The 1955 Tasmanian state election was held on 19 February 1955 in the

Australian state The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

to elect 30 members of the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

. The election used the Hare-Clark

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

system — six members were elected from each of five electorates. The incumbent

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

government, led by

Robert Cosgrove Sir Robert Cosgrove (28 December 1884 – 25 August 1969) was an Australian politician who was the 30th and longest-serving Premier of Tasmania. He held office for over 18 years, serving from 1939 to 1947 and from 1948 to 1958. His involve ...

, had been in office continuously since 1934, although had not held a majority since 1946. It was looking to win another term in minority government against the opposition

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 ...

, on this occasion led by

Rex Townley Reginald 'Rex' Colin Townley CMG (15 April 1904 – 3 May 1982) was an Australian politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party in Tasmania from 1950 to 1956. He also played first-class cricket for the Tasmanian cricket team in his young ...

. The election resulted in a parliamentary deadlock, with both the Labor and Liberal parties winning 15 seats in the 30 seat assembly. The 1955 election also saw the first women elected to the House of Assembly:

Mabel Miller Dame Mabel Flora Miller, DBE (30 November 1906 – 30 December 1978) was an Australian lawyer and politician. She was the first woman elected to the Hobart City Council

for

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

and Amelia Best for

Wilmot Wilmot may refer to: Places Australia *Division of Wilmot, an abolished Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania * Wilmot, Tasmania, a locality in the North-West Region Canada *Wilmot, Nova Scotia, an unincorporated rural community and former t ...

, both members of the Liberal Party.Tasmanian Parliamentary History - FAQ

Parliament of Tasmania The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the Governor of Tasmania, the Tasmanian House of Assembly (the lower house), and ...

Results

Distribution of votes

Primary vote by division

Distribution of seats

References

External links

Assembly Election Results, 1955

.
Report on Parliamentary Elections, 1955
Tasmanian Electoral Commission. {{Tasmanian elections Elections in Tasmania 1955 elections in Australia 1950s in Tasmania February 1955 events in Australia