1943 Western Australian State Election
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - 1943 Western Australian State Election
OR:
1943 Western Australian State Election on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Elections were held in the
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
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 ...
on 20 November 1943 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The Labor Party, led by Premier
John Willcock John Collings Willcock (9 August 1879 – 7 June 1956) was the 15th Premier of Western Australia, serving from 1936 until 1945. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party. Early life John Willcock was born at Frogmoor (now Frogmore), New So ...
, won a fourth term in office against the
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 ...
and
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: Th ...
parties, led by
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 ...
Arthur Watts and Robert Ross McDonald respectively. The election took place in the midst of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and as such, turnout was considerably down on the previous election. The election was delayed from its intended date of February 1942 by the ''Legislative Assembly Duration and General Election Postponement Acts'' (No 51 of 1941, assented 16 January 1942, and No 18 of 1942, assented 9 December 1942) due to the war. In the previous term, two changes of membership occurred at by-elections. George Lambert, the Labor member for Yilgarn-Coolgardie, died on 30 June 1941 and was replaced by former Labor branch secretary
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 ...
, running under the "Independent Country" banner. He ultimately joined the Labor Party and became a minister in the Bert Hawke government in the 1950s. In 1943, long-serving and colourful independent
Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...
resigned his seat of
East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
to contest the federal seat of
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
. It was picked up by Labor's
Herb Graham Herbert Ernst Graham (6 April 1911 – 17 March 1982) was an Australian politician. Biography Graham was born in Narrogin, Western Australia on 6 April 1911 to parents from South Australia. Graham attended school in Narrogin and Northam. H ...
. Prior to the election, former Independent Nationalist
Arthur Abbott Arthur Valentine Rutherford Abbott (14 February 1892 – 10 October 1975) was an Australian lawyer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1939 to 1956. He was a minister in the government of Sir ...
joined the Nationalist Party.


Results

Apart from Labor gaining two seats from the Country Party ( Avon and Greenough) and one from the Nationalists (
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, where Ernest Hoar defeated the incumbent member by just 17 votes), no changes took place at the election. An interesting race in Mount Marshall opened up by the retirement of incumbent Country member Frederick Warner ended with the Country candidate,
Hugh Leslie Hugh Alan Leslie OBE (17 April 1900 – 2 September 1974) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Country Party and served terms in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (1943–1949) and House of Representatives (1949–195 ...
, victorious against the ALP and former minister
John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...
. : 274,856 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 12 of the 50 seats were uncontested—11 Labor seats (seven more than 1939, including all of the
Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
seats) representing 57,651 enrolled voters, and one Nationalist seat representing 4,829 voters. The estimated swing from 1939 and 1943 was approximately 4% to Labor. To date this is the only time in which a Labor Premier in Willcock has won back to back elections.


See also

*
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1939–1943 This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between the 1939 election and the 1943 election, together known as the 17th Parliament. Notes : On 29 March 1939, Aubrey Coverley, the member for Kimberley was appoint ...
*
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1943–1947 This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between the 1943 election and the 1947 election, together known as the 18th Parliament. In January 1945, the Nationalists, officially known as the National Party of Wester ...
* Willcock Ministry


References

{{Western Australian elections Elections in Western Australia 1943 elections in Australia 1940s in Western Australia November 1943 events