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1938 Queensland state election

Election held in Queensland, Australia


Election held in Queensland, Australia

FieldValue
election_name1938 Queensland state election
countryQueensland
typeparliamentary
ongoingno
previous_election1935 Queensland state election
previous_year1935
next_election1941 Queensland state election
next_year1941
elected_membersMembers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1938–1941
outgoing_membersMembers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1935–1938
registered582,711 6.2%
seats_for_electionAll 62 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland
32 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
election_date2 April 1938
turnout539,037 (92.51%)
(0.20 pp)
party1Labor
colour1E13940
image1[[File:William Forgan Smith 1942 (cropped).jpg170x170px]]
leader1William Forgan Smith
leader_since127 May 1929
leaders_seat1Mackay
last_election146 seats, 53.43%
seats_before146 seats
seats143
seat_change13
popular_vote1250,943
percentage147.17%
swing13.26pp
party2Country
colour2006946
image2[[File:StateLibQld 1 104596 Politician Edmund Maher, Brisbane, 1940 (cropped 2).jpg170x170px]]
leader2Ted Maher
leader_since215 July 1936
leaders_seat2West Moreton
last_election2New party
seats_before213 seats
seats214
seat_change21
popular_vote2120,469
percentage222.65%
swing2New party
party3United Australia
colour31C4F9C
image3[[File:StateLibQld 1 126539 Mr H. M. Russell on Election Day, 1938 (cropped).jpg170x170px]]
leader3Hugh Russell
leader_since3July 1936
leaders_seat3Hamilton
last_election3New party
seats_before33 seats
seats34
seat_change31
popular_vote374,328
percentage313.97%
swing3New party
titlePremier
before_electionWilliam Forgan Smith
before_partyLabor
after_electionWilliam Forgan Smith
after_partyLabor
map_image1938 Qld parliament.svg
map_size250px
map_captionLegislative 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

DateEvent
5 March 1938The Parliament was dissolved.
7 March 1938Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.
14 March 1938Close of nominations.
2 April 1938Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
12 April 1938The Forgan Smith Ministry was re-sworn in.
16 April 1938The poll was retaken in Gregory.
30 April 1938The writ was returned and the results formally declared.
9 August 1938Parliament resumed for business.

Results

PartyPrimary voteSeatsVotes%Swing (pp)SeatsChange
Labor250,94347.17–6.26433
Country120,46922.65141
United Australia74,32813.9741
Protestant Labour46,5688.75+8.7511
Social Credit27,7585.22–1.800
Communist8,5101.60+0.280
Independent3,4030.64–2.730
Total531,979100.0062
Invalid/blank votes7,0581.31–0.43colspan=2
Turnout539,03792.51–0.19colspan=2
Registered voters582,711colspan=2colspan=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.

SeatIncumbent memberPartyNew memberParty
DalbyGodfrey MorganCountryAubrey Slessar
East ToowoombaJames KaneLaborHerbert Yeates
Kelvin GroveFrank WatersLaborGeorge Morris
ToowongJames MaxwellUnited AustraliaHarry Massey
WynnumJohn DonnellyLaborBill Dart
  • Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.

Notes

References

References

  1. Evans, Raymond. (2007). "A History of Queensland". Cambridge University Press.
  2. (4 June 1938). "In the Supreme Court of Queensland - The Election Acts 1915–1936".
  3. ''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].
  4. {{cite AustLII. HCA. 8. 1939. CLR. Commonwealth Law Reports 313]. (31 March 1939.)
  5. {{Gazette QLD. (5 March 1938)
  6. {{Gazette QLD. (7 March 1938)
  7. {{Gazette QLD. (12 April 1938)
  8. (7 May 1938). "Order in Council".
  9. {{Gazette QLD. (11 July 1938)
  10. (1974). "Voting for the Queensland legislative assembly, 1890–1964". [[Australia National University]] (ANU).
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