1929 Queensland state election

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 11 May 1929 to elect the 72 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. In this election, Irene Longman became the first woman to both stand and be elected into the Queensland Parliament.

1929 Queensland state election

← 1926 11 May 1929 (1929-05-11) 1932 →

All 72 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland
37 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
Turnout89.15 (Increase 0.42 pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Arthur Edward Moore William McCormack
Party CPNP Labor
Leader since 19 April 1924 22 October 1925 (1925-10-22)
Leader's seat Aubigny Cairns
Last election 28 seats, 48.48% 43 seats, 47.96%
Seats won 43 27
Seat change Increase 15 Decrease 16
Popular vote 233,977 173,242
Percentage 54.24% 40.16%
Swing Increase 5.03 Decrease 7.80

Premier before election

William McCormack
Labor

Elected Premier

Arthur Edward Moore
CPNP

CPNP poster attacking McCormack

The Labor government was seeking its sixth continuous term in office since the 1915 election; it would be Premier William McCormack's second election. His main opponent was the Country and Progressive National Party (CPNP), led by Arthur Edward Moore. The term had not gone well for McCormack's government, including a railway lock-out in 1927 which pitted the Labor Party against the union movement, restrictive financial policies and attempts to sell off state-owned enterprises, as well as suggestions of corruption which later came to be known as the Mungana affair.

The election resulted in the defeat of the McCormack government in a landslide, and the first non-Labor ministry since 1915.

Key dates

edit
Date Event
11 April 1929 The Parliament was dissolved.[1]
12 April 1929 Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.[2]
19 April 1929 Close of nominations.
11 May 1929 Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
21 May 1929 The McCormack Ministry resigned and the Moore Ministry was sworn in.[3]
15 June 1929 The writ was returned and the results formally declared.
29 June 1929 The writ was returned for the seat of Gregory.
20 August 1929 Parliament resumed for business.[4]

Results

edit

The election saw the defeat of the Labor government by the CPNP.

Queensland state election, 11 May 1929[5]
Legislative Assembly
<< 19261932 >>

Enrolled voters 491,589[1]
Votes cast 438,248 Turnout 89.15% +0.42
Informal votes 6,836 Informal 1.56% +0.33
Summary of votes by party
Party Primary votes % Swing Seats Change
  CPNP 233,977 54.23% +5.03 43 +15
  Labor 173,242 40.16% –7.80 27 –16
  Communist 2,890 0.67% +0.67 0 ± 0
  Independent 21,303 4.94% +3.33 2 + 1
Total 431,412     72  
Popular vote
CPNP
54.23%
Labor
40.16%
Communist
0.67%
Independents
4.94%
Seats
CPNP
59.72%
Labor
37.50%
Independents
2.78%
1 517,466 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 4 seats (5.6% of the total) were uncontested—2 Labor seats (3 less than 1926) representing 9,041 enrolled voters and two CPNP seats (one more than 1926) representing 16,536 enrolled voters.

Seats changing party representation

edit

This table lists changes in party representation at the 1929 election.

Seat Incumbent member Party New member Party
Bulimba Harry Wright   Labor Irene Longman   CPNP
Chillagoe John O'Keefe   Labor Ernest Atherton   CPNP
Cook Henry Ryan   Labor James Kenny   CPNP
Dalby Wilfred Russell   Independent Wilfred Russell   CPNP
Eacham Cornelius Ryan   Labor George Duffy   CPNP
Fitzroy Harry Hartley   Labor William Carter   CPNP
Gympie Thomas Dunstan   Labor Vivian Tozer   CPNP
Ipswich David Gledson   Labor James Walker   CPNP
Kelvin Grove William Lloyd   Labor Richard Hill   CPNP
Keppel James Larcombe   Labor Owen Daniel   CPNP
Lockyer George Logan   CPNP Charles Jamieson   Independent
Maree William Bertram   Labor George Tedman   CPNP
Merthyr Peter McLachlan   Labor Patrick Kerwin   CPNP
Port Curtis George Carter   Labor Frank Butler   CPNP
Rockhampton George Farrell   Labor Thomas Dunlop   Independent
Rosewood William Cooper   Labor Ted Maher   CPNP
South Brisbane Myles Ferricks   Labor Neil MacGroarty   CPNP
Toowoomba Evan Llewelyn   Labor James Annand   CPNP

Post-election pendulum

edit

Note: from 1892 until 1942, Queensland used contingency voting, which was similar to the modern optional preferential voting system. In electorates with 3 or more candidates, preferences were not distributed if a candidate received more than 50% of the primary vote.

CPNP seats (43)
Marginal
Toowoomba James Douglas Annand CPNP 1.3%
Bulimba Irene Longman CPNP 1.8%
Cook James Kenny CPNP 2.8%
Chillagoe Ernest Atherton CPNP 2.9%
Kurilpa James Fry CPNP 3.0%
Murrumba Richard Warren CPNP 4.0% v IND
Kelvin Grove Richard Hill CPNP 4.4%
Gympie Vivian Tozer CPNP 4.5%
Sandgate Hubert Sizer CPNP 5.4%
South Brisbane Neil MacGroarty CPNP 5.4%
Port Curtis Frank Butler CPNP 5.6%
Fairly Safe
Warwick George Barnes CPNP 6.0%
Rosewood Ted Maher CPNP 6.6%
Ipswich James Walker CPNP 6.9%
Keppel Owen Daniel CPNP 7.0%
Maree George Tedman CPNP 7.0%
Merthyr Patrick Kerwin CPNP 7.0%
Murilla Godfrey Morgan CPNP 7.1%
Mirani Edward Swayne CPNP 8.5%
Nanango Jim Edwards CPNP 9.2% v IND
Fitzroy William Carter CPNP 9.8%
Safe
Burnett Robert Boyd CPNP 10.0%
Burrum William Brand CPNP 10.2%
Eacham George Duffy CPNP 10.2%
Carnarvon Edward Costello CPNP 10.7%
Normanby Jens Peterson CPNP 12.6%
Windsor Charles Taylor CPNP 13.5%
Oxley Thomas Nimmo CPNP 14.2%
Logan Reginald King CPNP 14.8%
Aubigny Arthur Edward Moore CPNP 15.1% v IND
Dalby Wilfred Russell CPNP 15.9%
Enoggera James Stevingstone Kerr CPNP 16.8%
Nundah William Kelso CPNP 17.1%
Wynnum Walter Barnes CPNP 18.3%
East Toowoomba Robert Roberts CPNP 19.7%
Very Safe
Albert Tom Plunkett CPNP 23.0%
Toombul Hugh Russell CPNP 23.5%
Toowong James Francis Maxwell CPNP 23.8%
Wide Bay Harry Clayton CPNP 24.6% v IND
Stanley Ernest Grimstone CPNP 24.7% v IND
Cunningham William Deacon CPNP 27.9% v IND
Cooroora Harry Walker CPNP unopp.
Fassifern Ernest Bell CPNP unopp.
Labor seats (27)
Marginal
Brisbane Mick Kirwan ALP 0.3%
Bundaberg George Philip Barber ALP 1.1%
Queenton Vern Winstanley ALP 1.1%
Bremer Frank Arthur Cooper ALP 1.2%
Buranda Ted Hanson ALP 1.3%
Bowen Charles Collins ALP 1.6%
Ithaca Ned Hanlon ALP 1.8%
Maryborough David Weir ALP 2.0%
Mount Morgan James Stopford ALP 2.4%
Maranoa Charles William Conroy ALP 2.4%
Fortitude Valley Thomas Wilson ALP 3.7%
Charters Towers William Wellington ALP 4.0%
Townsville Maurice Hynes ALP 4.5%
Kennedy Harry Bruce ALP 5.4%
Fairly Safe
Leichardt Tom Foley ALP 6.0%
Cairns William McCormack ALP 6.6%
Herbert Percy Pease ALP 7.5%
Warrego Randolph Bedford ALP 7.7%
Mackay William Forgan Smith ALP 7.9%
Mitchell Richard Bow ALP 8.4%
Safe
Balonne Samuel Brassington ALP 13.9%
Burke Darby Riordan ALP 15.8%
Flinders John Mullan ALP 16.2%
Very Safe
Paddington Alfred James Jones ALP 21.6% v CPA
Mundingburra John Dash ALP 31.5% v CPA
Barcoo Frank Bulcock ALP unopp.
Gregory George Pollock ALP unopp.
Crossbench seats (2)
Marginal
Lockyer Charles Jamieson IND 4.5% v CPNP
Safe
Rockhampton Thomas Dunlop IND 11.7% v ALP

Aftermath

edit

The CPNP found itself in power as the Great Depression took hold. It lost power after one term.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Untitled". Queensland Government Gazette. 11 April 1929. p. 132:1001.
  2. ^ "Untitled". Queensland Government Gazette. 12 April 1929. p. 132:1003.
  3. ^ "Untitled". Queensland Government Gazette. 21 May 1929. p. 132:1461–1463.
  4. ^ "Untitled". Queensland Government Gazette. 25 July 1929. p. 133:201.
  5. ^ Australian Government and Politics Database. "Parliament of Queensland, Assembly election, 11 May 1929". Retrieved 13 January 2009.