Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 29 April 1950 to elect the 75 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Labor government was seeking its seventh continuous term in office since the 1932 election; it would be Premier Ned Hanlon's second election.
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All 75 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland 38 Assembly seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 688,309 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 628,750 (91.35%)[a] (  1.76 pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Electoral boundaries following the election. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Assembly had been increased in size prior to the election by the Electoral Districts Act 1949 from 62 to 75 seats.
Key dates
edit| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 8 December 1949 | The new electoral boundaries under the Electoral Districts Act 1949 were proclaimed.[1] |
| 27 March 1950 | The Parliament was dissolved.[2] |
| 27 March 1950 | Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.[3] |
| 3 April 1950 | Close of nominations. |
| 29 April 1950 | Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. |
| 10 May 1950 | The Hanlon Ministry was re-sworn in.[4] |
| 13 May 1950 | Polling day in the seat of Gregory.[5] |
| 9 June 1950 | The writ was returned and the results formally declared. |
| 1 August 1950 | Parliament resumed for business.[6] |
Results
edit| Party | Primary vote | Seats | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Swing (pp) | Seats | Change | |||||
| Labor | 295,138 | 46.94 | +3.94 | 42 | |||||
| Country | 121,199[a] | 19.28 | –1.12 | 20 | |||||
| Liberal | 188,331 | 29.95 | +0.57 | 11 | |||||
| North Queensland Labor | 7,689 | 1.22 | +0.5 | 1 | |||||
| Frank Barnes Labor | 2,759 | 0.44 | –3.01 | 0 | |||||
| Communist | 2,351 | 0.37 | –0.87 | 0 | |||||
| Independent Labor | 243 | 0.04 | +0.04 | 0 | |||||
| Independent | 11,952 | 1.90 | –0.90 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 628,750[a] | 100.00 | 75 | ||||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 7,088 | 1.13 | –0.27 | — | |||||
| Turnout | 628,750[a] | 91.35 | +0.6 | — | |||||
| Registered voters | 688,309 | — | — | ||||||
- 1 718,685 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 3 seats held by the Country Party representing 30,376 enrolled voters were unopposed.
Seats changing party representation
editThere was an extensive redistribution across Queensland prior to this election, increasing the amount of seats from 62 to 75. The seat changes are as follows.
Abolished seats
edit| Seat | Incumbent member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert | Tom Plunkett | Country | |
| Bowen | Fred Paterson | Communist | |
| Dalby* | vacant | ||
| East Toowoomba | Gordon Chalk | Liberal | |
| Enoggera | Kenneth Morris | Liberal | |
| Gympie | Thomas Dunstan | Labor | |
| Hamilton | Harold Taylor | Liberal | |
| Herbert | Stephen Theodore | Labor | |
| Kennedy | Cecil Jesson | Labor | |
| Logan | Thomas Hiley | Liberal | |
| Maranoa | John Taylor | Labor | |
| Maree | Louis Luckins | Liberal | |
| Nanango | Joh Bjelke-Petersen | Country | |
| Normanby | Tom Foley | Labor | |
| Oxley | Tom Kerr | Liberal | |
| Stanley | Duncan MacDonald | Country | |
| The Tableland | Harry Bruce | Labor | |
| West Moreton* | vacant | ||
| Wide Bay | James Heading | Country | |
- Members listed in italics resigned from politics at this election.
- The Country Party member for Dalby, Charles Russell resigned from the seat to contest and win the seat of Maranoa at the 1949 federal election. No by-election was held due to the proximity to the state election.
- The Country Party member for West Moreton, Ted Maher resigned from the seat to contest and win a seat in the Senate at the 1949 federal election. No by-election was held due to the proximity to the state election.
New seats
edit| Seat | Party | Elected member | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balonne | Labor | John Taylor | |
| Barambah | Country | Joh Bjelke-Petersen | |
| Belyando | Labor | Tom Foley | |
| Burdekin | Independent | Arthur Coburn | |
| Callide | Country | Vince Jones | |
| Chermside | Liberal | Alex Dewar | |
| Clayfield | Liberal | Harold Taylor | |
| Condamine | Country | Eric Allpass | |
| Coorparoo | Liberal | Thomas Hiley | |
| Darlington | Country | Tom Plunkett | |
| Flinders | Labor | Ernest Riordan | |
| Haughton | Labor | Colin McCathie | |
| Hinchinbrook | Labor | Cecil Jesson | |
| Kedron | Liberal | Bruce Pie | |
| Landsborough | Country | Frank Nicklin | |
| Lockyer | Liberal | Gordon Chalk | |
| Mackenzie | Labor | Paddy Whyte | |
| Marodian | Country | James Heading | |
| Mount Coot-tha | Liberal | Kenneth Morris | |
| Mount Gravatt | Labor | Felix Dittmer | |
| Mourilyan | Labor | Peter Byrne | |
| Mulgrave | Country | Bob Watson | |
| Nash | Labor | Thomas Dunstan | |
| Norman | Liberal | Louis Luckins | |
| North Toowoomba | Labor | Les Wood | |
| Roma | Country | William Ewan | |
| Sherwood | Liberal | Tom Kerr | |
| Somerset | Country | Duncan MacDonald | |
| Southport | Country | Eric Gaven | |
| Tablelands | Labor | Harold Collins | |
| Whitsunday | Country | Lloyd Roberts | |
| Yeronga | Liberal | Winston Noble | |
Seats changing hands
edit| Seat | Incumbent member | Party | New member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulimba | George Marriott | Independent Labor | Bob Gardner | Labor | ||
| Bundaberg | Frank Barnes | Frank Barnes Labor | Ted Walsh | Labor | ||
| Cook | Harold Collins | Labor | Carlisle Wordsworth | Country | ||
| Windsor | Bruce Pie | Liberal | Tom Rasey | Labor | ||
- Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b c d e The Country Party won the electorates of Cunningham, Darlington, and Landsborough unopposed.
- ^ Figures of the People's Party, the precursor to the Liberal Party.
- ^ Figures from Hermit Park Labor total.
References
edit- ^ "A Proclamation". Queensland Government Gazette. 8 December 1949. p. 173:2273.
- ^ "A Proclamation". Queensland Government Gazette. 27 March 1950. p. 174:1175.
- ^ "Untitled". Queensland Government Gazette. 27 March 1950. p. 174:1177.
- ^ "Untitled". Queensland Government Gazette. 10 May 1950. p. 174:1907–1908.
- ^ "Order in Council". Queensland Government Gazette. 29 July 1950. p. 175:596.
- ^ "Untitled". Queensland Government Gazette. 29 June 1950. p. 174:3141.
- ^ Hughes, CA; Graham, BD (1974). Voting for the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1890–1964 (PDF). ANU Press (ANU).