The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the
1875–1876 election. In the six years since, New Zealand's European population had increased by 65%. In the 1881 electoral redistribution, the
House of Representatives increased the number of European representatives to 91 (up from 84 since the 1875–76 election). The number of Māori electorates was held at four. The House further decided that electorates should not have more than one representative, which led to 35 new electorates being formed, including Ashburton, and two electorates that had previously been abolished to be recreated. This necessitated a major disruption to existing boundaries. The town of Ashburton itself was on the very edge of the electorate, which stretched northwest up the
Ashburton River / Hakatere. It included
Methven,
Mount Somers, and
Lake Heron. However, the boundaries of Ashburton electorate were highly variable, with the town of Ashburton being the only constant. In the
1887 election, most of the electorate's southern half was taken away to join the new
Rangitata seat, but in the
1890 election, most of this territory was regained, with a similar amount of territory in the north, around Methven, being taken instead. Methven was incorporated into the
Ellesmere seat. Ashburton also gained territory on the coast at this point. In the
1893 election, the situation reverted to its previous state, with the south being lost and Methven regained, but this itself was reversed in the
1896 election. The electorate then remained relatively stable until the
1911 election, when completely new boundaries were established — the electorate was now centred on
Geraldine, with Ashburton itself in a spur at the northeastern extremity. The
1919 election saw a complete revocation of this, with the electorate going back to focus on its original southern territories, and gaining
Lake Coleridge. It lost Lake Coleridge again in the
1922 election. In the
1928 election, the seat was abolished, with its northern half merging with Ellesmere to form
Mid-Canterbury and its southern half being absorbed into
Temuka. The
1941 New Zealand census had been postponed due to World War II, so the 1946 electoral redistribution had to take ten years of population growth and movements into account. The
North Island gained a further two electorates from the
South Island due to faster population growth. The abolition of the
country quota through the
Electoral Amendment Act, 1945 reduced the number and increased the size of rural electorates. None of the existing electorates remained unchanged, 27 electorates were abolished, 19 electorates were created for the first time, and eight former electorates were re-established, including Ashburton. The recreated Ashburton electorate took territory from both Mid-Canterbury and Temuka. In the
1957 election, it gained Geraldine from
Waimate, but lost Methven to
Selwyn. In the
1963 election, it gained a large amount of inland territory, including
Lake Tekapo and
Twizel. In
1969 election, the electorate was abolished — most of its territory was merged with
Waitaki to form
South Canterbury, while Ashburton itself was incorporated into Selwyn. Through an amendment in the Electoral Act in 1965, the number of electorates in the
South Island was fixed at 25, an increase of one since the 1962 electoral redistribution. It was accepted that through the more rapid population growth in the
North Island, the number of its electorates would continue to increase, and to keep proportionality, three new electorates were allowed for in the 1967 electoral redistribution for the next election. In the North Island, five electorates were newly created and one electorate was reconstituted while three electorates were abolished. In the South Island, three electorates were newly created and one electorate was reconstituted while three electorates were abolished (including Ashburton). The overall effect of the required changes was highly disruptive to existing electorates, with all but three electorates having their boundaries altered. These changes came into effect with the . A third electorate named Ashburton was created for the
1978 election. It was formed from the southern portion of
Rakaia (the successor to Selwyn) and the northern portion of South Canterbury, and included Methven, Geraldine, and
Fairlie. In the
1984 election, Fairlie was absorbed into
Timaru, and in the
1987 election, the electorate absorbed the town of
Rakaia. In the
1990 election, the seat was abolished again, with the seat of Rakaia being established to replace it. ==History==