Onehunga, initially with the formal name ofTown of Onehunga, is a former New Zealand parliamentaryelectorate in the south of the city ofAuckland. Between 1861 and 1881, and between 1938 and 1996, it was represented by sevenMembers of Parliament. It was a stronghold for theLabour Party.

In the 1860 electoral redistribution, theHouse of Representatives increased the number of representatives by 12, reflecting the immense population growth since the original electorates were established in 1853. The redistribution created 15 additional electorates with between one and three members, and Onehunga was one of the single-member electorates.^[1] The electorates were distributed toprovinces so that every province had at least two members. Within each province, the number of registered electors by electorate varied greatly.^[1]

The1931 New Zealand census had been cancelled due to theGreat Depression, so the 1937 electoral redistribution had to take ten years of population growth into account. The increasing population imbalance between theNorth andSouth Islands had slowed, and only one electorate seat was transferred from south to north. Five electorates were abolished, one former electorate (Onehunga) was re-established, and four electorates were created for the first time.^[2]

The electorate was urban, and comprised a number of suburbs in the southern part of Auckland.

The electorate existed in the 19th century from 1861 to 1871 asTown of Onehunga, and then from 1871 to 1881 asOnehunga.^[3] For the whole period the seat was held byGeorge O'Rorke,^[4] who became Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1879.^[5]

Onehunga was recreated in 1938,^[3] and lasted to 1996. With the introduction ofMMP in 1996, Onehunga andPanmure were combined into the new electorate ofMaungakiekie.

Except for 1990–1993, Onehunga was held by Labour from its 1938 recreation.

The Onehunga electorate was represented by seven Members of Parliament.

Key

  Independent  Labour  National

• McRobie, Alan (1989).Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books.ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
• Norton, Clifford (1988).New Zealand parliamentary election results, 1946–1987. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Department of Political Science.ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913].New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer.OCLC 154283103.

• Historical electorates of New Zealand
• Politics of the Auckland Region
• 1860 establishments in New Zealand
• 1881 disestablishments in New Zealand
• 1996 disestablishments in New Zealand
• 1938 establishments in New Zealand

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• Use New Zealand English from April 2015
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