1888 Paddington colonial by-election

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A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Paddington on 12 January 1888 because William Trickett (Free Trade) was appointed to the Legislative Council.[1]

Dates[edit]

Date Event
23 December 1887 William Trickett resigned.[1]
28 December 1887 Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[2]
30 December 1887 William Trickett appointed to Legislative Council.[3]
9 January 1888 Nominations
12 January 1888 Polling day
14 January 1888 Return of writ

Candidates[edit]

  • William Allen (Protectionist) was a soap manufacturer. His brother Alfred was one of the sitting Free Trade members for Paddington
  • Edward Knapp (Free Trade) was a surveyor and member of the Local Option League. This was the only time he stood for parliament.[7]

Result[edit]

1888 Paddington by-election
Thursday 12 January [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Protectionist William Allen (elected) 1,696 40.6
Free Trade Charles Hellmrich 1,682 40.2
Free Trade Edward Knapp 612 14.6
Free Trade Charles Cansdell 192 4.6
Total formal votes 4,182 97.7
Informal votes 98 2.3
Turnout 4,280 51.1
Protectionist gain from Free Trade  

Aftermath[edit]

With a margin of just 14 votes, Charles Hellmrich challenged the result in the Elections and Qualifications Committee.[9] The Committee consisted of 2 Free Trade members (Jacob Garrard and Albert Gould) and 3 Protectionist members (Joseph Palmer Abbott, Robert Smith and John See). The committee scrutinised the ballot papers and held that Allen was properly elected, finding that the true result was Allen 1,689, Hellmrich 1,653, Knapp 608 and Cansdell 191, formal 4,141, informal 114, total 4,255.[8][10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Mr William Joseph Trickett (1843-1916)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Writ of election: Paddington". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 751. 28 December 1887. p. 8569. Retrieved 10 May 2021 – via Trove.
  3. ^ "Summoned to the Legislative Council of New South Wales". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 760. 30 December 1887. p. 8609. Retrieved 10 May 2021 – via Trove.
  4. ^ Green, Antony. "Index to Candidates: Burney to Carlos". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Death of Mr Charles Hellmrich". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 August 1902. p. 7. Retrieved 10 May 2021 – via Trove.
  6. ^ Green, Antony. "Index to Candidates: Heferen to Hitchens". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  7. ^ Green, Antony. "Index to Candidates: King to Lamont". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  8. ^ a b Green, Antony. "1888 Paddington by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Petition: election for Paddington". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 113. 15 February 1888. p. 1281. Retrieved 8 May 2021 – via Trove.
  10. ^ "Meeting of the Elections and Qualifications Committee". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 February 1888. p. 7. Retrieved 10 May 2021 – via Trove.