From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1938 Queensland state election
Election held in Queensland, Australia
Election held in Queensland, Australia
| Field | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| election_name | 1938 Queensland state election | |
| country | Queensland | |
| type | parliamentary | |
| ongoing | no | |
| previous_election | 1935 Queensland state election | |
| previous_year | 1935 | |
| next_election | 1941 Queensland state election | |
| next_year | 1941 | |
| elected_members | Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1938–1941 | |
| outgoing_members | Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1935–1938 | |
| registered | 582,711 6.2% | |
| seats_for_election | All 62 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland | |
| 32 Assembly seats were needed for a majority | ||
| election_date | 2 April 1938 | |
| turnout | 539,037 (92.51%) | |
| (0.20 pp) | ||
| party1 | Labor | |
| colour1 | E13940 | |
| image1 | [[File:William Forgan Smith 1942 (cropped).jpg | 170x170px]] |
| leader1 | William Forgan Smith | |
| leader_since1 | 27 May 1929 | |
| leaders_seat1 | Mackay | |
| last_election1 | 46 seats, 53.43% | |
| seats_before1 | 46 seats | |
| seats1 | 43 | |
| seat_change1 | 3 | |
| popular_vote1 | 250,943 | |
| percentage1 | 47.17% | |
| swing1 | 3.26pp | |
| party2 | Country | |
| colour2 | 006946 | |
| image2 | [[File:StateLibQld 1 104596 Politician Edmund Maher, Brisbane, 1940 (cropped 2).jpg | 170x170px]] |
| leader2 | Ted Maher | |
| leader_since2 | 15 July 1936 | |
| leaders_seat2 | West Moreton | |
| last_election2 | New party | |
| seats_before2 | 13 seats | |
| seats2 | 14 | |
| seat_change2 | 1 | |
| popular_vote2 | 120,469 | |
| percentage2 | 22.65% | |
| swing2 | New party | |
| party3 | United Australia | |
| colour3 | 1C4F9C | |
| image3 | [[File:StateLibQld 1 126539 Mr H. M. Russell on Election Day, 1938 (cropped).jpg | 170x170px]] |
| leader3 | Hugh Russell | |
| leader_since3 | July 1936 | |
| leaders_seat3 | Hamilton | |
| last_election3 | New party | |
| seats_before3 | 3 seats | |
| seats3 | 4 | |
| seat_change3 | 1 | |
| popular_vote3 | 74,328 | |
| percentage3 | 13.97% | |
| swing3 | New party | |
| title | Premier | |
| before_election | William Forgan Smith | |
| before_party | Labor | |
| after_election | William Forgan Smith | |
| after_party | Labor | |
| map_image | 1938 Qld parliament.svg | |
| map_size | 250px | |
| map_caption | Legislative Assembly after the election |
32 Assembly seats were needed for a majority (0.20 pp)
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.
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. 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. 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. A further appeal by Webb to the High Court was refused leave on 31 March 1939.
Key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 5 March 1938 | The Parliament was dissolved. |
| 7 March 1938 | Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. |
| 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. |
| 16 April 1938 | The poll was retaken in Gregory. |
| 30 April 1938 | The writ was returned and the results formally declared. |
| 9 August 1938 | Parliament resumed for business. |
Results
| Party | Primary vote | Seats | Votes | % | Swing (pp) | Seats | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | 250,943 | 47.17 | –6.26 | 43 | 3 | |||
| Country | 120,469 | 22.65 | 14 | 1 | ||||
| United Australia | 74,328 | 13.97 | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Protestant Labour | 46,568 | 8.75 | +8.75 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Social Credit | 27,758 | 5.22 | –1.80 | 0 | ||||
| Communist | 8,510 | 1.60 | +0.28 | 0 | ||||
| Independent | 3,403 | 0.64 | –2.73 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 531,979 | 100.00 | 62 | |||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 7,058 | 1.31 | –0.43 | colspan=2 | ||||
| Turnout | 539,037 | 92.51 | –0.19 | colspan=2 | ||||
| Registered voters | 582,711 | colspan=2 | colspan=2 |
: 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
This table lists changes in party representation at the 1938 election.
| Seat | Incumbent member | Party | New member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalby | Godfrey Morgan | Country | Aubrey Slessar | ||
| East Toowoomba | James Kane | Labor | Herbert Yeates | ||
| Kelvin Grove | Frank Waters | Labor | George Morris | ||
| Toowong | James Maxwell | United Australia | Harry Massey | ||
| Wynnum | John Donnelly | Labor | Bill Dart |
- Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.
Notes
References
References
- Evans, Raymond. (2007). "A History of Queensland". Cambridge University Press.
- (4 June 1938). "In the Supreme Court of Queensland - The Election Acts 1915–1936".
- ''The Ithaca Election Petition: Webb v Hanlon'' (1939) St. R. Qd. 90, heard by Blair CJ, Douglas J and Hart AJ (dissenting) [http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/LawCite?cit=1939+St+R+Qd+90 LawCite records].
- {{cite AustLII. HCA. 8. 1939. CLR. Commonwealth Law Reports 313]. (31 March 1939.)
- {{Gazette QLD. (5 March 1938)
- {{Gazette QLD. (7 March 1938)
- {{Gazette QLD. (12 April 1938)
- (7 May 1938). "Order in Council".
- {{Gazette QLD. (11 July 1938)
- (1974). "Voting for the Queensland legislative assembly, 1890–1964". [[Australia National University]] (ANU).
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1938 Queensland state election — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report