1930 Lane Cove state by-election

1930 Lane Cove state by-election

←  1927 26 July 1930 Oct. 1930  →
Electoral district of Lane Cove in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Registered	18,396
Turnout	72.8% ( 9.3)
First party Second party Third party   Candidate Herbert FitzSimons Frederick Hutt Frederick Dunn Party Nationalist Labor Australian Primary  vote 5,775 4,080 3,399 Percentage 43.5% 30.7% 25.6% Swing 14.3 8.0 6.0 [a] 2CP 58.9% 41.1% 2CP swing 58.9 41.1
MP before election Bryce Walmsley Nationalist Elected MP Herbert FitzSimons Nationalist

The 1930 Lane Cove state by-election was held on 26 July 1930 to elect the member for Lane Cove in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, following the death of Nationalist Party MP Bryce Walmsley. ^{[1] [2]}

The seat was retained for the Nationalists by Herbert FitzSimons, although the party lost 14.3% of its primary vote. ^{[3] [4]} FitzSimons was not sworn in as an MP before parliament was dissolved for the state election on 25 October 1930, where he retained the seat. ^{[5] [6]}

This was the first election contested by the Australian Party, which had been formed in December 1929, and it has been suggested that the party would have won the by-election if Labor did not run a candidate. ^{[7] [8]}

Key events

• 21 June 1930 − Bryce Walmsley dies
• 7 July 1930 − Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly ^[9]
• 14 July 1930 − Candidate nominations
• 26 July 1930 − Polling day
• 28 July 1930 − Result declared ^[10]
• 9 August 1930 − Return of writ

Candidates

Party		Candidate	Background
	Australian	Frederick Dunn	Lane Cove alderman, former mayor, and Independent Nationalist candidate in 1927 [11] [12]
	Nationalist	Herbert FitzSimons	Printer and son of former MP William FitzSimons [13] [14] [15]
	Labor	Frederick Hutt	Federal president of the Meat Employees Union [16] [17]
	Unlimited Revolutionary	Theodore McLennan	"Corn killer" and founder of the Australian Unlimited Social and Economic Revolutionary Party [18] [19]

Results

1930 Lane Cove state by-election ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nationalist	Herbert FitzSimons	5,775	43.5	−14.3
	Labor	Frederick Hutt	4,080	30.7	+8.0
	Australian	Frederick Dunn	3,399	25.6	+6.0 [a]
	Unlimited Revolutionary	Theodore McLennan	30	0.2	+0.2
Total formal votes			13,284	99.2	+0.6
Informal votes			113	0.8	−0.6
Turnout			13,397	72.8	−9.3
Two-party-preferred result
	Nationalist	Herbert FitzSimons	7,160	58.9	+58.9
	Labor	Frederick Hutt	4,990	41.1	+41.1
	Nationalist hold		Swing	N/A

See also

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

Notes

1. Compared to results as an Independent Nationalist candidate at the 1927 election. ^[20]

References

1. "DEATH OF MR. WALMSLEY". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. 23 June 1930. p. 3. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
2. "LANE COVE ELECTION". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. 3 July 1930. p. 4. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
3. "LANE COVE BY-ELECTION". The Corowa Free Press. 29 July 1930. p. 3. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
4. "LANE COVE BY-ELECTION". The Gloucester Advocate. 29 July 1930. p. 2. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
5. Green, Antony. "Lane Cove - By-election 1930". Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
6. "COUNT STILL LEAVES SIX SEATS DOUBTFUL". Daily Pictorial. 28 October 1930. p. 9. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
7. "LANE COVE". The Australian Worker. 30 July 1930. p. 11. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
8. Hogan, Michael; Clune, David (2001). The People's Choice: Electoral Politics in Twentieth Century New South Wales / Volume Two: 1930 to 1965. Federation Press. p. 21.
9. "WRIT OF ELECTION". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 7 July 1930. p. 2701. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
10. "LANE COVE BY-ELECTION". Sydney Morning Herald. 29 July 1930. p. 12. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
11. "MR. F. W DUNN". Sydney Morning Herald. 15 July 1930. p. 10. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
12. "LANE COVE MAYORS: A RETROSPECTIVE 1895 – 2021" (PDF). aurorashore.com.au. Lane Cove Council. 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
13. "A Plethora of Nationalists". The Age. 2 July 1930. p. 9. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
14. "Surprise Nomination For Seat". Evening News. 14 July 1930. p. 9. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
15. McCarthy, John. "Herbert Paton Fitzsimons (1898–1970)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
16. "Lane Cove Vacancy". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 June 1930. p. 13. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
17. "LANE COVE BY-ELECTION". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 July 1930. p. 10. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
18. "LANE COVE BY-ELECTION". Glen Innes Examiner. 15 July 1930. p. 4. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
19. "Four Candidates". The Australian Worker. 16 July 1930. p. 18. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
20. Green, Antony. "Lane Cove - 1927". Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.