1929 Ashfield state by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Ashfield on 5 October 1929 because of the resignation of Milton Jarvie (Nationalist). ^[1]

Sir Colin Davidson, a Judge of the Supreme Court, was appointed to conduct a Royal Commission to investigate whether there were attempts at bribery with an application for a Campsie bus service. ^[2] On 7 June 1929 the Royal Commission reported its findings, including that Jarvie had attempted to bribe Albert Bruntnell who was the Chief Secretary. ^[3] Jarvie was charged with criminal offences, however on 1 July 1929 he was found not guilty. ^[4] Jarvie nonetheless resigned so that the electors of Ashfield could return him with an overwhelming majority. ^[5]

Dates

Date	Event
7 June 1929	Royal Commission report given to Governor. [3]
1 July 1929	Jarvie found not guilty. [4]
17 September 1929	Jarvie resigned. [1]
19 September 1929	Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. [6]
24 September 1929	Nominations
5 October 1929	Polling day
18 October 1929	Return of writ

Result

1929 Ashfield by-election
Saturday 5 October  ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	John Clancy	3,526	38.4	+12.5
	Nationalist	Milton Jarvie	3,484	38.0	−20.2
	Independent	Alexander Huie	1,692	18.5	+2.6
	Nationalist	Reginald Kirkwood	281	3.1	+3.1
	Nationalist	Albert Pikett	190	2.1	+2.1
Total formal votes			9,173	99.0	−0.2
Informal votes			95	1.0	+0.2
Turnout			9,268	71.9	−13.9
Two-party-preferred result
	Nationalist	Milton Jarvie (re-elected)	4,376	51.5
	Labor	John Clancy	4,128	48.5
	Nationalist hold		Swing	N/A

See also

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

References

1. "Mr Milton Livingstone Fredericks Jarvie (1891–1965)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 10 May 2019.
2. "PER-88 Davidson, Colin George Watt". State Archives and Records. Government of New South Wales . Retrieved 1 August 2020.
3. "Major Jarvie found guilty by Royal Commission: conspiracy to bribe". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 June 1929. p. 15. Retrieved 1 August 2020– via Trove.
4. "Not guilty: Major Jarvie". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 July 1929. p. 11. Retrieved 1 August 2020– via Trove.
5. "State parliament: Mr Jarvie resigns". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 613. New South Wales, Australia. 18 September 1929. p. 14. Retrieved 1 August 2020– via Trove.
6. "Writ of election: Ashfield". New South Wales Government Gazette . No. 125. 19 September 1929. p. 3841. Retrieved 1 August 2020– via Trove.
7. Green, Antony. "1929 Ashfield by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 1 August 2020.