Wellington was a 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 Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

, New Zealand. It existed from 1853 to 1905 with a break in the 1880s. It was a multi-member electorate. The electorate was represented by 24 Members of Parliament.

1853 to 1871

The electorate was one of the original electorates used in the 1853

New Zealand general election, 1853

The 1853 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 1st term. It was the first national election ever held in New Zealand, although Parliament did not yet have full authority to govern the colony, which was part of the British Empire at...

 election for the 1st New Zealand Parliament

1st New Zealand Parliament

The 1st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 24 May 1854, following New Zealand's first general election . It was dissolved on 15 September 1855 in preparation for that year's election...

. During the period until 1871, Wellington was a three-member electorate.

In 1858, Isaac Featherston

Isaac Featherston

Dr. Isaac Earl Featherston was a New Zealand politician, and was known for his advocacy for the establishment of New Zealand self-government, and the importance of the provincial governments.-Early life:...

 and William Fitzherbert

William Fitzherbert (New Zealand)

Sir William Fitzherbert KCMG MLC was a New Zealand politician. He served as Minister of Finance, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Speaker of the Legislative Council.-Early life:...

 resigned their seats in Parliament. Featherston apparently wanted to return to England. Instead, he successfully stood for re-election within months. The other person returned in the same by-election was William Barnard Rhodes.

The election for the 3rd Parliament was held on 11 December 1860, with the announcement of the official results on 15 December.

Key

Election	Winner(s)
1853 election New Zealand general election, 1853 The 1853 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 1st term. It was the first national election ever held in New Zealand, although Parliament did not yet have full authority to govern the colony, which was part of the British Empire at...		Charles Clifford		Robert Hart Robert Hart (New Zealand) Robert Hart was a New Zealand politician.He left London in April 1843 on board the Mary, arriving in Wellington on 9 August 1843.He was also baptised on 4th April 1815...		James Kelham James Kelham James Kelham was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He arrived in Wellington in the ship London in 1842, and was the New Zealand Company's accountant in Wellington...
1855 election New Zealand general election, 1855 The 1855 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 2nd term. It was the second national election ever held in New Zealand, and the first one which elected a Parliament that had full authority to govern the colony.-Background:The first...				Isaac Featherston Isaac Featherston Dr. Isaac Earl Featherston was a New Zealand politician, and was known for his advocacy for the establishment of New Zealand self-government, and the importance of the provincial governments.-Early life:...		William Fitzherbert William Fitzherbert (New Zealand) Sir William Fitzherbert KCMG MLC was a New Zealand politician. He served as Minister of Finance, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Speaker of the Legislative Council.-Early life:...
1858 by-election				Isaac Featherston		William Rhodes
1860 election		William Taylor William Waring Taylor William Waring Taylor was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand.He represented the City of Wellington electorate from the 1860 general election to 1870 when he retired.-References:...
1866 election New Zealand general election, 1866 The New Zealand general election of 1866 was held between 12 February and 6 April to elect 70 MPs to the fourth term of the New Zealand Parliament. 13,196 votes were cast....						Charles Borlase Charles Borlase Charles Bonython Borlase was Mayor of Wellington, New Zealand in 1874. He had been a member of the first Town Board in 1863, and a Councillor to 1874.He represented Wairarapa on the Wellington Provincial Council from 1857 to 1858...

1871 to 1881

From the 1871 election until 1881, Wellington was a two-member electorate.

Election	Winner(s)
1871 election		George Hunter		Edward Pearce Edward Pearce (politician) Edward Pearce was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand.He represented the City of Wellington electorate from 1871 to 1877, when he resigned.-References:...
1875 election
1877 by-election				William Travers
1878 by-election				George Elliott Barton George Elliott Barton George Elliott Barton was a 19th century Member of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand.He represented the City of Wellington electorate from 1878 to 1879, when he retired.-References:...
1879 election New Zealand general election, 1879 The New Zealand general election of 1879 was held between 28 August and 15 September to elect a total of 88 MPs to the 7th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 1 and 8 September. A total number of 82,271 voters turned out to vote.The election came about when George...		William Hutchison		William Levin William Levin William Hort Levin was a 19th century New Zealand politician and businessman in Wellington, New Zealand.He represented two Wellington electorates, first the Wellington electorate from 1879 to 1881, and then the Thorndon electorate from 1881 to 1884, when he resigned due to ill-health.He ran the...

1890 to 1905

From the 1881 election to 1890, the Wellington electorate didn't exist. From the 1890

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...

 election until 1905, Wellington was again a three-member electorate.

Key

Election	| Winner(s)
		George Fisher George Fisher (New Zealand) George Fisher was a four-time Mayor of Wellington, New Zealand from 1882 to 1885, and in 1896. He represented various Wellington electorates in Parliament for a total of 18 years...		Thomas Macdonald Thomas Kennedy Macdonald Thomas Kennedy Macdonald was a 19th century Liberal Party Member of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand. He was known as Kennedy Mac.Macdonald was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France...		John Duthie John Duthie (New Zealand) John Duthie was a politician and businessman in New Zealand. Originally from Scotland, he came to Auckland in 1863. He set up his own ironmongery in New Plymouth, then Wanganui, and he finally settled in Wellington. In the latter city, he was mayor for one term. He then represented Wellington in...
				William McLean William McLean (politician) William McLean was a 19th century Liberal Party Member of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand.He represented the City of Wellington electorate from an 1892 by-election to the 1893 general election, when he was defeated.-References:...
		Francis Bell		Robert Stout Robert Stout Sir Robert Stout, KCMG was the 13th Premier of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century, and later Chief Justice of New Zealand. He was the only person to hold both these offices...
		George Fisher				John Hutcheson John Hutcheson John Hutcheson was a Member of Parliament in New Zealand, initially for the Liberal Party.John Hutcheson arrived in New Zealand in 1880, as second mate of the barque “Isle of Erin,” he spent four years as first and second mate of coastal vessels, including the Government steamers Stella and...
				John Duthie
						John Hutcheson
				Arthur Atkinson Arthur Richmond Atkinson Arthur Richmond Atkinson was an independent conservative Member of Parliament in New Zealand.He represented the City of Wellington electorate from 1899 to 1902 when he was defeated. He stood for Wellington East in 1908....
				John Duthie		John Aitken John Aitken (Mayor of Wellington) John Guthrie Wood Aitken was the Mayor of Wellington, New Zealand from 1900 to 1904.He represented the City of Wellington electorate from 1902 to 1905, and then the Wellington East electorate from 1905 to 1908, when he retired....
		Francis Fisher Francis Fisher Francis Marion Bates Fisher was a New Zealand Member of Parliament from Wellington. He was known as Rainbow Fisher for his frequent changes of political allegiance. Fisher was an internationally successful tennis player.-Early life:...

The Wellington electorate was replaced in 1905 by three new seats: Wellington East

Wellington East (New Zealand electorate)

Wellington East was a parliamentary electorate in the eastern suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand from 1887 to 1890 and from 1905 to 1946. It was succeeded by the Miramar electorate....

, Wellington North

Wellington North (New Zealand electorate)

Wellington North was, from 1905 to 1946, a parliamentary electorate within the area encompassing New Zealand's capital, Wellington.The electorate was represented by four Members of Parliament — Charles Izard from 1905 to 1908, Alexander Herdman from 1908 to 1918 and John Luke from 1918 to 1928.Its...

 and Wellington Central

Wellington Central

rightWellington Central is a suburb of New Zealand's capital, Wellington, consisting of the flat, mostly reclaimed land, west of Lambton Harbour and the part of The Terrace immediately above it. It is bounded on the north by the suburb Pipitea and extends as far south as Civic Square...

.