1865 Gwydir colonial by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Gwydir on 29 June and 20 July 1865 as a result of the Committee on Elections and Qualifications declaring that the seat of Thomas Dangar was vacant because he had an office of profit under the Crown.[1]

Dangar was elected at the 1865 election for the Gwydir in unusual circumstances. Dangar had been appointed the returning officer but was persuaded to stand for the seat, resulting in a delay of a month before the poll could be held.[2] Dangar had a contract with the Government to carry the mail on the Barwon and Namoi rivers and this was held to be an office of profit and thus disqualified him from being a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Dates
DateEvent
24 January 1865 Election for the Gwydir.
15 April 1865 Petition lodged by John Single.[3]
25 April 1865 Petition referred to the Committee on Elections and Qualifications.
25 May 1865 The Committee on Elections and Qualifications declared that the election of Thomas Dangar was null and void.
27 May 1865 Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[4]
15 June 1865 Nominations at Wee Waa.[5]
29 June 1865 Polling day
28 July 1865 Return of writ

Polling places

Polling did not occur at the late added polling places until 20 July.[8]

Result
1865 Gwydir by-election
Thursday 29 June and Thursday 20 July [9][10]
Candidate Votes %
Thomas Dangar (re-elected) 246 59.7
John Single 165 40.0
Thomas Dangar Sr [lower-alpha 2] 1 0.2
Total formal votes 412 100.0
Informal votes 0 0.0
Turnout 412 36.3

It was a comfortable victory for Dangar, with his margin over Single increasing from 53 votes to 81 votes.[9]

See also

Notes
  1. The New South Wales Election Results database is incomplete as it is based on the report of The Maitland Mercury of 11 July 1865 which did not include returns from 5 polling places, Bingera, Gideon's Inn, Mugundie, Wellbedunga and Yetman.
  2. The proposer intended to refer to Thomas Gordon Gibbons Dangar but was not aware he had more than one name and the nomination was recorded as being of his step father Thomas Dangar Sr, the former member for the Upper Hunter.[5]

References
  1. Twomey, Anne (2004). The Constitution of New South Wales. Federation Press. pp. 415–6. ISBN 9781862875166. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  2. Green, Antony. "1865 The Gwydir". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  3. "Petition: The Gwydir". New South Wales Government Gazette (70). 19 April 1865. pp. 847–8. Retrieved 22 September 2020 – via Trove.
  4. "Writs of election: Gwydir". New South Wales Government Gazette (104). 8 February 1865. p. 1131. Retrieved 22 September 2020 – via Trove.
  5. "Nomination for the Gwydir". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 27 June 1865. p. 3. Retrieved 22 September 2020 – via Trove.
  6. "Gwydir electortate: polling places". New South Wales Government Gazette (118). 13 June 1865. p. 1244. Retrieved 22 September 2020 – via Trove.
  7. "The Gwydir: polling places". New South Wales Government Gazette (122). New South Wales, Australia. 19 June 1865. p. 1277. Retrieved 23 September 2020 – via Trove.
  8. "The Gwydir election". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 11 July 1865. p. 2. Retrieved 22 September 2020 – via Trove.
  9. "Gwydir election: final state of the poll". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 August 1865. p. 5. Retrieved 23 September 2020 – via Trove.
  10. Green, Antony. "1865 Gwydir by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 22 September 2020.[lower-alpha 1]
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