Tasmanian state election, 1919

Tasmanian state election, 1919

31 May 1919

All 30 seats to the House of Assembly   First party Second party   Leader Walter Lee Joseph Lyons Party Nationalist Labor Leader since September 1915 November 1916 Leader's seat Wilmot Wilmot Last election 15 seats 14 seats Seats won 16 seats 13 seats Seat change 1 1 Percentage 55.20% 41.44% Swing 6.97 7.03

Premier before election Walter Lee Nationalist Elected Premier Walter Lee Nationalist

A general election for the House of Assembly was held in the Australian state of Tasmania on 31 May 1919.

Background

By the time of the 1919 election, the Liberal Party had regrouped and been renamed as the Nationalist Party. The Premier of Tasmania, Walter Lee, had led the party for a relatively untroubled three years, despite the Liberals' one-seat majority over Labor and the uncertainty of World War I.^[1]

The leader of the Labor Party in Tasmania going into the 1919 election was Joseph Lyons.

Results

Tasmanian state election, 31 May 1919 House of Assembly << 1916 — 1922 >>
Enrolled voters		107,541
Votes cast		71,064		Turnout	66.08%	–7.52%
Informal votes		2,814		Informal	3.96%	-1.70%
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Nationalist	37,677	55.20%	+6.97%	16	+ 1
	Labor	28,286	41.44%	–7.03%	13	– 1
	Independent	2,289	3.35%	+0.05%	1	± 0
Total		68,250			30

Distribution of Seats

Electorate Seats won Bass             Darwin             Denison             Franklin             Wilmot

Labor   Nationalist   Independent

Aftermath

Lee led the Nationalist Party to victory, with a 14% margin over Labor, although they only won 16 of the 30 seats in the House of Assembly. Independent Joshua Whitsitt retained his seat in the Division of Darwin.

See also

• Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, 1919–1922
• Candidates of the Tasmanian state election, 1919

References

1. Scott Bennett, Lee, Sir Walter Henry (1874 - 1963), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, pp 52-53.

External links

• Assembly Election Results, 1919, Parliament of Tasmania.
• Report on General Election, 1916, Tasmanian Electoral Commission, 29 October 1919.