1954 Leichhardt state by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Leichhardt on 9 July 1954 because of the death of Claude Matthews (Labor)[1] who committed suicide while still in office. He had been receiving treatment for a "nervous condition" for 18 months.[2]

Dates

Date	Event
9 January 1954	Claude Matthews died.[1]
23 February 1954	Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[3]
3 March 1954	Day of nomination
20 March 1954	Polling day
5 April 1954	Return of writ

Result

1954 Leichhardt by-election
Saturday 20 March [4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Reg Coady	12,646	68.14
	Independent	John Blackmore	3,060	16.5
	Independent	William Dougherty	2,533	13.7
	Independent	William McCristal	320	1.7
Total formal votes			18,559	96.5
Informal votes			665	3.5
Turnout			19,224	79.4
	Labor hold		Swing

• Preferences were not distributed.

See also

• Electoral results for the district of Leichhardt (New South Wales)
• List of New South Wales state by-elections

References

1. "The Hon. Claude Hilton Matthews (1899–1954)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
2. "Former Minister's suicide". The Canberra Times. 26 January 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 14 October 2019 – via Trove.
3. "Writ of election: Leichhardt". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (29). 23 February 1954. p. 559. Retrieved 7 October 2020 – via Trove.
4. Green, Antony. "1954 Leichhardt by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 August 2020.