1939 Western Australian state election

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1939 Western Australian state election
Flag of Western Australia (1870-1953).svg
  1936 18 March 1939 1943  

All 50 seats in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
 First partySecond partyThird party
  John Willcock 1940 (cropped).jpg Portrait of Charles George Latham (cropped).jpg
Leader John Willcock Charles Latham Ross McDonald
Party Labor Country Nationalist
Leader since20 August 193624 April 193313 April 1938
Leader's seat Geraldton York West Perth
Last election26 seats13 seats8 seats
Seats won27 seats12 seats7 seats
Seat changeIncrease2.svg1Decrease2.svg1Decrease2.svg1
Percentage45.02%12.00%23.97%
SwingIncrease2.svg2.63Decrease2.svg2.60Decrease2.svg8.39

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

This was the first election in Western Australia since the enactment of compulsory voting, which occurred in 1936. Western Australia was one of the last states to mandate voting. [1]

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 [a]
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

References

  1. CPA 2021, p. 112

Works cited