August 1875 Upper Hunter colonial by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Upper Hunter on 5 August 1875 as the by-election that returned Thomas Hungerford was overturned by the Election and Qualifications Committee on the basis that two polls were taken at Belltrees.[1]

Dates

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Date Event
7 June 1875 Poll conducted, including at Belltrees
21 June 1875 Further poll conducted at Denison Town, Merry's Crossing, Wybong Reserve and Belltrees.[2]
6 July 1875 John McElhone lodged a petition against the election.[2]
12 July 1875 Election of Thomas Hungerford declared to be void.[1]
13 July 1875 Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[3]
29 July 1875 Nominations
5 August 1875 Polling day
23 August 1875 Return of writ

Results

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1875 The Upper Hunter by-election
Thursday 5 August [4]
Candidate Votes %
John McElhone (elected) 1,057 54.9
Thomas Hungerford 869 45.1
Total formal votes 1,926 99.2
Informal votes 15 0.8
Turnout 1,941 64.3

Aftermath

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Thomas Hungerford also lodged a petition, in which he alleged John McElhone committed acts of bribery and corruption by supplying electors with food, drink and transport.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "The Upper Hunter election". The Evening News. 12 July 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 26 November 2019 – via Trove.
  2. ^ a b "The petition of John McElhone". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 156. 7 July 1875. p. 1983. Retrieved 26 November 2019 – via Trove.
  3. ^ "Writ of election: The Upper Hunter". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 164. 13 July 1875. p. 2053. Retrieved 26 November 2019 – via Trove.
  4. ^ Green, Antony. "August 1875 The Upper Hunter by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  5. ^ "The petition of Thomas Hungerford". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 266. 8 October 1875. p. 3173. Retrieved 26 November 2019 – via Trove.