A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Ryde on 14 September 1940 following the resignation of Eric Spooner (United Australia),[1] to contest the federal seat of Robertson at the 1940 election,[2] at which he was elected.[3]
Dates
edit| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 23 August 1940 | Eric Spooner resigned.[1] |
| 30 August 1940 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[4] |
| 5 September 1940 | Nominations |
| 14 September 1940 | Polling day |
| 21 September 1940 | Federal election |
| 28 September 1940 | Return of writ |
Candidates
edit- Bert Cowell (Independent) was a grocer from Gladesville.[5]
- William Harrison (Independent) was an estate agent from West Ryde and the Mayor of Ryde, the youngest to hold that office.[5]
- Herbert Mitchell (United Australia) was a secretary and superintendent of the Central District Ambulance.[6]
- James Stewart (State Labor) was a tyre moulder, representing the far-left Hughes-Evans group, which had been removed as the Labor executive in July 1940.[5][7]
- Arthur Williams (Labor) was an accountant specialising in the auditing of trade unions.[8]
Result
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Arthur Williams | 7,680 | 35.6 | +9.3 | |
| United Australia | Herbert Mitchell | 7,742 | 35.9 | −17.4 | |
| Independent | William Harrison | 3,048 | 14.1 | −6.3 | |
| State Labor | James Stewart | 1,685 | 7.8 | ||
| Independent | Bert Cowell | 1,431 | 6.6 | ||
| Total formal votes | 21,586 | 96.6 | −2.1 | ||
| Informal votes | 755 | 3.4 | +2.1 | ||
| Turnout | 22,341 | 89.7 | −7.3 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Arthur Williams | 10,908 | 50.5 | ||
| United Australia | Herbert Mitchell | 10,678 | 49.5 | ||
| Labor gain from United Australia | Swing | N/A | |||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "The Hon. Eric Sydney Spooner (1891–1952)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ a b Green, Antony. "1940 Ryde by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- ^ "1940 House of Representatives election: New South Wales". Psephos, Adam Carr's election archive. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ "Writ of election: Ryde". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 118. 30 August 1940. p. 3639. Retrieved 27 March 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ a b c "Five will stand for Ryde". The Sun. 5 September 1940. p. 8. Retrieved 27 March 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ "Seek Ryde selection". The Daily Telegraph. 31 August 1940. p. 5. Retrieved 27 March 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ Clune, David. "Facts and Figures - Political Parties of NSW (Overview)". Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
- ^ "Mr Arthur John Leonard Williams (1888-1968)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 May 2019.