1878 Canterbury colonial by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Canterbury on 10 January 1878 because Sir Henry Parkes was appointed Colonial Secretary forming the third Parkes ministry.[1] Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested however on this occasion a poll was required in Canterbury and The Lachlan (James Watson). Both were comfortably re-elected. The other 5 ministers were re-elected unopposed.[2]

Dates

Date	Event
21 December 1878	Third Parkes ministry appointed.[3]
	Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[4]
28 December 1878	Nominations
31 December 1878	Polling day
20 January 1879	Return of writ

Result

1878 Canterbury by-election
Tuesday 31 December [5]

Candidate		Votes	%
Sir Henry Parkes (re-elected)		1,048	90.9
Aaron Wheeler		105	9.1
Total formal votes		1,153	100.0
Informal votes		0	0.0
Turnout		1,153	15.7

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Canterbury
• List of New South Wales state by-elections

References

1. "Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
2. Green, Antony. "1877 to 1880 by-elections". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
3. "Appointment of ministers". New South Wales Government Gazette (406). 21 December 1872. p. 5113. Retrieved 1 October 2020 – via Trove.
4. "Writ of election: Canterbury". New South Wales Government Gazette (407). 21 December 1878. p. 5115. Retrieved 1 October 2020 – via Trove.
5. Green, Antony. "1878 Canterbury by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 October 2020.