The 1872 Caversham by-election was a by-election held on 28 August 1872 in the electorate in the Otago region of New Zealand during the 5th New Zealand Parliament.
The by-election was caused by the resignation of the incumbent Richard Cantrell, on 31 July 1872.[1]
The by-election was won by William Tolmie. His opponent William Cutten had also stood in the 1870 Caversham by-election. James Crowe Richmond was nominated but withdrew before the election; he received one vote.[2]
There were five polling booths. Tolmie won at four of them, and Cutten had a majority at the Andersons Bay booth.
| Tolmie | Cutten | Richmond | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caversham | 85 | 66 | 1 | |
| Green Island | 45 | 28 | 0 | |
| Andersons Bay | 36 | 51 | 0 | |
| North Harbour | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| Portobello | 39 | 7 | 0 | |
| 217 | 152 | 1 |