1973 Murray state by-election
Election result for Murray, New South Wales, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Murray on 6 October 1973 because of the death of Joe Lawson (Independent).[1] Lawson had represented the district since 1932, as a member of the Country Party until 1968 when he lost pre-selection. He ran as an independent, winning the seat at the 1968 and 1971 elections.[2]
Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 14 August 1973 | Joe Lawson died.[1] |
| 7 September 1973 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[3] |
| 14 September 1973 | Nominations |
| 6 October 1973 | Polling day |
| 2 November 1973 | Return of writ |
Candidates
This was the first election for all 3 candidates and each would again contest the electorate at the general election in November 1973 with similar results.
- Mary Meillon (Liberal) was the eldest daughter of Joe Lawson.[1]
- Bruce Jeffery (Country) was secretary of the Rural Lands Protection Board in Jerilderie and would later be elected the member for Oxley.[4]
- Douglas Drew (Labor) did not stand again after 1973.[5]
Result
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Bruce Jeffery | 6,663 | 39.96 | +8.77 | |
| Liberal | Mary Meillon | 5,661 | 33.95 | +19.68 | |
| Labor | Douglas Drew | 4,351 | 26.09 | +26.09 | |
| Total formal votes | 16,675 | 98.6 | +1.6 | ||
| Informal votes | 236 | 1.4 | −1.6 | ||
| Turnout | 16,911 | 85.0 | −5.6 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal | Mary Meillon | 8,335 | 51.15 | +51.15 | |
| Country | Bruce Jeffery | 8,145 | 48.85 | −0.57 | |
| Liberal gain from Independent | Swing | ||||