1895 New South Wales colonial election

The 1895 New South Wales colonial election was held on 24 July 1895 for all of the 125 seats in the 17th New South Wales Legislative Assembly and it was conducted in single-member constituencies with a first past the post voting system. Section 23 (1) of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act of 1893 conferred a right to vote on 'every male person, being a natural born [British] subject, who shall have resided or had his principal place of abode in New South Wales for a continuous period of one year'. males. The 16th parliament of New South Wales was dissolved on 5 July 1895 by the Governor, Lord Hampden, on the advice of the Premier, George Reid.[1][2]

1895 New South Wales colonial election

24 July 1895
All 125 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 63 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
Leader George Reid George Dibbs James McGowen Party Free Trade Protectionist Labor Electoral League Leader since September 1891 January 1889 August 1894 Leader's seat Sydney-King Tamworth (lost seat) Redfern Last election 50 seats 37 seats 15 seats Seats won 58 seats 42 seats 18 seats Seat change 8 5 3 Percentage 37.15 33.43% 13.20% Swing 6.81 5.74 3.29
Legislative Assembly after the election
Premier before election George Reid Free Trade Elected Premier George Reid Free Trade

Key dates

Date	Event
5 July 1895	The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.
16 – 20 July 1895	Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon.
24 July 1895	Polling day.
13 August 1895	Opening of 17th Parliament.

Results

New South Wales colonial election, 24 July 1895 [3] Legislative Assembly << 1894–1898 >>
Enrolled voters		253,125
Votes cast		151,680		Turnout	59.92	−18.64
Informal votes		1,354		Informal	0.88	−0.74
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Free Trade	56,347	37.15	+6.81	58	+8
	Protectionist	50,703	33.43	+5.74	42	+5
	Labor	20,028	13.20	−3.29	18	+3
	Ind. Free Trade	11,096	7.32	–4.29	4	−7
	Ind. Protectionist	6,547	4.32	−2.86	2	−2
	Independent	5,107	3.37	+2.41	0	±0
	Independent Labor	1,852	1.22	−4.50	1	−7
Total		151,680			125

Retiring members

Protectionist

• Patrick Hogan MLA (Raleigh)
• John Wilkinson MLA (Albury)

Free Trade

• Joseph Abbott MLA (Newtown-Camperdown)

Labor

• John Kirkpatrick MLA (Gunnedah)
• Michael Loughnane MLA (Grenfell)

Changing seats

Seats changing hands [lower-alpha 1]
Seat	1898			1901
	Party		Member	Party		Member
Albury		Protectionist	John Wilkinson		Free Trade	Richard Ball
Armidale		Protectionist	Henry Copeland		Free Trade	Edmund Lonsdale
Ashburnham		Independent Labour	Albert Gardiner		Protectionist	Joseph Reymond
Botany		Ind. Free Trade	William Stephen		Labour	John Dacey
Camden		Protectionist	John Kidd		Free Trade	Charles Bull
Dubbo		Protectionist	James Morgan		Free Trade	Simeon Phillips
Gunnedah		Labour	John Kirkpatrick		Protectionist	Thomas Goodwin
Nepean		Free Trade	Samuel Lees		Protectionist	Thomas Smith
Newcastle West		Free Trade	James Ellis		Labour	James Thomson
Northumberland		Protectionist	Richard Stevenson		Free Trade	Henry Wheeler
Paddington		Free Trade	William Shipway		Ind. Free Trade	John Neild
Raleigh		Protectionist	Patrick Hogan		Ind. Protectionist	John McLaughlin
Rylstone		Protectionist	William Wall		Free Trade	John Fitzpatrick
Sydney-Fitzroy		Free Trade	Henry Chapman		Ind. Free Trade	John McElhone
Sydney-Flinders		Free Trade	Bernhard Wise		Protectionist	Arthur Nelson
Sydney-Phillip		Free Trade	Robert Fowler		Protectionist	Richard Meagher
Tamworth		Protectionist	George Dibbs		Free Trade	Albert Piddington
Tweed		Labour	John Willard		Protectionist	Joseph Kelly
Members changing party
Seat	1898			1901
	Party		Member	Party		Member
Condoublin		Independent Labour	Thomas Brown		Labour	Thomas Brown
Darlington		Independent Labour	William Schey		Protectionist	William Schey
Durham		Ind. Free Trade	Herbert Brown		Protectionist	Herbert Brown
Eden-Bombala		Independent Labour	William Wood		Protectionist	William Wood
Grenfell		Free Trade	George Greene		Ind. Free Trade	George Greene
Hartley		Independent Labour	Joseph Cook		Free Trade	Joseph Cook
Hawkesbury		Ind. Free Trade	William Morgan		Free Trade	William Morgan
Kahibah		Independent Labour	Alfred Edden		Labour	Alfred Edden
Kiama		Ind. Protectionist	Alexander Campbell		Protectionist	Alexander Campbell
Lachlan		Ind. Protectionist	James Carroll		Protectionist	James Carroll
Leichhardt		Ind. Free Trade	John Hawthorne		Free Trade	John Hawthorne
Macquarie		Free Trade	James Tonkin		Protectionist	William Hurley
Newtown-St Peters		Ind. Free Trade	William Rigg		Free Trade	William Rigg
Parramatta		Ind. Free Trade	Dowell O'Reilly		Free Trade	Dowell O'Reilly
Petersham		Ind. Free Trade	Llewellyn Jones		Free Trade	Llewellyn Jones
Richmond		Ind. Protectionist	Robert Pyers		Protectionist	Robert Pyers
Shoalhaven		Free Trade	Philip Morton		Ind. Free Trade	Philip Morton
Sydney-Gipps		Independent Labour	George Black		Labour	George Black
Uralla-Walcha		Ind. Free Trade	William Piddington		Free Trade	William Piddington
Waterloo		Ind. Free Trade	George Anderson		Free Trade	George Anderson
West Maitland		Ind. Free Trade	John Gillies		Free Trade	John Gillies
Woollahra		Ind. Free Trade	Adrian Knox		Free Trade	Adrian Knox

Notes

1. Compares members at the 1895 election and the 1898 election and does not include seats that changed party as a result of a by-election.

References

1. "Part 5B - Members returned for each electorate" (PDF). New South Wales Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
2. "Former Members". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
3. Green, Antony. "1895 election totals". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 19 September 2019.

See also

• Candidates of the 1895 New South Wales colonial election
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1895–1898