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 Swan 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 29 April 1944. It was triggered by the death of the sitting member,

Richard Sampson Richard Sampson (died 25 September 1554) was an English clergyman and composer of sacred music, who was Anglican bishop of Chichester and subsequently of Coventry and Lichfield. Biography He was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, the Paris So ...

of the Country Party, on 16 February 1944. The election was won by

Ray Owen Raymond "Ray" Owen (birth registered third ¼ 1940 – 5 February 2006) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, and a chairman of the 1980s and 1990s. He played at club level for Widnes and Wakefield Trini ...

, who finished with 60.0 of the

two-candidate-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 standing as an "Independent Country" candidate. The runner-up was Howard Sampson, a brother of the deceased member.

Background

A member of the Country Party,

had held Swan since the 1921 state election, and briefly served as a minister under James Mitchell. He died in office on 16 February 1944, aged 66.Richard Stanley Sampson
, Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 15 January 2017. After his death, the writ for the by-election was issued on 21 March, with the close of nominations on 3 April. Polling day was on 29 April, with the writ returned on 18 May.

Results

Aftermath

Owen joined three other independents in parliament (

Horace Berry Horace Thurston Berry (1891 – 1 September 1949) was an Australian politician who was an independent member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1939 to 1947, representing the seat of Irwin-Moore. Family Berry was born in ...

Lionel Kelly Lionel Francis Kelly (22 January 1897 – 16 April 1977) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1941 to 1968. He was initially elected as an independent, but in 1946 joined the Labor ...

, and

Harry Shearn Harry Vivian Shearn (28 April 1892 – 21 January 1951) was an Australian politician who was an independent member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1936 until his death, representing the seat of Maylands. Shearn was born ...

), although Labor's comfortable majority meant they had little influence. At the 1947 state election, Owen was narrowly defeated by

Gerald Wild Gerald Percy Wild MBE AM (2 January 1907 – 11 October 1996) was an Australian politician who served as a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1947 to 1965. He was a minister in the governments of Sir Ro ...

of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He joined the Country Party in 1949, and at the 1950 state election won the seat of Darling Range, which he would hold until 1962.Raymond Cecil Owen
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 17 January 2017.

References

{{Reflist Western Australian state by-elections 1944 elections in Australia April 1944 events 1940s in Western Australia

Background

Results

Aftermath

See also

References