1898 New South Wales colonial election
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All 125 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 63 Assembly seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Legislative Assembly after the election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1898 New South Wales colonial election was held on 27 July 1898 for all of the 125 seats in the 18th New South Wales Legislative Assembly and it was conducted in single-member constituencies with a first past the post voting system. Section 23 (1) of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act of 1893 conferred a right to vote on 'every male person, being a natural born [British] subject, who shall have resided or had his principal place of abode in New South Wales for a continuous period of one year'. The 18th parliament of New South Wales was dissolved on 8 July 1898 by the Governor, Lord Hampden, on the advice of the Premier, George Reid.[1][2]
The Protectionist Party, the main Opposition, contested this election under the name "National Federal Party", reflecting the party's focus on Federation as an issue at the election.
Key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 8 July 1898 | The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. |
| 18 – 22 July 1898 | Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon. |
| 27 July 1898 | Polling day. |
| 16 August 1898 | Opening of 18th Parliament. |
Results
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New South Wales colonial election, 27 July 1898 [3] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enrolled voters | 301,989 | |||||
| Votes cast | 176,998 | Turnout | 58.61 | −1.31 | ||
| Informal votes | 1,638 | Informal | 0.92 | +0.04 | ||
| Summary of votes by party | ||||||
| Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |
| National Federal | 76,161 | 43.03 | +9.60 | 52 | +10 | |
| Free Trade | 58,214 | 32.89 | −4.26 | 45 | −13 | |
| Labour | 21,556 | 12.18 | −1.02 | 19 | +1 | |
| Independent Federalist | 12,443 | 7.03 | +2.71 | 4 | +2 | |
| Independent | 5,290 | 2.99 | −0.38 | 4 | +4 | |
| Ind. Free Trade | 3,325 | 1.88 | −5.44 | 1 | −3 | |
| Independent Labour | 9 | 0.01 | −1.21 | 0 | −1 | |
| Total | 176,998 | 125 | ||||
Retiring members
National Federal
- Michael Phillips MLA (Cowra)
Free Trade
- George Greene MLA (Grenfell)
- Leslie Hollis MLA (Goulburn)
- Adrian Knox MLA (Woollahra)
Labor
- Thomas Davis MLA (Sydney-Pyrmont)
- George Smailes MLA (Granville)
Changing seats
Notes
- ^ Compares members at the 1895 election and the 1898 election and does not include seats that changed party as a result of a by-election.
- ^ Thomas Waddell successfully contested Cowra.
- ^ a b Did not contest the election.
- ^ Charles Collins (Free Trade) died in 1898 and Hugh Ross (Labour) had won the seat in a by-election.
- ^ Philip Morton had been elected as an Independent Free Trader but changed to National Federal.
- ^ John McElhone (Independent Free Trade) died in 1898 and John Norton (National Federal) had won the seat in a by-election.
- ^ This was the only election at which John Nicholson was listed as a Free Trade member and Antony Green suggests he may have been better classified as Independent Labour.[4]
References
- ^ "Part 5B - Members returned for each electorate" (PDF). New South Wales Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Former Members". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1898 election totals". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1898 Woronora". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
See also
- Candidates of the 1898 New South Wales colonial election
- Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1898–1901
