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 ...

was held for the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members o ...

seat of Hunter on 9 April 1960. This was triggered by the resignation of

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 ...

MP and former

Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

H. V. Evatt Herbert Vere Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a judge of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs from 1941 to 1949, and l ...

. A

for the seat of La Trobe was held on the same day. The seat was won by Labor candidate

Bert James Albert William James (22 September 1914 – 30 September 2006) was an Australian politician. He was born in Collie, Western Australia, the son of Rowley James, a future Australian Labor Party, Labor member for Division of Hunter, Hunter in th ...

, the son of Evatt's predecessor

Rowley James Rowland "Rowley" James (14 June 1885 – 4 July 1962) was an Australian politician and coalminer. He was a member of the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1928 to 1958, representing the New South Wales seat ...

. The governing

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 ...

did not field a candidate, leaving as James' main opposition independent labor candidate Bob Brown, a shop-keeper and councillor on Cessnock City Council. He was apparently not related to the

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasma ...

, who would win the seat as the endorsed Labor candidate twenty years later.

Results

References

{{Aus by-elections 23rd parl 1960 elections in Australia New South Wales federal by-elections April 1960 events in Australia