1880 Northumberland colonial by-election
By-election in New South Wales, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Northumberland on 30 April 1880 because Thomas Hungerford resigned attend to personal business matters.[1]
Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 14 April 1880 | Thomas Hungerford resigned.[2] |
| 15 April 1880 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[3] |
| 28 April 1880 | Nominations.[4] |
| 30 April 1880 | Polling day between 9 am and 4 pm. |
| 10 May 1880 | Return of writ |
Candidates
- Joseph Creer was a cabinet maker and Newcastle councillor. This was his first candidacy for the Legislative Assembly.[5]
- Sir William Gordon was a surgeon from Murrurundi. This was his tenth and final time standing unsuccessfully for the Legislative Assembly.[6]
- George Maclean was a free selector.[4] He had previously stood unsuccessfully for the Liverpool Plains by-election in 1876.[7]
- Ninian Melville was chairman of the Working Men's Defence Association and campaigned on a platform of protectionism and opposition to assisted immigration.[8] He had twice been defeated for East Sydney in 1877 at the by-election in August and the general election in October.[9]
Result
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ninian Melville (elected) | 1,240 | 42.0 | |
| Joseph Creer | 931 | 31.6 | |
| Sir William Gordon | 749 | 25.4 | |
| George Maclean | 30 | 1.0 | |
| Total formal votes | 2,950 | 96.3 | |
| Informal votes | 112 | 3.7 | |
| Turnout | 3,062 | 60.6 | |