1939 Western Australian state election

Last updated

1939 Western Australian state election
Flag of Western Australia.svg
  1936 18 March 1939 1943  

All 50 seats in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
 First partySecond party
  John Willcock.jpg Charles Latham.jpg
Leader John Willcock Charles Latham
Party Labor National
Leader since20 August 193624 April 1933
Leader's seat Geraldton York
Last election26 seats21 seats
Seats won27 seats19 seats
Seat changeIncrease2.svg1Decrease2.svg2
Percentage45.02%35.97%
SwingIncrease2.svg2.63Decrease2.svg10.99

Premier before election

John Willcock
Labor

Elected Premier

John Willcock
Labor

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 18 March 1939 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The Labor Party, led by Premier John Willcock, won a third term in office against the Country and Nationalist parties, led by Opposition Leader Charles Latham and Robert Ross McDonald respectively.

Contents

Results

The election was notable for the lack of change to the status quo. Only one member—former Speaker Michael Troy, who had been in the Assembly continuously since 1904—opted to retire, being replaced in his seat of Mount Magnet by fellow Labor member Lucien Triat. Labor's Bill Hegney gained the seat of Pilbara from two-term Nationalist MLA Frank Welsh, whilst the Nationalist member since 1914 for North Perth, James MacCallum Smith, was defeated by independent Nationalist Arthur Abbott (who joined the party some years later).

Elsewhere, the only change was the exit of one Independent member—Clarence Doust in Nelson, who was defeated by his Nationalist predecessor John Henry Smith after one term—and the entry of another from Irwin-Moore, Claude Barker, replacing Country member Percy Ferguson.

Western Australian state election, 18 March 1939
Legislative Assembly
<< 19361943 >>

Enrolled voters228,563 [1]
Votes cast209,331 Turnout 91.59%+21.46%
Informal votes3,660Informal1.75%+0.63%
Summary of votes by party
PartyPrimary votes %SwingSeatsChange
  Labor 92,58545.02%+2.63%27+ 1
  Nationalist 49,30723.97%–8.39%7– 1
  Country 24,68112.00%–2.60%12– 1
 Ind. Nat.13,9776.80%+4.26%2+ 1
  Communist 3080.15%+0.06%0± 0
  Independent 24,81312.06%+5.07%2± 0
Total205,671  50 
1 265,987 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 10 of the 50 seats were uncontested—4 Labor seats representing 9,414 enrolled voters, 2 Nationalist seats representing 11,396 voters and 4 Country seats representing 16,614 voters.

See also

Related Research Articles

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 21 October 1914 to elect 50 members to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. The Labor party, led by Premier John Scaddan, retained government against the opposition conservative Liberal Party led by Opposition Leader Frank Wilson, though with only the barest of majorities. The election also saw the emergence of the Western Australian Country Party, which had been formed at a conference of the Farmers and Settlers Association the previous year to fight for rural interests, and won eight seats at the election.

1974 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 30 March 1974 to elect all 51 members to the Legislative Assembly and 15 members to the 30-seat Legislative Council. The one-term Labor government, led by Premier John Tonkin, was defeated by the Liberal Party, led by Opposition Leader Charles Court.

1968 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 23 March 1968 to elect all 51 members to the Legislative Assembly and 15 members to the 30-seat Legislative Council. The Liberal-Country coalition government, led by Premier Sir David Brand, won a record fourth term in office against the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader John Tonkin.

1965 Western Australian state election Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 20 February 1965 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly and 15 members to the 30-seat Legislative Council. The Liberal-Country coalition government, led by Premier Sir David Brand, won a third term in office against the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Albert Hawke.

1962 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 31 March 1962 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The Liberal-Country coalition government, led by Premier Sir David Brand, won a second term in office against the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Albert Hawke.

1959 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 21 March 1959 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The result was a hung parliament—the two-term Labor government, led by Premier Albert Hawke, was defeated with an average swing against it of about 7 per cent, but the Liberal-Country Party coalition, led by Opposition Leader David Brand, won exactly half of the seats, and needed the support of at least one of the two Independent Liberal members to obtain a majority in the Assembly. The situation remained precarious throughout the term—while Bill Grayden joined the LCL the following year, giving the Coalition a one-seat majority, the other Independent Liberal, Edward Oldfield, joined the Labor Party.

1956 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 7 April 1956 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The Labor Party, led by Premier Albert Hawke, won a second term in office against the Liberal-Country coalition, led by Sir Ross McLarty.

1953 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 14 February 1953 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The two-term Liberal-Country Party coalition government, led by Premier Sir Ross McLarty, was defeated by the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Albert Hawke.

1950 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 25 March 1950 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The Liberal-Country coalition government, led by Premier Ross McLarty, won a second term in office against the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Frank Wise.

1947 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 15 March 1947 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The result was a hung parliament—the four-term Labor government, led by Premier Frank Wise, was defeated with a swing of approximately 7%. The Liberal-Country Coalition won exactly half of the seats, one short of a majority, needed the support of the Independent members Harry Shearn and William Read to govern.

1917 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 29 September 1917 to elect 50 members to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. The Nationalist-Country-National Labor coalition, led by Premier Sir Henry Lefroy, retained government against the Labor Party led by Opposition Leader Philip Collier. The election followed a series of major changes in the Western Australian political landscape.

1943 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 20 November 1943 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The Labor Party, led by Premier John Willcock, won a fourth term in office against the Country and Nationalist parties, led by Opposition Leader Arthur Watts and Robert Ross McDonald respectively.

1936 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 15 February 1936 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The Labor Party, led by Premier Philip Collier, won a second term in office against the Country and Nationalist parties, led by Opposition Leader Charles Latham and Norbert Keenan respectively.

1933 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 8 April 1933 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The one-term Nationalist-Country coalition government, led by Premier Sir James Mitchell, was defeated by the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Philip Collier.

1932 Queensland state election

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 11 June 1932 to elect the 62 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.

1938 Queensland state election

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.

1941 Queensland state election Australian state election

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 29 March 1941 to elect the 62 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Labor government of Premier William Forgan Smith was seeking a fourth term in office.

1924 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 22 March 1924 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The incumbent Nationalist-Majority Country government, led by Premier James Mitchell, was defeated by the Labor Party opposition, led by Opposition Leader Philip Collier.

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 12 March 1921 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The incumbent government, led by Premier James Mitchell of the Nationalist Party and supported by the Country Party and National Labor Party, won a second term in government against the Labor Party opposition, led by Opposition Leader Philip Collier.

John Henry "Jack" Smith was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1921 to 1936 and again from 1939 to 1943, on both occasions representing the seat of Nelson. He stood for parliament eleven times in total, winning on six occasions.

References