A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Leichhardt on 9 July 1954 because of the death of Claude Matthews (Labor)[1] who committed suicide while still in office. He had been receiving treatment for a "nervous condition" for 18 months.[2]
Dates
edit| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 9 January 1954 | Claude Matthews died.[1] |
| 23 February 1954 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[3] |
| 3 March 1954 | Day of nomination |
| 20 March 1954 | Polling day |
| 5 April 1954 | Return of writ |
Result
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Reg Coady | 12,646 | 68.14 | ||
| Independent | John Blackmore | 3,060 | 16.5 | ||
| Independent | William Dougherty | 2,533 | 13.7 | ||
| Independent | William McCristal | 320 | 1.7 | ||
| Total formal votes | 18,559 | 96.5 | |||
| Informal votes | 665 | 3.5 | |||
| Turnout | 19,224 | 79.4 | |||
| Labor hold | Swing | ||||
- Preferences were not distributed.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "The Hon. Claude Hilton Matthews (1899–1954)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ "Former Minister's suicide". The Canberra Times. 26 January 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 14 October 2019 – via Trove.
- ^ "Writ of election: Leichhardt". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 29. 23 February 1954. p. 559. Retrieved 7 October 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1954 Leichhardt by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 August 2020.