1861 Newtown colonial by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Newtown on 12 July 1861 because of the resignation of Alexander McArthur who had been appointed to the Legislative Council.^[1]

Candidates

Two candidates were nominated:^[2]

• Thomas Holt, a pastoralist, had represented Stanley Boroughs in 1856–1857,^[3] however he had been defeated at the elections for Cumberland (South Riding) in 1858 and Newtown in 1859.^[4]

• Stephen Brown, a solicitor, had also been defeated at the election Newtown in 1859 and again in 1860.^[5]

Dates

Date	Event
20 June 1861	Alexander McArthur resigned.[1]
24 June 1861	Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and close of electoral rolls.[6]
10 July 1861	Nominations
12 July 1861	Polling day
17 July 1861	Return of writ

Results

1861 Newtown by-election
Friday 12 July ^[7]

Candidate		Votes	%
Thomas Holt (elected)		470	51.4
Stephen Brown		445	48.6
Total formal votes		915	100.0
Informal votes		0	0.0
Turnout		915	54.6

See also

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

References

1. "The Hon Alexander McArthur (1814-1909)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
2. "Newtwon election: the nomination". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 July 1861. p. 2. Retrieved 10 November 2019 – via Trove.
3. Geeves, Philip. "Holt, Thomas (1811–1888)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
4. Green, Antony. "Index to Candidates: Ho to Hoyle". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
5. Green, Antony. "Index to Candidates: Britz to Burnett". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
6. "Writ of election: Newtown". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 159. 1 July 1861. p. 1410. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via Trove.
7. Green, Antony. "1861 Newtown by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 November 2019.