1918 Queensland state election

1918 Queensland state election
All 72 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland; 37 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	80.27 ( 7.87 pp)
Premier before election; T. J. Ryan; Labor	Elected Premier ; T. J. Ryan; Labor

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 16 March 1918 to elect the 72 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.

Background

The election was the second for the Labor government of T. J. Ryan, who had been premier since 1 June 1915. The National opposition (previously known as the Ministerialists) were led by Edward Macartney who replaced Digby Denham after the 1915 election when they were reduced to 21 seats. In turn, he was replaced by James Tolmie within three months but returned to the post shortly before the election when the latter fell ill.^[1]

Results

The election saw the Labor government returned to office with an increased vote and seat count for both Labor and the National Party from the 1915 election.

Queensland state election, 16 March 1918^[2] Legislative Assembly << 1915–1920 >>
Enrolled voters		424,416
Votes cast		336,647		Turnout	80.27	-7.87
Informal votes		N/A		Informal	1.18	-0.39
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor	180,709	53.68	+1.62	48	+3
	National	150,225	44.62	+2.65	22	+1
	Independent	3,311	0.98	+0.06	2	+1
Total		336,647			72

Seats changing party representation

This table lists changes in party representation at the 1918 election.

Party changes before election

The following seats changed party representation before the election due to the merger of Farmers Union and Liberal Party members.

Seat	Incumbent member

Albert	John Appel	Farmers' Union	National Party
Aubigny	Arthur Moore	Farmers' Union	National Party
Cunningham	Francis Grayson	Liberal Party	Independent National
Drayton	William Bebbington	Farmers' Union	National Party
Murilla	Godfrey Morgan	Farmers' Union	National Party
Nanango	Robert Hodge	Farmers' Union	National Party
Pittsworth	Percy Bayley	Farmers' Union	Independent National

Seats changing hands at election

Seat	Incumbent member		New member

Bulimba	Hugh McMinn	Labor	Walter Barnes	National
Burke	William Murphy	Independent	Darby Riordan	Labor
Burrum	Colin Rankin	National	Albert Whitford	Labor
Kurilpa	William Hartley	Labor	James Fry	National
Lockyer	William Armstrong	National	Cuthbert Butler	Labor
Logan	James Stodart	National	Alfred James	Labor
Oxley	Thomas Jones	Labor	Cecil Elphinstone	National
Rosewood	Henry Stevens	National	William Cooper	Labor
Toowoomba	James Tolmie	National	Frank Brennan	Labor
Wide Bay	Charles Booker	National	Andrew Thompson	Labor
Windsor	Herbert McPhail	Labor	Charles Taylor	National

Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.

Aftermath

T.J. Ryan resigned as premier a year after the state election to run successfully for the federal seat of West Sydney in 1919. Ryan was replaced as premier by Ted Theodore. Theodore called the 1920 election one year into his premiership and two years after the 1918 election. Macartney was later replaced for a second time, this time by William Vowles. Within a few months though, Vowles created the Queensland Country Party. However, because Vowles had created the Country Party using most of the rural-based National MLAs, Vowles was able to remain as Opposition Leader.

References

^ French, M. "Tolmie, James (1862–1939)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 28 June 2018 – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
^ "UWA 1918 election study".

[1] French, M. "Tolmie, James (1862–1939)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 28 June 2018 – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.

[2] "UWA 1918 election study".

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