From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

1959 Tasmanian state election

State election in Australia

Field	Value
election_name	1959 Tasmanian state election
country	Tasmania
type	parliamentary
ongoing	no
previous_election	1956 Tasmanian state election
previous_year	1956
next_election	1964 Tasmanian state election
next_year	1964
seats_for_election	All 35 seats to the House of Assembly
election_date	2 May 1959
image1
leader1	Eric Reece
leader_since1	26 August 1958
party1	Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch)
leaders_seat1	Braddon
last_election1	15 seats
seats1	17 seats
seat_change1	2
percentage1	44.5%
swing1	5.77
image2
leader2	Tim Jackson
leader_since2	26 June 1956
party2	Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division)
leaders_seat2	Franklin
last_election2	15 seats
seats2	16 seats
seat_change2	1
percentage2	41.05%
swing2	2.54
map_image	1959 Tasmanian state election.svg
map_size	350px
map_caption	Results of the election
title	Premier
posttitle	Resulting Premier
before_election	Eric Reece
before_party	Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch)
after_election	Eric Reece
after_party	Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch)

The 1959 Tasmanian state election was held on 2 May 1959 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The number of members were increased from this election from 30 to 35. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system — seven members were elected from each of five electorates. This change was at least party due to evidence presented by Dr. George Howatt on the need for seven-seat districts.

The two previous elections had resulted in a parliamentary deadlock due to an even number of seats (30) in the House of Assembly. Prior to the 1959 election, the number of seats was increased to 35.

Robert Cosgrove had retired as Premier of Tasmania, and had been replaced by Eric Reece on 26 August 1958.

Results

The Labor Party won the most seats in the newly expanded House of Assembly, but not enough to govern in a majority as two seats were won by Independents. The 1959 election was the last occasion in which an ungrouped independent (Bill Wedd) won a seat in Tasmania.

Former Labor Treasurer Dr Reg Turnbull won two quotas in his own right as an independent in Bass, representing 5.64% of the statewide result.

Distribution of votes

Primary vote by division

Braddon	Denison	Franklin	Wilmot
Labor Party	31.6%	52.2%	39.5%	46.3%
Liberal Party	36.3%	42.4%	39.8%	43.8%
Other	32.1%	5.4%	20.7%	10.0%

Distribution of seats

Electorate	Seats won
	Bass	Labor}}
	Braddon
	Denison
	Franklin
	Wilmot

		Independent

References

[http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/tpl/Backg/HAElections.htm House of Assembly Elections], [[Parliament of Tasmania]].
Dr. George Howatt, "DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATION UNDER THE HARE-CLARK SYSTEM - The Need for Seven-Member Electorates" https://www.prsa.org.au/58howatt.html accessed October 1, 2025
Curtin, Jennifer: [http://www.aph.gov.au/Library/Pubs/RN/1998-99/99rn05.htm The 1998 Tasmanian Election: Women and Proportional Representation] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-09-10 , [[Parliament of Australia]], 10 November 1998.)
Green, Antony: [http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2008/03/independents-to.html Independents to be disadvantaged by ACT electoral changes], [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]], 28 May 2008.

Info: Wikipedia Source

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.

elections-in-tasmania 1959-elections-in-australia 1950s-in-tasmania may-1959-in-australia

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 1959 Tasmanian state election — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This 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