1916 Drummoyne state by-election

1916 Drummoyne state by-election

←  1913 22 January 1916 (first round) 29 January 1916 (second round) 1917  →
Electoral district of Drummoyne in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Registered	13,800
Turnout	56.92% ( 13.71) (second round)
First party Second party   NPP Candidate Alexander Graff Frederick Parish Party Liberal Reform Nat Progressive 1st round 3,101 1,392 Percentage 47.32% 21.24% Swing 8.84 16.66 2nd round 4,382 3,435 Percentage 56.06% 43.94%   Third party Fourth party   Candidate Frank Farnell William Begg Party Ind. Liberal Women's League 1st round 1,152 829 Percentage 17.58% 12.65% Swing 17.58 12.65
MP before election George Richards Liberal Reform Elected MP Alexander Graff Liberal Reform

The 1916 Drummoyne state by-election was held on 22 January 1916 to elect the member for Drummoyne in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, following the death of Liberal Reform MP George Richards.

The by-election resulted in Liberal Reform candidate Alexander Graff finishing in first place with 47.32% of the vote, followed by National Progressive candidate Frederick Parish on 21.24%. Because no candidate had received an absolute majority, a second round of voting was held one week later on 29 January 1962, which Graff won. ^[1]

Key dates

• 3 January 1916 – Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly ^[2]
• 10 January 1916 – Candidate nominations
• 22 January 1916 – Polling day
• 29 January 1916 – Second round
• 7 February 1916 – Return of writ

Results

1916 Drummoyne state by-election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Reform	Alexander Graff	3,101	47.32	+8.84
	National Progressive	Frederick Parish	1,392	21.24	+16.66
	Independent Liberal	Frank Farnell	1,152	17.58	+17.58
	Women's League	William Begg	829	12.65	+12.65
	Independent Democrat	Patrick Craddock	70	1.07	+1.07
	Independent Democrat	John Bell	8	0.14	+0.14
Total formal votes			6,553	–
Informal votes			–	–
Turnout			6,553	47.49	–23.14
Second round result
	Liberal Reform	Alexander Graff	4,382	56.06	N/A
	National Progressive	Frederick Parish	3,435	43.94	N/A
Total formal votes			7,817	99.52	+1.74
Informal votes			38	0.48	–1.74
Turnout			7,855	56.92	–13.71
	Liberal Reform hold

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Drummoyne
• List of New South Wales state by-elections

References

1. "SPLIT IN LIBERAL VOTE". Sydney Morning Herald. 24 January 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
2. "WRIT OF ELECTION". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 3 January 1916. p. 43. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
3. Green, Antony. "Drummoyne - By-election 1916". Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.