1942 Cairns state by-election
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Electoral district of Cairns in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 10,309[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 67.5% ( 19.5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1942 Cairns state by-election was held on 31 October 1942 to elect the member for Cairns in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, following the death of Labor Party MP John O'Keefe.[2]
Lou Barnes, the brother of Bundaberg MP Frank Barnes, won the seat as a King O'Malley Labor candidate.[3][4] Labor candidate David Crowley suffered a negative primary vote swing of 23.9%, with Barnes winning on 52.1% of the two-candidate-preferred result.[5][6]
Following the by-election, the electoral system was changed from contingency voting to first-past-the-post after the Labor government introduced a bill to change the system.[7][8] First-past-the-post was in place for Queensland state elections until full preferential voting was introduced by the Country−Liberal coalition in 1963.[9]
Independent candidate William Griffin contested the by-election on a platform of abolishing the Queensland state parliament.[10]
Key dates
- 27 January 1942 − John O'Keefe dies[11]
- 15 July 1942 − Frank Nicklin says Country Party won't contest by-election[12]
- 21 October 1942 − Candidate nominations[13]
- 31 October 1942 − Polling day[14]
- 11 November 1942 − Return of writ[15]
Candidates
| Party | Candidate | Background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| King O'Malley Labor | Lou Barnes | Market gardener and former traveler for the Castlemaine Perkins[16] | |
| Labor | David Crowley | President of the Labor Party branch in Cairns[16][17][18] | |
| Anti-Fascist[19][20] | Alan Tucker | Candidate for Cairns in 1935 and 1941[21] | |
| Independent | William Griffin | Former member of the Cairns Harbour Board[16] | |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | David Crowley | 2,169 | 31.5 | −23.9 | |
| King O'Malley Labor | Lou Barnes | 2,101 | 30.5 | +30.5 | |
| Anti-Fascist | Alan Tucker | 1,776 | 25.7 | +16.4 | |
| Independent | William Griffin | 851 | 12.3 | +12.3 | |
| Total formal votes | 6,897 | 99.1 | +0.6 | ||
| Informal votes | 58 | 0.9 | −0.6 | ||
| Turnout | 6,955 | 67.5 | −19.5 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| King O'Malley Labor | Lou Barnes | 2,536 | 52.1 | +52.1 | |
| Labor | David Crowley | 4,590 | 49.7 | −5.0 | |
| King O'Malley Labor gain from Labor | |||||
See also
References
- ^ "CAIRNS BY-ELECTION". Queensland Times. 22 October 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Cairns By-Election Candidate". Cairns Post. 18 July 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Another Barnes May Enter House". Truth. 1 November 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "WILL TAKE LABOR'S SEATS IF IT DOESN'T WATCH!". Truth. 8 November 1942. p. 10. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Cairns Result At Week-end". The Courier-Mail. 3 November 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Crowley Has Lead of 51". Townsville Daily Bulletin. 5 November 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "DID CAIRNS BY-ELECTION CAUSE THIS?". The Evening Advocate. 20 November 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Bill To Abolish Contingent Voting Passed". Morning Bulletin. 21 November 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Candidates, Informal Voting and Optional Preferential Voting". Antony Green's Election Blog. 22 December 2020. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "MR. W. C. GRIFFIN". Cairns Post. 22 July 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "MR. O'KEEFE PASSES". Queensland Times. 28 January 1942. p. 6. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Independent Candidate Likely". Queensland Times. 16 July 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "CAIRNS BY-ELECTION". The Central Queensland Herald. 29 October 1942. p. 14. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "CAIRNS BY-ELECTION". Townsville Daily Bulletin. 14 October 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Cairns By-election Completed". The Telegraph. 11 November 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ a b c "FOUR NOMINATIONS". Cairns Post. 22 October 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "LABOUR PLEBISCITE". Cairns Post. 5 October 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "4 Nominations For Cairns By-Election". The Telegraph. 21 October 1942. p. 8. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Barnes Leads In Cairns By-Election". Morning Bulletin. 2 November 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "LEAD INCREASED". Cairns Post. 5 November 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "NTH. Q'LAND CANDIDATE". The Workers' Weekly. 26 April 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "HOW THE PEOPLE VOTED". Cairns Post. 2 November 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2025.