Waitotara is a former New Zealand

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...

, in South Taranaki.

Population Centres

The electorate is rural, in South Taranaki. It is based on the town of Waitotara

Waitotara

Waitotara is a town in South Taranaki, New Zealand. Waverley is 10 km to the north-west, and Wanganui is 34 km to the south-east. State Highway 3 passes through it. The Waitotara River flows past the east side of the town....

, and is north of the city of Wanganui

Wanganui

Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....

.

History

The electorate existed in the 19th century from 1881 to 1893. It was represented by John Bryce

John Bryce

John Bryce was a New Zealand politician from 1871 to 1891 and Minister of Native Affairs from 1879 to 1884...

 from 1881 to 1887, and then by George Hutchison from 1887 to 1893.

In the 20th century the seat existed from 1978 to the introduction of 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...

 in 1996. and was represented by two National MPs.

At the 1996 election

New Zealand general election, 1996

The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...

, the bulk of the Waitotara seat was merged with Wanganui

Whanganui (New Zealand electorate)

Whanganui is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first established in 1855 for the 2nd Parliament and has existed continuously since then.It is currently held by Chester Borrows MP.-Population centres:...

 to create the new seat of Whanganui

Whanganui (New Zealand electorate)

Whanganui is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first established in 1855 for the 2nd Parliament and has existed continuously since then.It is currently held by Chester Borrows MP.-Population centres:...

, and Peter Gresham

Peter Gresham

Peter John Gresham ONZM, JP is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1990 to 1999, representing the National Party.-Early life:...

 was defeated by the Wanganui incumbent, Jill Pettis

Jill Pettis

Marjorie Jill Pettis is a New Zealand politician, and a member of the Labour Party.Pettis became MP for Whanganui in the 1993 elections, but in 2005 she narrowly lost the seat to Chester Borrows. She was returned to Parliament however as a list MP...

 of the Labour Party

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

. Gresham remained in Parliament as a list MP but retired in 1999.

Election results

	Election	Winner
	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...	Venn Young Venn Young Venn Spearman Young was a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the National Party, and served as a Cabinet Minister in the government of Robert Muldoon. He is known for his failed attempt to legalise "homosexual acts" in 1975.-Early life:Young was born in Stratford, Taranaki... (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:... )
	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...
	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...
	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...
	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...	Peter Gresham Peter Gresham Peter John Gresham ONZM, JP is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1990 to 1999, representing the National Party.-Early life:... (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:... )
	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...