1940 Ryde state by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Ryde on 14 September 1940 following the resignation of Eric Spooner (United Australia),^[1] to contest the federal seat of Robertson at the 1940 election,^[2] at which he was elected.^[3]

Dates

Date	Event
23 August 1940	Eric Spooner resigned.[1]
30 August 1940	Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[4]
5 September 1940	Nominations
14 September 1940	Polling day
21 September 1940	Federal election
28 September 1940	Return of writ

Candidates

• Bert Cowell (Independent) was a grocer from Gladesville.^[5]
• William Harrison (Independent) was an estate agent from West Ryde and the Mayor of Ryde, the youngest to hold that office.^[5]
• Herbert Mitchell (United Australia) was a secretary and superintendent of the Central District Ambulance.^[6]
• James Stewart (State Labor) was a tyre moulder, representing the far-left Hughes-Evans group, which had been removed as the Labor executive in July 1940.^[5][7]
• Arthur Williams (Labor) was an accountant specialising in the auditing of trade unions.^[8]

Result

1940 Ryde by-election
Saturday 14 September ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Arthur Williams	7,680	35.6	+9.3
	United Australia	Herbert Mitchell	7,742	35.9	−17.4
	Independent	William Harrison	3,048	14.1	−6.3
	State Labor	James Stewart	1,685	7.8
	Independent	Bert Cowell	1,431	6.6
Total formal votes			21,586	96.6	−2.1
Informal votes			755	3.4	+2.1
Turnout			22,341	89.7	−7.3
Two-party-preferred result
	Labor	Arthur Williams	10,908	50.5
	United Australia	Herbert Mitchell	10,678	49.5
	Labor gain from United Australia		Swing	N/A

See also

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

References

1. "The Hon. Eric Sydney Spooner (1891–1952)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
2. Green, Antony. "1940 Ryde by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
3. "1940 House of Representatives election: New South Wales". Psephos, Adam Carr's election archive. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
4. "Writ of election: Ryde". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 118. 30 August 1940. p. 3639. Retrieved 27 March 2021 – via Trove.
5. "Five will stand for Ryde". The Sun. 5 September 1940. p. 8. Retrieved 27 March 2021 – via Trove.
6. "Seek Ryde selection". The Daily Telegraph. 31 August 1940. p. 5. Retrieved 27 March 2021 – via Trove.
7. Clune, David. "Facts and Figures - Political Parties of NSW (Overview)". Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
8. "Mr Arthur John Leonard Williams (1888-1968)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 May 2019.