Masterton was a New Zealand 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...

, focused on the town of Masterton

Masterton

Masterton is a large town and local government district in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a region separated from Wellington by the Rimutaka ranges...

 and the surrounding area.

History

The electorate of Masterton was created at the 1887 elections

New Zealand general election, 1887

The New Zealand general election of 1887 was held on 26 September to elect 95 MPs to the tenth session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 7 September. 175,410 votes were cast....

. Its boundaries were roughly based on those of the Wairarapa North electorate

Wairarapa North

Wairarapa North was a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate, from 1881 to 1887.The Wairarapa North electorate in the Wairarapa district of New Zealand and the adjacent Wairarapa South electorate were formed in 1881 by splitting the old Wairarapa electorate.These electorates only existed for...

 that it replaced, although it was not an exact match. The electorate ran from the Tararua

Tararua

Tararua is a name used in several contexts:*The Tararua Range, in the south-east of New Zealand's North Island*The Tararua District of New Zealand, named for the Range.*The Tararua Forest Park, New Zealand's first forest park...

 ranges down to the sea, with its northern boundary just north of Eketahuna

Eketahuna

Eketahuna is a small rural service town, the most southerly in the Tararua District in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand, but is considered to be in northern Wairarapa. It was called Mellenskov, but was renamed soon after its founding.The town is located at the foot of...

 and its southern boundary just south of the largest Wairarapa

Wairarapa

Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...

 town of Masterton

Masterton

Masterton is a large town and local government district in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a region separated from Wellington by the Rimutaka ranges...

.

The 1890 elections

New Zealand general election, 1890

The New Zealand general election of 1890 was one of New Zealand's most significant. It marked the beginning of party politics in New Zealand with the formation of the First Liberal government, which was to enact major welfare, labour and electoral reforms, including giving the vote to women.It was...

 saw the electorate gain Pahiatua

Pahiatua

Pahiatua is a rural service town in the south-eastern North Island of New Zealand with an urban and rural population of over 4,000. It is between Masterton and Woodville on State Highway 2 and the Wairarapa Line railway, north of Masterton and east of Palmerston North...

 and Woodville

Woodville, New Zealand

Woodville is a small town in the southern North Island of New Zealand, 75 km north of Masterton and 25 km east of Palmerston North. In the 2006 census 1,398 people are usually resident in Woodville, a decrease of 81 people, or 5.5%, since the 2001 Census.-Early History and Local...

, but lose territory on the coast south of Castlepoint

Castlepoint

Castlepoint is a small beachside town on the Wairarapa coast of the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It is home to a lighthouse which stands near the top of the northern end of a reef. The reef is about one kilometer long. At the southern end of the reef, there is an island known locally as "bird...

. At the 1893 elections

New Zealand general election, 1893

The New Zealand general election of 1893 was held on Tuesday, 28 November in the general electorates, and on Wednesday, 20 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 12th session of the New Zealand Parliament...

, it lost Woodville, and in the 1896 elections

New Zealand general election, 1896

The New Zealand general election of 1896 was held on Wednesday, 4 December in the general electorates, and on Thursday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 13th session of the New Zealand Parliament...

, it lost Pahiatua. In the 1911 elections

New Zealand general election, 1911

The New Zealand general election of 1911 was held on Thursday, 7 and 14 December in the general electorates, and on Tuesday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 18th session of the New Zealand Parliament...

, it lost Castlepoint, leaving it almost landlocked. The electorate cam to an end at the 1946 elections

New Zealand general election, 1946

The 1946 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 28th term. It saw the governing Labour Party re-elected, but by a substantially narrower margin than in the three previous elections...

 — the town of Masterton itself was moved to the Wairarapa electorate

Wairarapa (New Zealand electorate)

Wairarapa is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate. It was first created in 1859 and existed until 1881. It was recreated in 1887 and has since existed continuously...

, while the rest was moved to the Pahiatua electorate

Pahiatua (New Zealand electorate)

-History:The Pahiatua electorate existed from 1896 to 1996. Early holders of the seat were John O'Meara from 1896 to 1904, William Henry Hawkins from 1904 to 1905, Robert Beatson Ross from 1905 to 1911, James Escott from 1911 to 1916, George Smith from 1916 to 1919, Archibald McNicol from 1919 to...

.

Election results

Key

Election	Winner
		George Beetham George Beetham George Beetham, F.R.G.S., M.H.R. , of Wellington and Wairarapa, made his first explorarion of Mount Ruapehu in March, 1878. In 1879, Mr. Beetham, accompanied by Mr...
		Alexander Wilson Hogg Alexander Wilson Hogg Alexander Wilson Hogg was a Member of Parliament for Masterton, in the North Island of New Zealand.-Member of Parliament:...
		George Sykes George Sykes (New Zealand) George Robert Sykes was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Masterton, in the North Island.-Member of Parliament:George Sykes represented the Masterton electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives for 24 years from 1911 to 1935 .Sykes was a member of the Reform Party but in 1919 stood...
		John Robertson
		Garnet Hercules Mackley Garnet Hercules Mackley Garnet Hercules Mackley was a New Zealand businessman, railways manager and politician.He became general manager of New Zealand Railways in 1933. During his tenure, Mackley worked hard to improve the standard and range of services provided by the railways...