1908 Richmond state by-election

1908 Richmond state by-election

←  1907 2 October 1908 Dec. 1908  →
Electoral district of Richmond in the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Registered	5,091
Turnout	63.8% ( 5.0)
First party Second party   Candidate Ted Cotter William Wishart Party Labor United Liberal Popular vote 2,046 1,195 Percentage 63.2% 36.8% Swing 63.2 8.6 [a]
MP before election George Henry Bennett United Liberal Elected MP Ted Cotter Labor

The 1908 Richmond state by-election was held on 2 October 1908 to elect the member for Richmond in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, following the death of United Liberal Party (ULP) MP George Henry Bennett. ^[1]

Labor candidate Ted Cotter won the seat with a swing of more than 36%, defeating ULP candidate William Wishart. ^[2] Cotter was re-elected two months later at the state election on 29 December 1908, and continued to be re-elected (including unopposed between 1917 and 1932) until he lost Labor preselection and retired in 1945. ^[3]

Key events

• 8 September 1908 – George Henry Bennett dies ^{[4] [5]}
• 15 September 1908 – Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly ^[6]
• 24 September 1908 – Candidate nominations close ^[7]
• 2 October 1908 – Polling day
• 6 October 1908 – Return of writ ^[8]

Candidates

Candidates are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot. ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Background
	Labor	Ted Cotter	Secretary of the Coopers' Union [10]
	United Liberal	William Wishart	Kew councillor, former mayor, and independent candidate for Richmond in 1907 [11] [12]

Results

1908 Richmond state by-election ^{[9] [13]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Ted Cotter	2,046	63.2	+36.4
	United Liberal	William Wishart	1,195	36.8	–8.6 [a]
Total formal votes			3,241	99.8	+0.6
Informal votes			7	0.2	–0.6
Turnout			3,248	63.8	–5.0
	Labor gain from United Liberal		Swing

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Richmond (Victoria)
• List of Victorian state by-elections

Notes

1. At the 1907 election, ULP candidate George Henry Bennett received 45.4% of the vote, while William Wishart had 27.8% of the vote while contesting as an independent, making their combined vote 73.2% in 1907. If compared to Bennett in 1907, Wishart had a negative swing of 8.6%. If compared to his own 1907 result as an independent, Wishart had a positive swing of 9.0%. If compared to the combined ULP/independent total in 1907, Wishart had a negative swing of 36.4%.

References

1. "Richmond Election". Richmond Guardian. 19 September 1908. p. 2. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
2. "Perambulator". Kilmore Free Press. 8 October 1908. p. 3. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
3. "TWO SURPRISES IN PRE-SELECTIONS". Weekly Times. 10 October 1945. p. 7. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
4. "POPULAR MEMBER PASSES". The Herald. 8 September 1908. p. 3. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
5. "DEATH OF MR. BENNETT, M.L.A." The North Eastern Despatch. 10 September 1908. p. 2. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
6. "The Richmond Election". The Herald. 14 September 1908. p. 3. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
7. "THE NOMINATIONS". The Argus. 25 September 1908. p. 5. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
8. "RICHMOND ELECTION". The Age. 18 September 1908. p. 5. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
9. "THE TWENTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT ELECTED 15 MARCH 1907". Psephos: Adam Carr's Electoral Archive. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
10. "Cotter, Edmund (Edmond) John". Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 31 March 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
11. "ADDRESS BY COUNCILLOR WISHART". The Argus. 24 September 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
12. "HOW THE ANTI-LABOR CANDIDATE 'ESPOUSES THE CAUSE OF THE TOILERS'". The Worker. 1 October 1908. p. 19. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
13. "GOVERNMENT CANDIDATE BADLY DEFEATED". The Age. 3 October 1908. p. 13. Retrieved 18 January 2025.