King Country (New Zealand electorate)
Encyclopedia
King Country is a former New Zealand
Parliamentary electorate
.
and Te Kuiti
.
in 1996 to form the Taranaki-King Country
electorate for MMP
. It was held by former Prime Minister Jim Bolger
for the whole of its 24 years.
The name King Country comes from the Māori King Movement
that began in 1850 as a response to the arrival of large numbers of British settlers seeking land and the purchase of land by the Colonial government from various Maori Iwi (tribes). After the 1863 attack on the Kingitanga rebels in the Waikato by government forces and the military defeat of the Kingites, they retreated south of the Puniu Stream and established themselves in an area of rugged, dissected hill country, with heavy rainfall, where it was difficult for the Government forces to follow. The King movement established a government in exile - tantamount to an independent state, with its own king, a parliament, a legislature, a police force, and its own newspaper (the printing press was taken from Te Awamutu, after being abandoned by the missionaries who had been warned by their pupils in late 1862 that war was being planned). The Kingites made it clear they would defend their territory, if need be, and to this end constructed 3 gunfighter pa at Haurua,Te Roto-Marama and Paratui in the hills to the south of the confiscation line. In 1870 and 1873 there were a series of murders of settlers both inside and outside the King Country that put the militia on the alert, however these were isolated incidents of utu, not full scale war.In 1880 the last murder of a settler William Moffat took place at Matapuna flat.He had lived with Maori for many years even made gunpowder for them during the Land Wars but was killed as he was believed to be a government land buying agent.The NZ government could not prosecute the case as they had no real jurisdiction in the face of Kingite hostility. Over time friction grew between the conservative, religious Kingitanga royalty and their Ngati Maniapoto hosts, to the extent that the king considered going south to Taranaki. The King country, a huge area - the size of Belgium, was a no go area for Pakeha for 20 years until poverty and economic isolation (this area today is still largely covered in heavy bush - attempts by farmers to farm the area in the 1920s were abandoned along with the famous "Bridge to Nowhere" that can only be reached by tramping for several hours) and feeling the pressure from his hosts, forced the second Maori King to seek an agreement with the government who had been putting out peace feelers. The king travelled to Raglan to test the waters and was surprised by his warm welcome - the settlers putting on a fete and a dance to welcome him. Seeing Maori and Pakeha working together peacefully at Raglan seems to have altered his thinking. The agreement was signed in Hamilton amidst great feasting. This led to the 1887 agreement whereby the government would employ Kingites to clear the land for the main trunk railway line being constructed between Auckland and Wellington. In return the government agreed to set aside 4 seats in parliament for Maori MP's only.
Large areas of King Country land were sold to the government for the railway,towns and farms showing that the government had broken the power of the kingities.Rewi Maniapoto the war leader insisted on the government making the King Country free from the sale of alcohol as he was concerned at the influence of drunken Maori.The government agreed and King Country stayed "dry" for many years.
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 King Country is a largely rural area with a dispersed population. It has no cities. The largest towns are OtorohangaOtorohanga
Otorohanga is a north King Country town at the southern end of the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 53 kilometres south of Hamilton and 18 kilometres north of Te Kuiti, on the Waipa River...
and Te Kuiti
Te Kuiti
Te Kuiti is a small town in the south of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of State Highways 3 and 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk Railway, 80 km south of Hamilton....
.
History
The electorate was created in 1972, and combined with the adjacent rural electorate of TaranakiTaranaki (New Zealand electorate)
-History:The electorate existed from 1881 to 1928, and from 1978 to 1996. In 1996 it was combined with the adjacent King Country to form the Taranaki-King Country electorate.-Election results:...
in 1996 to form the Taranaki-King Country
Taranaki-King Country
rightTaranaki-King Country is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Taranaki-King Country is Shane Ardern of the National Party...
electorate for 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 held by former Prime Minister Jim Bolger
Jim Bolger
James Brendan "Jim" Bolger, ONZ was the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was elected on the promise of delivering a "Decent Society" following the previous Labour government's economic reforms, known as Rogernomics...
for the whole of its 24 years.
The name King Country comes from the Māori King Movement
Maori King Movement
The Māori King Movement or Kīngitanga is a movement that arose among some of the Māori tribes of New Zealand in the central North Island ,in the 1850s, to establish a role similar in status to that of the monarch of the colonising people, the British, as a way of halting the alienation of Māori land...
that began in 1850 as a response to the arrival of large numbers of British settlers seeking land and the purchase of land by the Colonial government from various Maori Iwi (tribes). After the 1863 attack on the Kingitanga rebels in the Waikato by government forces and the military defeat of the Kingites, they retreated south of the Puniu Stream and established themselves in an area of rugged, dissected hill country, with heavy rainfall, where it was difficult for the Government forces to follow. The King movement established a government in exile - tantamount to an independent state, with its own king, a parliament, a legislature, a police force, and its own newspaper (the printing press was taken from Te Awamutu, after being abandoned by the missionaries who had been warned by their pupils in late 1862 that war was being planned). The Kingites made it clear they would defend their territory, if need be, and to this end constructed 3 gunfighter pa at Haurua,Te Roto-Marama and Paratui in the hills to the south of the confiscation line. In 1870 and 1873 there were a series of murders of settlers both inside and outside the King Country that put the militia on the alert, however these were isolated incidents of utu, not full scale war.In 1880 the last murder of a settler William Moffat took place at Matapuna flat.He had lived with Maori for many years even made gunpowder for them during the Land Wars but was killed as he was believed to be a government land buying agent.The NZ government could not prosecute the case as they had no real jurisdiction in the face of Kingite hostility. Over time friction grew between the conservative, religious Kingitanga royalty and their Ngati Maniapoto hosts, to the extent that the king considered going south to Taranaki. The King country, a huge area - the size of Belgium, was a no go area for Pakeha for 20 years until poverty and economic isolation (this area today is still largely covered in heavy bush - attempts by farmers to farm the area in the 1920s were abandoned along with the famous "Bridge to Nowhere" that can only be reached by tramping for several hours) and feeling the pressure from his hosts, forced the second Maori King to seek an agreement with the government who had been putting out peace feelers. The king travelled to Raglan to test the waters and was surprised by his warm welcome - the settlers putting on a fete and a dance to welcome him. Seeing Maori and Pakeha working together peacefully at Raglan seems to have altered his thinking.
Large areas of King Country land were sold to the government for the railway,towns and farms showing that the government had broken the power of the kingities.Rewi Maniapoto the war leader insisted on the government making the King Country free from the sale of alcohol as he was concerned at the influence of drunken Maori.The government agreed and King Country stayed "dry" for many years.
Election results
| Election | Winner | |
| 1972 election 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:... |
Jim Bolger Jim Bolger James Brendan "Jim" Bolger, ONZ was the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was elected on the promise of delivering a "Decent Society" following the previous Labour government's economic reforms, known as Rogernomics... (National New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:... ) |
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| 1975 election 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... |
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| 1978 election 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... |
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| 1981 election 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... |
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| 1984 election 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... |
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| 1987 election 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... |
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| 1990 election 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... |
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| 1993 election 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... |
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