1938 Queensland state election

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1938 Queensland state election
Flag of Queensland.svg
  1935 2 April 1938 1941  

All 62 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland
32 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
Registered582,711 Increase2.svg6.2%
Turnout539,037 (92.51%)
(Decrease2.svg0.20 pp)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  William Forgan Smith 1942 (cropped).jpg StateLibQld 1 104596 Politician Edmund Maher, Brisbane, 1940 (cropped 2).jpg StateLibQld 1 126539 Mr H. M. Russell on Election Day, 1938 (cropped).jpg
Leader William Forgan Smith Ted Maher Hugh Russell
Party Labor Country United Australia
Leader since27 May 192915 July 1936July 1936
Leader's seat Mackay West Moreton Hamilton
Last election46 seats, 53.43%New partyNew party
Seats before46 seats13 seats [a] 3 seats [a]
Seats won43144
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 3Increase2.svg 1Increase2.svg 1
Popular vote250,943120,46974,328
Percentage47.17%22.65%13.97%
SwingDecrease2.svg 3.26ppNew partyNew party

1938 Qld parliament.svg
Legislative Assembly after the election

Premier before election

William Forgan Smith
Labor

Elected Premier

William Forgan Smith
Labor

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 2 April 1938 to elect the 62 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Labor government of Premier William Forgan Smith was seeking a third term in office. During the previous term, the Country and United Australia parties had emerged from the united Country and Progressive National Party, which had represented conservative forces for over a decade.

Contents

The most notable feature of the election campaign was the Protestant Labor Party, established in 1937, which claimed that the Forgan Smith Ministry was disproportionately Catholic and made extravagant claims that three-quarters of all police and public servants in the State were Catholic. [1] Despite the campaign, Labor only lost one seat, Kelvin Grove, to the party.

The unsuccessful Protestant Labor candidate for Ithaca, George Webb, lodged a petition against the return of Labor member Ned Hanlon. [2] He was initially successful in the Supreme Court when the case was heard by Justice E.A. Douglas, who voided the election result on 12 October on the basis of a finding that two men who had acted improperly were Hanlon's agents, but Hanlon appealed to the Full Bench of the Supreme Court and on 16 December 1938, his appeal was allowed. [3] A further appeal by Webb to the High Court was refused leave on 31 March 1939. [4]

Key dates

DateEvent
5 March 1938The Parliament was dissolved. [5]
7 March 1938Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. [6]
14 March 1938Close of nominations.
2 April 1938Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
12 April 1938The Forgan Smith Ministry was re-sworn in. [7]
16 April 1938The poll was retaken in Gregory. [8]
30 April 1938The writ was returned and the results formally declared.
9 August 1938Parliament resumed for business. [9]

Results

Legislative Assembly (IRV) – Turnout: 92.51% (CV) [10]
QLD arch-style parliament, 1938.svg
PartyPrimary voteSeats
Votes %Swing (pp)SeatsChange
  Labor 250,94347.17–6.2643Decrease2.svg 3
  Country 120,46922.6514 [a] Increase2.svg 1
  United Australia 74,32813.974 [a] Increase2.svg 1
  Protestant Labour 46,5688.75+8.75 1 Increase2.svg 1
  Social Credit 27,7585.22–1.800Steady2.svg
  Communist 8,5101.60+0.280Steady2.svg
  Independent 3,4030.64–2.730Steady2.svg
Total531,979100.0062Steady2.svg
Invalid/blank votes7,0581.31–0.43
Turnout539,03792.51–0.19
Registered voters582,711
Popular vote
Labor
47.17%
Country
22.65%
United Australia
13.97%
Protestant Labor
8.75%
Social Credit
5.22%
Communist
1.60%
Independents
0.64%
Seats
Labor
70.97%
Country
20.97%
United Australia
6.45%
Protestant Labor
1.61%
1 606,559 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 3 seats were uncontested—2 Labor seats (4 less than in 1935) representing 15,007 enrolled voters and one Country seat (one less than in 1935) representing 8,841 enrolled voters.

Seats changing party representation

This table lists changes in party representation at the 1938 election.

SeatIncumbent memberPartyNew memberParty
Dalby Godfrey Morgan  Country Aubrey Slessar  Labor
East Toowoomba James Kane  Labor Herbert Yeates  Country
Kelvin Grove Frank Waters  Labor George Morris  Protestant Labor
Toowong James Maxwell  United Australia Harry Massey  Independent UAP
Wynnum John Donnelly  Labor Bill Dart  United Australia

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Seats previously held by members of the Country and Progressive National Party (CPNP).

References

  1. Evans, Raymond (2007). A History of Queensland. Cambridge University Press. p. 184. ISBN   978-0-521-87692-6.
  2. "In the Supreme Court of Queensland - The Election Acts 1915–1936". Queensland Government Gazette . 4 June 1938. p. 150:2012–2013.
  3. The Ithaca Election Petition: Webb v Hanlon (1939) St. R. Qd. 90, heard by Blair CJ, Douglas J and Hart AJ (dissenting) LawCite records.
  4. Webb v Hanlon [1939] HCA 8 , (1939) 61 CLR 313 (31 March 1939), High Court (Australia).
  5. "Untitled". Queensland Government Gazette . 5 March 1938. p. 150:591.
  6. "Untitled". Queensland Government Gazette . 7 March 1938. p. 150:595.
  7. "Untitled". Queensland Government Gazette . 12 April 1938. p. 150:1371.
  8. "Order in Council". Queensland Government Gazette . 7 May 1938. p. 150:1585. The cause of the delayed poll was that a poll could not be held at Arrabury.
  9. "Untitled". Queensland Government Gazette . 11 July 1938. p. 151:109.
  10. Hughes, CA; Graham, BD (1974). Voting for the Queensland legislative assembly, 1890–1964 (PDF). Australia National University (ANU). pp. 178–191.