List of Western Australian Legislative Council by-elections explained

The list of Western Australia Legislative Council by-elections includes every by-election held in the Australian state of Western Australia for the Legislative Council. Prior to the Acts Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 1987 which came into force at the 1989 election, it was necessary for a by-election to be held to fill any vacancy; they have since been filled by recounts from the previous poll based on a proportional voting system. An imminent Council election often allowed the vacancy to remain until the inauguration of the new Council, usually on the following 22 May.

Ministerial by-elections

Until a constitutional amendment in 1947,^[1] it was necessary for members who were appointed as a Minister to resign their seat and contest their seat at a ministerial by-election. This was because the Ministers became members of the Executive Council, which reported to the Governor of Western Australia and was therefore deemed an "office of profit" under the Crown. Most ministerial by-elections were a formality with the Minister being re-elected unopposed, but on one occasion, in 1901, a Minister from the Council was defeated at the by-elections.

List of Legislative Council by-elections

1950–1989

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Vacated	Cause	Retained
South-West	24 October 1987	Vic Ferry			Liberal	Barry House			Liberal	24 July 1987	Resignation	Yes
Central	17 November 1984	Gordon Atkinson			Liberal	Eric Charlton			National	4 August 1984	Death	No
North	31 July 1982	Bill Withers			Liberal	Tom Stephens			Labor	21 May 1982	Resignation	No
South Metropolitan	13 March 1982	Howard Olney			Labor	Garry Kelly			Labor	16 December 1981	Resignation	Yes
North	20 February 1971	Harry Strickland			Labor	John Hunt			Labor	31 December 1970	Resignation	Yes
West	21 October 1967	Ray Jones			Country	Fred White			Country	3 September 1967	Death	Yes
Midland	17 August 1963	Charles Simpson			Country	Jack Heitman			Liberal	12 June 1963	Death	No
North-East	29 June 1963	William Hall			Labor	David Dellar			Labor	1 May 1963	Death	Yes
West	29 June 1963	Evan Davies			Labor	Jerry Dolan			Labor	10 April 1963	Death	Yes
West	7 February 1959	Gilbert Fraser			Labor	Ron Thompson			Labor	1 November 1958	Death	Yes
North	22 September 1956	Charles Barker			Labor	Frank Wise			Labor	18 July 1956	Death	Yes
Metropolitan	9 June 1956	Harry Hearn			Liberal	Reg Mattiske			Liberal	20 March 1956	Death	Yes
South-East	10 September 1955	Robert Boylen			Labor	John Cunningham			Liberal	25 June 1955	Death	No
South-West	10 September 1955	Charles Henning			Liberal	F. D. Willmott			Liberal	22 June 1955	Death	Yes
Suburban	20 June 1953	James Dimmitt			Liberal	Arthur Griffith			Liberal	13 April 1953	Resignation (appointed as Agent-General)	Yes
Central	3 May 1952	G. B. Wood			Country	Leslie Diver			Country	3 January 1952	Death	Yes
South-West	2 June 1951	William Mann			Liberal	James Murray			Liberal	22 April 1951	Death	Yes
South-West	2 June 1951	Hobart Tuckey			Liberal	Charles Henning			Liberal	10 March 1951	Death	Yes
Central	6 May 1950	Charles Baxter			Country	Norm Baxter			Country	2 March 1950	Death	Yes

1940–1949

The changes of names of electoral provinces at the 1950 election, effected by the Electoral Districts Act 1947, were as follows:

• Central Province → Midland Province
• East Province → Central Province
• Metropolitan-Suburban Province → Suburban Province
• South Province → South-East Province
• South-East Province → South Province

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Vacated	Cause	Retained
Metropolitan	8 May 1948	Leonard Bolton			Liberal	Keith Watson			Liberal	31 March 1948	Resignation	Yes
Central	30 August 1947	John Drew			Labor	Harold Daffen			Liberal	17 July 1947	Death	No
West	21 June 1947	William Kitson			Labor	Evan Davies			Labor	15 May 1947	Resignation (appointed as Agent-General)	Yes

See also

• List of Western Australian state by-elections

External links

• Book: Black, David. Legislative Council of Western Australia : membership register, electoral law and statistics, 1890-1989. 1991. Parliamentary History Project. Perth. 0-7309-3641-4.
• Book: Hughes, Colin A.. Colin Hughes

. Colin Hughes. Aitkin, Don . Voting for the Australian State Upper Houses, 1890-1984. 1986. Australian National University. Canberra. 0-909779-18-X.

Notes and References

1. Constitution (Re-election of Ministers) Act 1947 (No. 4 of 1947), assented 2 October 1947.