1945 Neutral Bay state by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Neutral Bay on Saturday, 15 December 1945.[1]

It was triggered by the death of the Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition, The Hon. Reginald Weaver, who died a week after suffering a mild heart attack in the Legislative Assembly chamber.[2]

The seat was subsequently won by barrister Ivan Black of the Liberal Party. Neutral Bay being a safe Liberal seat, the Labor Party chose not to field a candidate.[1]

Background

The seat of Neutral Bay, a safe Liberal seat, was held since 1927 by Reginald Weaver, who served as a Minister of the Crown in the Bavin and Stevens Governments. Weaver was the Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly until 1941 and the Leader of the Opposition since February 1944. He was also the first parliamentary leader of the newly-formed New South Wales Liberal Party since April 1945. Weaver suffered a mild heart attack in the Legislative Assembly chamber on the evening of 7 November 1945, and died a week later on 12 November 1945 at Hornsby Hospital.[2]

Only two candidates nominated for the by-election. They were: Ivan Black, a barrister and war veteran, for the Liberal Party and Kenneth McLeod Bolton, a merchant, standing as an Independent. A. E. Newland, the candidate of the small Services and Consumers Party of Australia, who had previously expressed interest in contesting, did not nominate because his name was not on the state electoral roll.[3]

Results

The Liberal Party retained the seat, with a minimal change in the margin. The Liberal candidate, Ivan Black, emerged with 56% of the vote against Independent Kenneth Bolton.

1945 Neutral Bay by-election [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Ivan Black 10,839 56.36
Independent Kenneth Bolton 8,393 43.64
Total formal votes 19,232 74.30
Informal votes 657 3.30
Turnout 19,889 77.60
Liberal hold Swing

References
  1. Green, Antony. "1945 Neutral Bay by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  2. Bourke, Helen. "Weaver, Reginald Walter Darcy (1876-1945)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 24 July 2020 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  3. "Neutral Bay election". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 December 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 2 February 2011 – via Trove.
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