1969 Gwydir by-election

A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Gwydir on 7 June 1969. This was triggered by the resignation of Country Party MP Ian Allan, who had been appointed Secretary-General and regional director of ANZAC war graves in the Pacific Region of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.[1] As a by-election for the seat of Bendigo had just been called, the two were held on the same day.

1969 Gwydir by-election

← 1966 7 June 1969 1969 →

The Gwydir seat in the House of Representatives
Turnout39,800 (88.2%)
  First party Second party
 
Candidate Ralph Hunt Roger Nott
Party National Labor
Popular vote 21,113 18,293
Percentage 53.6% 46.4%
Swing Decrease7.7 Increase7.7

MP before election

Ian Allan
National

Elected MP

Ralph Hunt
National

The by-election was won by Country Party candidate Ralph Hunt.

Candidates

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The Country Party candidate, Ralph Hunt, was the NSW and federal chairman of the party, and a farmer and grazier from northern New South Wales.[1]

The Labor candidate, Roger Nott, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Liverpool Plains, largely located within Gwydir, from 1941 until 1961, and served as a minister in the Cahill and Heffron governments, before being appointed by the Menzies government as Administrator of the Northern Territory.[1][2]

Key dates

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Date Event
30 April 1969 The Speaker announced that Ian Allan had resigned from Parliament.[3]
1 May 1969 The writ for the by-election was issued.[4]
16 May 1969 Close of nominations.
7 June 1969 Polling day.
4 July 1969 Return of the writ.
12 August 1969 Ralph Hunt was sworn in as the member for Gwydir.[5]

Results

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Gwydir by-election, 1969[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Country Ralph Hunt 21,113 53.6 −7.7
Labor Roger Nott 18,293 46.4 +7.7
Total formal votes 39,406 99.0
Informal votes 394 1.0
Turnout 39,800 88.2
Country hold Swing −7.7

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Member for Gwydir resigns". The Canberra Times. 1 May 1969. p. 1. Retrieved 23 September 2020 – via Trove.
  2. ^ "The Hon. Roger Bede Nott, CBE (1907-2000)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  3. ^ Hon. William AstonSpeaker (30 April 1969). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: House of Representatives. p. 1524.
  4. ^ "The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia: House of Representatives". Australian Government Gazette. No. 38. 1 May 1969. p. 2683. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  5. ^ Hon. William Aston, Speaker (12 August 1969). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: House of Representatives. p. 3.
  6. ^ "By-Elections 1966-1969". Psephos. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.