Pencarrow is a former Parliamentary electorate in the lower Hutt Valley of New Zealand, from 1978 to 1996.
The 1977 electoral redistribution was the most overtly political since the Representation Commission had been established through an amendment to the Representation Act in 1886, initiated by Muldoon's National Government. As part of the 1976 census, a large number of people failed to fill out an electoral re-registration card, and census staff had not been given the authority to insist on the card being completed. This had little practical effect for people on the general roll, but it transferred Māori to the general roll if the card was not handed in. Together with a northward shift of New Zealand's population, this resulted in five new electorates having to be created in the upper part of the North Island. The electoral redistribution was very disruptive, and 22 electorates were abolished, while 27 electorates were newly created (including Pencarrow) or re-established. These changes came into effect for the .
The electorate is based on the southern part of the city of Lower Hutt.
Pencarrow existed from 1978, replacing the Petone electorate. In the 1978 election, the electorate was won by Fraser Colman, who had been MP for Petone since the . Colman retired in and was succeeded by Sonja Davies. After her retirement in, she was succeeded by Trevor Mallard. When the Pencarrow electorate was abolished in 1996, Mallard transferred to the electorate.[1]
Key
| width=100 | Election | width=175 colspan=2 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fraser Colman | |||
| Sonja Davies | |||
| Trevor Mallard | |||
| (Electorate abolished in 1996; see) |