1939 Western Australian state election

Australian election April 2022 1939 Western Australian state election Western Australia 1870 parliamentary no 1936 Western Australian state election 1936 1943 Western Australian state election 1943 All 50 seats in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly 18 March 1939 Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1936–1939 Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1939–1943 130px John Willcock 20 August 1936 Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch) Geraldton 45.02% 2.63 26 seats 27 seats 1 130px Charles Latham 24 April 1933 Country Party (Western Australia) York 12.00% 2.60 13 seats 12 seats 1 Ross McDonald 13 April 1938 Nationalist Party of Australia West Perth 23.97% 8.39 8 seats 7 seats 1 Premier John Willcock Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch) John Willcock Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch) Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 18 March 1939 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The Labor Party, led by Premier John Willcock, won a third term in office against the Country and Nationalist parties, led by Opposition Leader Charles Latham and Robert Ross McDonald respectively. This was the first election in Western Australia since the enactment of compulsory voting, which occurred in 1936. Western Australia was one of the last states to mandate voting.CPA 2021 112 none Results Results of the Western Australian state election, 1939 (Legislative Assembly) The election was notable for the lack of change to the status quo. Only one member—former Speaker Michael Troy, who had been in the Assembly continuously since 1904—opted to retire, being replaced in his seat of Mount Magnet by fellow Labor member Lucien Triat. Labor's Bill Hegney gained the seat of Pilbara from two-term Nationalist MLA Frank Welsh, whilst the Nationalist member since 1914 for North Perth, James MacCallum Smith, was defeated by independent Nationalist Arthur Abbott (who joined the party some years later). Elsewhere, the only change was the exit of one Independent member—Clarence Doust in Nelson, who was defeated by his Nationalist predecessor John Henry Smith after one term—and the entry of another from Irwin-Moore, Claude Barker, replacing Country member Percy Ferguson. Western Australian state election, 18 March 1939 Legislative Assembly Western Australian state election 1936 1943 228,563265,987 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 10 of the 50 seats were uncontested—4 Labor seats representing 9,414 enrolled voters, 2 Nationalist seats representing 11,396 voters and 4 Country seats representing 16,614 voters. 209,331 91.59% +21.46% 3,660 1.75% +0.63% yes Labor WA 92,585 45.02% +2.63% 27 + 1 Nationalist 49,307 23.97% –8.39% 7 – 1 Nationals WA Country 24,681 12.00% –2.60% 12 – 1 Ind. Nat. 13,977 6.80% +4.26% 2 + 1 Communist 308 0.15% +0.06% 0 ± 0 Independent 24,813 12.06% +5.07% 2 ± 0 205,671 50 |} See also Candidates of the 1939 Western Australian state election Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1936–1939 Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1939–1943 References Works cited Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Parliament Buildings of the Commonwealth 2021 978-1-3999-0968-6 London CPA 2021 Category:Elections in Western Australia Western Australian state election State election, 1939 Western Australian state election