1894 New South Wales colonial election

1894 New South Wales colonial election
17 July 1894 (1894-07-17)
All 125 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
63 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
LEL
Leader George Reid George Dibbs No leader
Party Free Trade Protectionist Labour
Leader since September 1891 January 1889 N/A
Leader's seat East Sydney
(won Sydney-King) 		Murrumbidgee
(won Tamworth) 		N/A
Last election 44 seats 52 seats 35 seats
Seats won 50 37 15
Seat change 6 15 20
Percentage 30.34% 27.69% 16.49%
Swing 6.15 8.81 4.13
Results of the election, showing the winning vote share of the elected member.
Premier before election

George Dibbs
Protectionist

Premier after election

George Reid
Free Trade

The 1894 New South Wales colonial election was held on 17 July 1894 for all of the 125 seats in the 16th New South Wales Legislative Assembly and it was conducted in single-member constituencies with a first past the post voting system. Section 23 (1) of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act of 1893 conferred a right to vote on 'every male person, being a natural born [British] subject, who shall have resided or had his principal place of abode in New South Wales for a continuous period of one year'. The 15th parliament of New South Wales was dissolved on 25 June 1894 by the Governor, Sir Robert Duff, on the advice of the Premier, George Dibbs.

This election saw the elimination of multi-member districts. At the previous election there had been 20 two-member districts, 10 three-member districts, and 9 four-member districts. Their elimination also saw the Assembly reduced in size from 141 to 125 members. Also, for the first time, the election was conducted on the one day.[1][2][3]

Although he had lost control of the Assembly, Dibbs did not resign until after parliament had reconvened, when the Governor forced his hand.[4]

Key dates

Date Event
25 June 1894 The Legislative Assembly dissolved, and writs issued by the Governor to proceed with an election
9 – 14 July 1894 Close of nominations for candidates
17 July 1894 Polling day
7 August 1894 Opening of 16th Parliament

Results

Main article: Results of the 1894 New South Wales colonial election

New South Wales colonial election, 17 July 1894 [3]
Legislative Assembly
<< 1891–1895 >>

Enrolled voters 255,802
Votes cast 200,956 Turnout 78.56 +19.48
Informal votes 3,310 Informal 1.62 −0.38
Summary of votes by party
Party Primary votes % Swing Seats Change
  Free Trade 60,966 30.34 −6.15 50 +6
  Protectionist 55,652 27.69 −8.81 37 −15
  Labor 33,143 16.49 −4.13 15 −20
  Ind. Free Trade 23,324 11.61 +7.91 11 +7
  Ind. Protectionist 14,434 7.18 +5.17 4 ±0
  Independent Labor 11,504 5.72 +5.30 8 +7
  Independent 1,933 0.96 −0.71 0 −1
Total 200,956     125  
Popular vote
Free Trade
 
 30.34%
Protectionist
 
 27.69%
Labor
 
 16.49%
Ind. Free Trade
 
 11.61%
Ind. Protectionist
 
 7.18%
Ind. Labor
 
 5.72%
Independent
 
 0.96%
Parliamentary seats
Free Trade
 
 50
Protectionist
 
 37
Labor
 
 15
Ind. Free Trade
 
 11
Ind. Labor
 
 8
Ind. Protectionist
 
 4

Retiring members

This section is an excerpt from Candidates of the 1894 New South Wales colonial election § Retiring members.[edit]

Protectionist

Free Trade

Independent

Aftermath

As a result of the election the representation of Labor Electoral League members in the Legislative Assembly fell from thirty-five to fifteen (representing ten country seats and five metropolitan seats). However, during the previous parliament after the 1891 election, the Labor members had not functioned as a cohesive unit whereas the fifteen elected in 1895 were more of a united force, bonded by their pledge to maintain caucus solidarity, under the leadership of James McGowen. In addition a total of thirteen non-solidarity Labor men (those who refused to sign the caucus solidarity pledge) were elected to seats in 1894, all sitting members except two. With a combined total of twenty-eight seats the number of Labor-inclined members in the 125 seat parliament represented a potentially effective voting faction, especially with over half of those members within a bloc committed to caucus solidarity.[5]

Free trade supporters won fifty-eight seats in the new parliament, most of them members of the Free Trade Party under George Reid and including thirty-three of the forty metropolitan seats. The protectionists were reduced to thirty-nine seats, all in country areas. After the election George Dibbs, the Protectionist Party leader, did not resign, wanting to test his support in parliament. However the Governor Robert Duff forced his hand and Dibbs resigned on 2 August 1894. The next day Reid formed his first ministry, which included Joseph Cook, leader of the non-solidarity Labor members, as Postmaster-General, a tactical decision that assured the support of at least seven free traders amongst the thirteen non-solidarity Labor members.[6]

Despite having a majority in a reforming Legislative Assembly Reid had only a handful of supporters in the Legislative Council, made up of men nominated by previous parliaments, appointed for life by the governor, and constituting a body increasingly seen as representing a "bulwark for the privileged classes". The legislative reform agenda of the Assembly was frequently frustrated by Council amendments, as well as outright inaction and obstruction. The situation reached a critical point with the fate of the land and income tax assessment bill, for which Reid considered he had a clear mandate from the electors. The legislation was introduced in November 1894 and after a full debate was sent to the Council in March 1895.[7][8] On 25 June 1895 Reid reported to the Assembly that the bill "was destroyed" in the Legislative Council. He appealed to all members of the lower house for support and announced that the lieutenant-governor had agreed to dissolve the house in order for a general election to be held.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Part 5B - Members returned for each electorate" (PDF). New South Wales Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Former Members". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b Green, Antony. "1894 election totals". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  4. ^ Mansfield, Bruce E. "Dibbs, Sir George Richard (1834–1904)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  5. ^ Bede Nairn (1973), page 113.
  6. ^ Bede Nairn (1973), pages 115-116.
  7. ^ Bede Nairn (1973), pages 125-127.
  8. ^ W. G. McMinn (1988), Sir George Houstoun Reid (1845–1918), Australian Dictionary of Biography website, National Centre of Biology, Australian National University; accessed 27 December 2025.
  9. ^ Dissolution, The Australian Star (Sydney), 26 June 1895, page 2.
Sources
  • Bede Nairn (1973), Civilising Capitalism: The Labor Movement in New South Wales 1870-1900, Canberra: Australian National University Press.
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