1880 Northumberland colonial by-election explained

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Northumberland on 30 April 1880 because Thomas Hungerford resigned attend to personal business matters.

Dates

Date	Event
14 April 1880	Thomas Hungerford resigned.^[1]
15 April 1880	Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.^[2]
28 April 1880	Nominations.^[3]
30 April 1880	Polling day between 9 am and 4 pm.
10 May 1880	Return of writ

Candidates

• Joseph Creer was a cabinet maker and Newcastle councillor. This was his first candidacy for the Legislative Assembly.^[4]
• Sir William Gordon was a surgeon from Murrurundi. This was his tenth and final time standing unsuccessfully for the Legislative Assembly.^[5]
• George Maclean was a free selector.^[3] He had previously stood unsuccessfully for the Liverpool Plains by-election in 1876.^[6]
• Ninian Melville was chairman of the Working Men's Defence Association and campaigned on a platform of protectionism and opposition to assisted immigration. He had twice been defeated for East Sydney in 1877 at the by-election in August and the general election in October.^[7]

Result

Thomas Hungerford resigned.

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Northumberland
• List of New South Wales state by-elections

Notes and References

1. Mr Thomas Hungerford (1823-1904) . 535 . Yes . 23 June 2019.
2. News: Writ of election: Northumberland . . 132 . 16 April 1880 . 2021-06-01 . 1807 . Trove.
3. News: Electorate of Northumberland. . . 29 April 1880 . 1 June 2021 . 4–5 . Trove.
4. Index to Candidates: Copland to Crittenden . CandidateIndexes . CandidateIndex13 . 2021-06-01.
5. Index to Candidates: Ghalayini to Gorrick . CandidateIndexes . CandidateIndex22 . 2021-06-01.
6. 1876 Liverpool Plains by-election . 1877-5 . Liverpool Plains_1 . 2021-06-01.
7. Elections for the District of East Sydney . DistrictIndexes . EastSydney . 2021-06-01.