The most notable feature of the election campaign was the Protestant Labor Party, established in 1937, which claimed that the Forgan Smith Ministry was disproportionately Catholic and made extravagant claims that three-quarters of all police and public servants in the State were Catholic.[1] Despite the campaign, Labor only lost one seat, Kelvin Grove, to the party.
The unsuccessful Protestant Labor candidate for Ithaca, George Webb, lodged a petition against the return of Labor member Ned Hanlon.[2] He was initially successful in the Supreme Court when the case was heard by Justice E.A. Douglas, who voided the election result on 12 October on the basis of a finding that two men who had acted improperly were Hanlon's agents, but Hanlon appealed to the Full Bench of the Supreme Court and on 16 December 1938, his appeal was allowed.[3] A further appeal by Webb to the High Court was refused leave on 31 March 1939.[4]
1 606,559 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 3 seats were uncontested—2 Labor seats (4 less than in 1935) representing 15,007 enrolled voters and one Country seat (one less than in 1935) representing 8,841 enrolled voters.
Seats changing party representationEdit
This table lists changes in party representation at the 1938 election.
^"Order in Council". Queensland Government Gazette. 7 May 1938. p. 150:1585. The cause of the delayed poll was that a poll could not be held at Arrabury.
^Hughes, CA; Graham, BD (1974). Voting for the Queensland legislative assembly, 1890–1964(PDF). Australia National University (ANU). pp. 178–191.
External linksEdit
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October 19, 2023
1938, queensland, state, election, elections, were, held, australian, state, queensland, april, 1938, elect, members, state, legislative, assembly, labor, government, premier, william, forgan, smith, seeking, third, term, office, during, previous, term, countr. Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 2 April 1938 to elect the 62 members of the state s Legislative Assembly The Labor government of Premier William Forgan Smith was seeking a third term in office During the previous term the Country and United Australia parties had emerged from the united Country and Progressive National Party which had represented conservative forces for over a decade 1938 Queensland state election 1935 2 April 1938 1941 outgoing memberselected members All 62 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland32 Assembly seats were needed for a majorityRegistered582 711 6 2 Turnout539 037 92 51 0 20 pp First party Second party Third party Leader William Forgan Smith Ted Maher Hugh RussellParty Labor Country United AustraliaLeader since 27 May 1929 15 July 1936 July 1936Leader s seat Mackay West Moreton HamiltonLast election 46 seats 53 43 New party New partySeats before 46 seats 13 seats a 3 seats a Seats won 43 14 4Seat change 3 1 1Popular vote 250 943 120 469 74 328Percentage 47 17 22 65 13 97 Swing 3 26pp New party New partyLegislative Assembly after the electionPremier before electionWilliam Forgan SmithLabor Elected Premier William Forgan SmithLaborThe most notable feature of the election campaign was the Protestant Labor Party established in 1937 which claimed that the Forgan Smith Ministry was disproportionately Catholic and made extravagant claims that three quarters of all police and public servants in the State were Catholic 1 Despite the campaign Labor only lost one seat Kelvin Grove to the party The unsuccessful Protestant Labor candidate for Ithaca George Webb lodged a petition against the return of Labor member Ned Hanlon 2 He was initially successful in the Supreme Court when the case was heard by Justice E A Douglas who voided the election result on 12 October on the basis of a finding that two men who had acted improperly were Hanlon s agents but Hanlon appealed to the Full Bench of the Supreme Court and on 16 December 1938 his appeal was allowed 3 A further appeal by Webb to the High Court was refused leave on 31 March 1939 4 Contents 1 Key dates 2 Results 3 Seats changing party representation 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksKey dates EditDate Event5 March 1938 The Parliament was dissolved 5 7 March 1938 Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election 6 14 March 1938 Close of nominations 2 April 1938 Polling day between the hours of 8am and 6pm 12 April 1938 The Forgan Smith Ministry was re sworn in 7 16 April 1938 The poll was retaken in Gregory 8 30 April 1938 The writ was returned and the results formally declared 9 August 1938 Parliament resumed for business 9 Results EditSee also Results of the Queensland state election 1938 Legislative Assembly IRV Turnout 92 51 CV 10 nbsp Party Primary vote SeatsVotes Swing pp Seats Change Labor 250 943 47 17 6 26 43 nbsp 3 Country 120 469 22 65 14 a nbsp 1 United Australia 74 328 13 97 4 a nbsp 1 Protestant Labour 46 568 8 75 8 75 1 nbsp 1 Social Credit 27 758 5 22 1 80 0 nbsp Communist 8 510 1 60 0 28 0 nbsp Independent 3 403 0 64 2 73 0 nbsp Total 531 979 100 00 62 nbsp Invalid blank votes 7 058 1 31 0 43 Turnout 539 037 92 51 0 19 Registered voters 582 711 Popular voteLabor 47 17 Country 22 65 United Australia 13 97 Protestant Labor 8 75 Social Credit 5 22 Communist 1 60 Independents 0 64 SeatsLabor 70 97 Country 20 97 United Australia 6 45 Protestant Labor 1 61 1 606 559 electors were enrolled to vote at the election but 3 seats were uncontested 2 Labor seats 4 less than in 1935 representing 15 007 enrolled voters and one Country seat one less than in 1935 representing 8 841 enrolled voters Seats changing party representation EditThis table lists changes in party representation at the 1938 election Seat Incumbent member Party New member PartyDalby Godfrey Morgan Country Aubrey Slessar LaborEast Toowoomba James Kane Labor Herbert Yeates CountryKelvin Grove Frank Waters Labor George Morris Protestant LaborToowong James Maxwell United Australia Harry Massey Independent UAPWynnum John Donnelly Labor Bill Dart United AustraliaMembers listed in italics did not recontest their seats See also EditMembers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1935 1938 Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1938 1941 Candidates of the Queensland state election 1938 Forgan Smith MinistryNotes Edit a b c d Seats previously held by members of the Country and Progressive National Party CPNP References Edit Evans Raymond 2007 A History of Queensland Cambridge University Press p 184 ISBN 978 0 521 87692 6 In the Supreme Court of Queensland The Election Acts 1915 1936 Queensland Government Gazette 4 June 1938 p 150 2012 2013 The Ithaca Election Petition Webb v Hanlon 1939 St R Qd 90 heard by Blair CJ Douglas J and Hart AJ dissenting LawCite records Webb v Hanlon 1939 HCA 8 1939 61 CLR 313 31 March 1939 High Court Australia Untitled Queensland Government Gazette 5 March 1938 p 150 591 Untitled Queensland Government Gazette 7 March 1938 p 150 595 Untitled Queensland Government Gazette 12 April 1938 p 150 1371 Order in Council Queensland Government Gazette 7 May 1938 p 150 1585 The cause of the delayed poll was that a poll could not be held at Arrabury Untitled Queensland Government Gazette 11 July 1938 p 151 109 Hughes CA Graham BD 1974 Voting for the Queensland legislative assembly 1890 1964 PDF Australia National University ANU pp 178 191 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Queensland state election 1938 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1938 Queensland state election amp oldid 1167182290, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,