Rakaia was a New Zealand parliamentary

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district ...

in the

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region from 1972 to 1978 and 1993 to 2008. The seat was held by former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jenny Shipley Dame Jennifer Mary Shipley (née Robson; born 4 February 1952) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 36th prime minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999. She was the first female prime minister of New Zealand, and the first woma ...

from 1993 to 2002, and by

Brian Connell Brian David Connell (born 23 April 1956) is a former New Zealand politician who represented the New Zealand National Party in the New Zealand Parliament from 2002 to 2008. Biography Born in Foxton in the Manawatū region, Connell studied ...

New Zealand Parliament - Brian Connell MP
/ref> from 2002 to 2008.

Population centres

Since the , the number of electorates in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

was fixed at 25, with continued faster population growth in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

leading to an increase in the number of general electorates. There were 84 electorates for the 1969 election, and the 1972 electoral redistribution saw three additional general seats created for the North Island, bringing the total number of electorates to 87. Together with increased urbanisation in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, the changes proved very disruptive to existing electorates. In the South Island, three electorates were abolished, and three electorates were newly created (including Rakaia). In the North Island, five electorates were abolished, two electorates were recreated, and six electorates were newly created. The electorate included the following population centres: * Ashburton * Darfield *

Leeston Leeston (Māori language, Māori: ''Karumata'') is a town on the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located 30 kilometres southwest of Christchurch, between the shore of Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora and the mouth of the Ra ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

* Methven *

Rakaia Rakaia is a town sited on the southern banks of the Rakaia River on the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island, approximately 57 km south of Christchurch on State Highway 1 and the Main South Line. Immediately north of the townsh ...

* Rolleston * Southbridge * West Melton

History

The Rakaia seat previously existed from 1972 to 1978, when it was held by

Colin McLachlan Colin Campbell Alexander McLachlan (28 November 1924 – 26 September 1985) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography McLachlan was born in Christchurch in 1924. He received his education at Lakeside Primary School an ...

of the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

, who previously and subsequently held the Selwyn seat. It was recreated in 1993 as a replacement for Ashburton. Due to boundary changes for the 2008 general election, the Rakaia seat ceased to exist. Its population centres were redistributed among the new seats of Rangitata and Selwyn. In the 2008 election, Selwyn was expected to be a safe National seat while was considered vulnerable to capture by Labour due to the presence of the city of

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

. While

Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received List of awards and nom ...

won Selwyn for National as expected, Rangitata was taken by National's

Jo Goodhew Joanne Gay Goodhew (born 1961) is a New Zealand politician. She served as a member of Parliament between 2005 and 2017. Early years Goodhew grew up in Timaru, and attended Timaru Girls' High School. She holds a qualification in nursing from Ota ...

Members of Parliament

Key

Election results

1999 election

Refer to Candidates in the New Zealand general election 1999 by electorate#Rakaia for a list of candidates.

1975 election

1972 election

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Electorate Profile
''Parliamentary Library'' {{Historic electorates of New Zealand , state=collapsed Historical electorates of New Zealand 1972 establishments in New Zealand 1978 disestablishments in New Zealand 1993 establishments in New Zealand 2008 disestablishments in New Zealand