1899 Ashfield colonial by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Ashfield on 26 September 1899 because Bernhard Wise (Protectionist) had been appointed Attorney General. ^[1] Until 1904, members appointed to a ministerial position were required to face a by-election. These were generally uncontested. Of the nine ministers appointed with the formation of Lyne ministry, Ashfield and Hume (William Lyne) were the only electorates in which the by-election was contested. ^[2]

Dates

Date	Event
14 September 1899	Bernhard Wise appointed Attorney General. [1]
15 September 1899	Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. [3]
22 September 1899	Nominations
26 September 1899	Polling day
4 October 1899	Return of writ

Result

1899 Ashfield by-election
Tuesday 26 September  ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Protectionist	Bernhard Wise (re-elected)	831	50.6	+0.5
	Free Trade	Thomas Bavister	810	49.4	−0.5
Total formal votes			1,641	99.5	−0.1
Informal votes			8	0.5	+0.1
Turnout			1,649	51.0	−14.9
	Protectionist hold		Swing	+0.5

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Ashfield

References

1. "Mr Bernhard Ringrose Wise (1858-1916)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 13 May 2019.
2. Green, Antony. "1898 to 1901 by-elections". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 14 April 2021.
3. "Writ of election: Ashfield". New South Wales Government Gazette . No. 743. 15 September 1899. p. 6981. Retrieved 6 August 2020– via Trove.
4. Green, Antony. "1899 Ashfield by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 6 August 2020.