1934 Tasmanian state election

9 June 1934

All 30 seats to the House of Assembly
  First party Second party
 
Leader Albert Ogilvie Walter Lee
Party Labor Nationalist
Leader since October 1929 15 March 1934
Leader's seat Franklin Wilmot
Last election 10 seats 19 seats
Seats won 14 seats 13 seats
Seat change Increase4 Decrease6
Percentage 45.78% 46.72%
Swing Increase10.85 Decrease9.68

Premier before election

Walter Lee
Nationalist

Resulting Premier

Albert Ogilvie
Labor

The 1934 Tasmanian state election was held on 9 June 1934 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 30 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system[1] — six members were elected from each of five electorates.

The Nationalist Party won a huge victory in the 1931 election, but Premier of Tasmania John McPhee had resigned due to health problems, and the Nationalists were led into the 1934 election by former Premier Walter Lee. The Labor Party were led by Albert Ogilvie, who had managed to heal some of the rifts in the Labor Party that had contributed to their election loss in 1931.[2]

Labor regained much of their ground in the 1934 election, winning 14 seats compared to the Nationalists' 13 (although the Nationalists had received more votes), not enough to govern in a majority. Three seats were won by Independent candidates, and it was only through the support of one of these (George Carruthers, an ex-Labor man and proponent of the Douglasite Social Credit concept), that Labor was able to form government, with Ogilvie as Premier.[2]

Labor began an uninterrupted 35 year rule over Tasmania until 1969, which marks the longest stretch of continuous Labor rule in any state or territory in its history.

Results

1934 Tasmanian state election
House of Assembly
<< 19311937 >>

Enrolled voters 127,681
Votes cast 120,622 Turnout 94.47% –0.52%
Informal votes 3,885 Informal 3.20% –0.25%
Summary of votes by party
Party Primary votes  % Swing Seats Change
  Nationalist 54,549 46.72% –9.68% 13 – 6
  Labor 53,454 45.78% +10.85% 14 + 4
  Independent 8,764 7.51% –1.17% 3 + 2
Total 116,767     30  
Popular vote
Nationalist
46.72%
Labor
45.78%
Independents
7.51%
Seats
Labor
46.67%
Nationalist
43.33%
Independents
10.00%

Distribution of votes

Primary vote by division

Bass Darwin Denison Franklin Wilmot
Labor Party50.8%40.8%48.7%51.9%35.8%
Nationalist49.2%52.8%37.8%37.8%57.0%
Other6.3%13.5%10.3%7.3%

Distribution of seats

See also

References

Further reading

  • Batt, Neil (1969). "Tasmania's Depression elections". Labour History. Liverpool University Press. 17: 111–120. doi:10.2307/27507957.
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