Franklin

Franklin was a rural New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It existed from 1861 to 1996 during four periods. The original electorate from 1861 to 1881 included the South Auckland towns of Papatoetoe, Papakura, Pukekohe and Waiuku, and west of Waiuku to the West Coast. When reconstituted in 1890 the northern boundary was north of Papakura, and (with the growth of Auckland) now excluded Papatoetoe. The electorate existed from 1861 to 1881 as a two-member electorate, when it was split into the Franklin North and Franklin South electorates.One of the first MP's, Marmaduke Nixon was killed in action in 1864 whilst leading an assault on a Māori village during the Invasion of Waikato, forcing the 1864 by-election. In 1890 it was reconstituted,...