Kaiapoi was a rural New Zealand electorate, north of Christchurch in the Canterbury region of New Zealand from 1861 to 1946. It was represented by twelve Members of Parliament.
The electorate was centred on the town of Kaiapoi to the north of Christchurch. In the, polling booths were in Kaiapoi, Clarkville, Rangiora and Woodend.[1]
The electorate dates from 1861. Isaac Cookson was the first representative after winning the 1861. Cookson had previously represented the Christchurch Country electorate, which was abolished at the end of the term of the 2nd Parliament in 1960. Cookson resigned in 1863, and the resulting was won by Robert Wilkin. Wilkin retired at the end of the parliamentary term and was succeeded by Joseph Beswick, who won the, but resigned the following year.
The resulting was won by John Studholme, who was confirmed at the [2] but resigned in 1874. He was succeeded by Charles Bowen in the . Bowen was confirmed in the 1875 and s. Bowen retired at the 1881 election.
Isaac Wilson was elected in 1881,[3] but resigned before the end of the term due to failing health.[4] Edward Richardson stood in the 16 May . He was returned unopposed.[5] Richardson won the and s,[6] and he retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1890.[7] In the 1887 election, his opponent was Richard Moore.
Moore was the successful candidate in the .[8] A conservative, he was defeated by David Buddo of the Liberal Party in the . Moore in turn defeated Buddo in the . In the, Buddo defeated Moore again. This time, Buddo held the electorate until he was defeated in the by David Jones. At the next election in, Buddo defeated Jones. From 1925, his Liberal Party called itself 'National Party' for two years. Buddo retired in 1928.
Buddo was succeeded by Richard Hawke from the United Party in the . He was re-elected in, but lost the against Labour's Morgan Williams. Williams held the electorate until it was abolished in 1946. Williams contested the in the, but was defeated.
Key
| width=100 | Election | width=175 colspan=2 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1861 election | Isaac Cookson | ||
| Robert Wilkin | |||
| Joseph Beswick | |||
| John Studholme | |||
| Charles Bowen | |||
| 1875 election | |||
| Isaac Wilson | |||
| Edward Richardson | |||
| Richard Moore | |||
| David Buddo | |||
| Richard Moore | |||
| David Buddo | |||
| David Jones | |||
| David Buddo | |||
| Richard Hawke | |||
| Morgan Williams | |||
| (Electorate abolished 1946) |
Table footnotes: