The third Parliament opened on 3 June 1861 (after a postponement from the previously announced date of 30 May 1861),[1][2] following New Zealand's 1860–1861 election.
Anyone attempting to form an administration thus had to win support directly from individual MPs.
Even before the first session started, William Cutfield King (representing the Grey and Bell electorate) was killed in the First Taranaki War.
[4] Marmaduke Nixon (Franklin electorate) was killed in action in 1864 whilst leading an assault on a Māori village during the Invasion of Waikato.
This lasted well into the term of the fourth Parliament on 28 June 1869.
[2] Ever since Parliament had first met in 1854 in Auckland, an argument was had for the members to meet in a more central place.
A proposal to make this move to Wellington permanent was lost by a single vote.
This was a significant increase from the previous 28 electorates, and resulted from the passage of the Representation Act 1860.
The resulting second by-election in 1865, held on 26 July, was contested by James Macandrew and John Cargill.
[66] Gillies resigned and the subsequent first 1865 by-election was won on 8 April 1865 by Arthur John Burns.
He was succeeded by John Richard Jones who resigned in 1863, and was replaced by Frederick Wayne.
He was first succeeded by Isaac Newton Watt[69] (1862–63), then Henry Hanson Turton[70] (1863–64), and then Charles Brown (1864–65).
It was represented by two MPs: William Reynolds (from 4 December 1862) and James Paterson (from 29 April 1863) until the end of the term.
It was represented by John Richardson (from 20 April 1863) and Julius Vogel (from 29 September 1863) until the end of the term.
This was a reaction to the large influx of people to Otago during the Otago gold rush, and because the franchise had been extended to males aged 21 years and over who had held a miner's right continuously for at least three (or six) months.
William Baldwin and George Brodie were elected in the 1863 Goldfields by-election.
[73] Charles Edward Haughton won the resulting 1865 by-election held on 29 May contested by three candidates.