by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

for the seat of Roebourne in the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

was held on 6 February 1932. It was triggered by the death of

Frederick Teesdale Frederick William Teesdale (3 April 1864 – 14 December 1931) was an Australian politician who was a Nationalist Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1917 until his death, representing the seat of Roebourne. Te ...

(the sitting

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

member) on 14 December 1931. The election was considered to be of great importance to the government of Sir James Mitchell, as a loss to the Labor Party would reduce his Nationalist–

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

coalition to

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

. John Church, a 72-year-old pastoralist, was one of two candidates fielded by the Nationalist Party, and won the election with 56.42 percent of the

two-party-preferred In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP, ...

vote. He defeated five other candidates, including four who polled more than 10 percent on

first preferences In certain ranked-voting systems, a first-preference vote (or first preference, 1st preference, or primary vote) is the individual voter's first choice amongst (possibly) many. In certain ranked systems such as Instant-Runoff Voting or Single T ...

, and became the oldest person to win election to parliament in Western Australia for the first time.

Background

had held Roebourne for the Nationalist Party since the 1917 state election, generally with a large majority (and on one occasion running unopposed). He died at his home in Perth on 14 December 1931, having suffered from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

for two years."DEATH OF MR. F. W. TEESDALE"
''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'', 15 December 1931. The writ for the by-election was issued on 17 December, with the close of nominations on 11 January. Polling day was on 6 February, with the writ returned on 15 February.

Results

;Notes

Aftermath

Church held Roebourne for just over a year, losing the seat to Aloysius Rodoreda by 23 votes in the Labor landslide at the 1933 state election. Rodoreda remained in parliament until his death in 1958, transferring to the seat of Pilbara when Roebourne was abolished at the 1950 election.

References

{{Reflist Western Australian state by-elections 1932 elections in Australia February 1932 events 1930s in Western Australia

Background

Results

Aftermath

See also

References