,074 59.46
Ratepayers / Progressive George Winder 5,056 59.25
Ratepayers / Progressive Matthew Murdoch 4,424 51.85
Ratepayers / Progressive John Smith Jr. 4,315 50.57
Ratepayers James Devine 4,127 48.37
Progressive Charles Hayward Izard 3,908 45.80
Ratepayers / Progressive James Godber 3,744 43.88
Progressive Robert Tolhurst 3,640 42.66
Independent Labour / Progressive David McLaren 3,210 37.62
Independent Labour / Progressive Robert McKenzie 3,035 35.57
Independent Frederic Townsend 2,955 34.63
Independent George Anderson 2,755 32.29
Ratepayers / Independent Labour Allan Orr 2,699 31.63
Ratepayers / Independent Labour Paul Coffey 2,491 29.19
Ratepayers Robert Davenport 2,236 26.20
Ratepayers Frederick Bolton 2,189 25.65
Independent Henry Fielder 2,084 24.42
Independent Labour Edmond Carrigan 2,033 23.83
Independent Labour / Progressive Alfred Hindmarsh 2,028 23.77
Independent Alexander Rand 1,464 17.16
Independent Alexander Wilson 1,299 15.22
Informal
Turnout[6] 8,533
Registered[7] 10,376

Notes

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  1. ^ Endorsed by the Municipal Progressive Association

References

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  1. ^ "Municipal Corporations Act 1900". New Zealand Parliament. 1900. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b "City Council Election". The Evening Post. Vol. LXI, no. 94. 23 April 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Municipal Elections". New Zealand Times. Vol. 71, no. 4333. 17 April 1901. p. 7.
  4. ^ a b "The Municipal Elections". New Zealand Times. Vol. 71, no. 4321. 2 April 1901. p. 5.
  5. ^ "Wellington City Council". The Free Lance. Vol. I, no. 43. 27 April 1901. p. 11. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  6. ^ "The City Elections". Evening Post. Vol. 61, no. 96. 25 April 1901. p. 4.
  7. ^ "The Trades Council and the Mayoralty". Evening Post. Vol. 61, no. 84. 11 April 1901. p. 5.