1942 Cairns state by-election

1942 Cairns state by-election

←  1941 31 October 1942 1944  →
Electoral district of Cairns in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland
Registered	10,309 [1]
Turnout	67.5% ( 19.5)
First party Second party   Candidate David Crowley Lou Barnes Party Labor O'Malley Labor Primary  vote 2,169 2,101 Percentage 31.5% 30.5% Swing 23.9 30.5 TCP 49.7% 52.1% TCP swing 5.0 52.1   Third party Fourth party   Candidate Alan Tucker William Griffin Party Anti-Fascist Independent Primary  vote 1,776 851 Percentage 25.7% 12.3% Swing 16.4 12.3
MP before election John O'Keefe Labor Elected MP Lou Barnes O'Malley Labor

The 1942 Cairns state by-election was held on 31 October 1942 to elect the member for Cairns in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, following the death of Labor Party MP John O'Keefe. ^[2]

Lou Barnes, the brother of Bundaberg MP Frank Barnes, won the seat as a King O'Malley Labor candidate. ^{[3] [4]} Labor candidate David Crowley suffered a negative primary vote swing of 23.9%, with Barnes winning on 52.1% of the two-candidate-preferred result. ^{[5] [6]}

Following the by-election, the electoral system was changed from contingency voting to first-past-the-post after the Labor government introduced a bill to change the system. ^{[7] [8]} First-past-the-post was in place for Queensland state elections until full preferential voting was introduced by the Country−Liberal coalition in 1963. ^[9]

Independent candidate William Griffin contested the by-election on a platform of abolishing the Queensland state parliament. ^[10]

Key dates

• 27 January 1942 − John O'Keefe dies ^[11]
• 15 July 1942 − Frank Nicklin says Country Party won't contest by-election ^[12]
• 21 October 1942 − Candidate nominations ^[13]
• 31 October 1942 − Polling day ^[14]
• 11 November 1942 − Return of writ ^[15]

Candidates

Party		Candidate	Background
	King O'Malley Labor	Lou Barnes	Market gardener and former traveler for the Castlemaine Perkins [16]
	Labor	David Crowley	President of the Labor Party branch in Cairns [16] [17] [18]
	Anti-Fascist [19] [20]	Alan Tucker	Candidate for Cairns in 1935 and 1941 [21]
	Independent	William Griffin	Former member of the Cairns Harbour Board [16]

Results

1942 Cairns state by-election ^{[22] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	David Crowley	2,169	31.5	−23.9
	King O'Malley Labor	Lou Barnes	2,101	30.5	+30.5
	Anti-Fascist	Alan Tucker	1,776	25.7	+16.4
	Independent	William Griffin	851	12.3	+12.3
Total formal votes			6,897	99.1	+0.6
Informal votes			58	0.9	−0.6
Turnout			6,955	67.5	−19.5
Two-candidate-preferred result
	King O'Malley Labor	Lou Barnes	2,535	52.1	+52.1
	Labor	David Crowley	2,334	47.9	N/A [a]
	King O'Malley Labor gain from Labor

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Cairns

Notes

1. Preferences were not distributed at the previous election. Therefore there is no previous two-candidate-preferred result upon which to base a swing.

References

1. "CAIRNS BY-ELECTION". Queensland Times. 22 October 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
2. "Cairns By-Election Candidate". Cairns Post. 18 July 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
3. "Another Barnes May Enter House". Truth. 1 November 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
4. "WILL TAKE LABOR'S SEATS IF IT DOESN'T WATCH!". Truth. 8 November 1942. p. 10. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
5. "Cairns Result At Week-end". The Courier-Mail. 3 November 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
6. "Crowley Has Lead of 51". Townsville Daily Bulletin. 5 November 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
7. "DID CAIRNS BY-ELECTION CAUSE THIS?". The Evening Advocate. 20 November 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
8. "Bill To Abolish Contingent Voting Passed". Morning Bulletin. 21 November 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
9. "Candidates, Informal Voting and Optional Preferential Voting". Antony Green's Election Blog. 22 December 2020. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
10. "MR. W. C. GRIFFIN". Cairns Post. 22 July 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
11. "MR. O'KEEFE PASSES". Queensland Times. 28 January 1942. p. 6. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
12. "Independent Candidate Likely". Queensland Times. 16 July 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
13. "CAIRNS BY-ELECTION". The Central Queensland Herald. 29 October 1942. p. 14. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
14. "CAIRNS BY-ELECTION". Townsville Daily Bulletin. 14 October 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
15. "Cairns By-election Completed". The Telegraph. 11 November 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
16. "FOUR NOMINATIONS". Cairns Post. 22 October 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
17. "LABOUR PLEBISCITE". Cairns Post. 5 October 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
18. "4 Nominations For Cairns By-Election". The Telegraph. 21 October 1942. p. 8. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
19. "Barnes Leads In Cairns By-Election". Morning Bulletin. 2 November 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
20. "LEAD INCREASED". Cairns Post. 5 November 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
21. "NTH. Q'LAND CANDIDATE". The Workers' Weekly. 26 April 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
22. "HOW THE PEOPLE VOTED". Cairns Post. 2 November 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
23. "BARNES WINS CAIRNS BY-ELECTION". The Central Queensland Herald. 12 November 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 28 August 2025.