1961 Paddington-Waverley state by-election

1961 Paddington-Waverley state by-election

←  1959 25 February 1961 1962  →
Electoral district of Paddington-Waverley in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Registered	21,898 [1]
Turnout	69.01% ( 21.4)
First party Second party   Candidate Keith Anderson Edward Maher Party Labor Communist Primary  vote 12,972 1,227 Percentage 12,972% 8.64% Swing 28.7 5.5
MP before election William Ferguson Labor Elected MP Keith Anderson Labor

The 1961 Paddington-Waverley state by-election was held on 25 February 1961 to elect the member for Paddington-Waverley in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, following the death of Labor Party MP William Ferguson. ^[2]

Labor candidate Keith Anderson was elected with a 28.7% primary vote swing in his favour. ^[3] The only other candidate was Edward Maher from the Communist Party, who received 9.64% of the vote. ^[4]

This was the final election held in Paddington-Waverley, which was abolished ahead of the 1962 New South Wales state election, having only been created one election prior in 1959. ^[5]

Key events

• 29 January 1961 − William Ferguson died ^[2]
• 6 February 1961 − Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly ^[6]
• 10 February 1961 − Candidate nominations ^[1]
• 25 February 1961 − Polling day ^[1]
• 24 March 1961 − Return of writ ^[1]

Result

1961 Paddington-Waverley state by-election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Keith Anderson	12,972	91.36	+28.7
	Communist	Edward Maher	1,227	8.64	+5.5
Total formal votes			14,199	93.95	−3.1
Informal votes			912	6.05	+3.1
Turnout			15,111	69.01	−21.4
	Labor hold

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Paddington-Waverley

References

1. Green, Antony. "Paddington-Waverley - By-election (Roll: 21,898)". Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
2. "Mr William John (2) FERGUSON (1891 - 1961)". Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
3. "Mr Keith William ANDERSON (1916 - 1965)". Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 21 April 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
4. "COMMUNIST CANDIDATE". Tribune. 15 February 1961. p. 9. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
5. Cunneen, Chris (2021). "Keith William Anderson (1916–1965)". People Australia. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
6. "Writ of Election". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 6 February 1961. p. 351. Retrieved 30 May 2025.