# Dunedin Country > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dunedin_Country > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dunedin_Country.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunedin_Country > Source revision: 1332863896 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Dunedin Country** was a parliamentary [electorate](/source/New_Zealand_electorates) in the rural area surrounding the city of [Dunedin](/source/Dunedin) in [Otago](/source/Otago), New Zealand, from 1853 to 1860. It was a two-member electorate and was represented by a total of five members of parliament. ## Population centres The [New Zealand Constitution Act 1852](/source/New_Zealand_Constitution_Act_1852), passed by the British government, allowed New Zealand to establish a representative government. The initial 24 New Zealand electorates were defined by Governor [George Grey](/source/George_Grey) in March 1853. Dunedin Country was one of the initial two-member electorates.[1] The electorate covered the [Otago Province](/source/Otago_Province) in its entirety with the exclusion of Dunedin, which was represented through the [Town of Dunedin](/source/Dunedin_(New_Zealand_electorate)) electorate.[2] The area was sparsely populated, but during its existence, [Invercargill](/source/Invercargill) was laid out in 1856.[3] The Constitution Act also allowed the [House of Representatives](/source/New_Zealand_House_of_Representatives) to establish new electorates, and this was first done in 1858, when four new electorates were formed by splitting existing electorates.[4] was one of those four electorates, and it was established by splitting the Dunedin Country electorate.[5] In the 1860 electoral redistribution, the Dunedin Country electorate was abolished, and its area split between the Wallace, , and electorates.[6] ## History Three people were nominated for the first election in , but only [William Cutten](/source/William_Cutten) and [John Cargill](/source/John_Cargill_(politician)) accepted the nomination. [Edward McGlashan](/source/Edward_McGlashan) stated that he was not available to represent the electorate. The returning officer therefore declared Cutten and Cargill elected.[7] Cutten resigned in 1855 before the end of the term of the term of the [1st New Zealand Parliament](/source/1st_New_Zealand_Parliament) citing business pressure;[8] no by-election was held.[9] John Cargill and his father William were elected unopposed on 11 December 1855 for the [2nd New Zealand Parliament](/source/2nd_New_Zealand_Parliament).[10] John and William resigned in 1858 and October 1859, respectively. The first vacancy was filled by [John Parkin Taylor](/source/John_Parkin_Taylor), who retired from parliament at the end of this term. The second vacancy was filled by [Thomas Gillies](/source/Thomas_Gillies), who was declared elected unopposed.[11][12] ### Members of Parliament The electorate was represented by five [members of parliament](/source/Member_of_parliament).[13] Election Winners 1853 election width=5 rowspan=1 bgcolor= | William Cutten width=5 rowspan=2 bgcolor= | John Cargill 1855 election rowspan=2 bgcolor= | William Cargill 1858 by-election rowspan=2 bgcolor= | John Parkin Taylor 1860 by-election rowspan=1 bgcolor= | Thomas Gillies (Electorate abolished 1860; see , , and ) ## Election results Only one election in the Dunedin Country electorate was contested. At the two general elections and the [1860 by-election](/source/1860_Dunedin_Country_by-election), the candidates were declared elected unopposed. ## Notes 1. McRobie 1989, pp. 29f. 1. McRobie 1989, p. 31. 1. ["Invercargill"](https://nzhistory.govt.nz/keyword/invercargill). [Ministry for Culture and Heritage](/source/Ministry_for_Culture_and_Heritage). Retrieved 6 November 2015. 1. McRobie 1989, p. 29. 1. McRobie 1989, pp. 29–31. 1. McRobie 1989, pp. 33–35. 1. ["Election of Members for the Country District to Serve in the General Assembly"](http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=OW18531008.2.8). *[Otago Witness](/source/Otago_Witness)*. No. 125. 8 October 1853. p. 2. Retrieved 15 June 2015. 1. Scholefield 1940, p. 188. 1. Wilson 1985, pp. 191, 262. 1. ["Election of Members for the House of Representatives"](http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=OW18551215.2.7). *[Otago Witness](/source/Otago_Witness)*. No. 212. 15 December 1855. p. 3. Retrieved 25 June 2010. 1. Wilson 1985, p. 199. 1. ["Dunedin Country District"](http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=OW18600331.2.17.1). *[Otago Witness](/source/Otago_Witness)*. No. 435. 31 March 1860. p. 5. Retrieved 10 November 2015. 1. Wilson 1985, p. 262. ## References - McRobie, Alan (1989). *Electoral Atlas of New Zealand*. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8. - Scholefield, Guy (ed.) (1940). [*A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : A–L*](https://nzhistory.govt.nz/sites/default/files/documents/dnzb-1940/scholefield-dnzb-v1.pdf). Vol. I. Wellington: [Department of Internal Affairs](/source/Department_of_Internal_Affairs_(New_Zealand)). Retrieved 15 November 2015. - Wilson, Jim (1985 [First published in 1913]). *New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984*. 4th ed. Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. [OCLC 154283103](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/154283103) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dunedin Country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunedin_Country) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunedin_Country?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.