1918 Corangamite by-election

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|  | 14 December 1918 |

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|  | First party  | Second party  | Third party

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|  |  |

NAT

Candidate  | William Gibson | James Scullin | George Knox
Party  | Victorian Farmers | Labor | Nationalist
Popular vote  | 6,604  | 10,630 | 5,737
Percentage  | 26.4%  | 42.5% | 22.9%
Swing  | 26.4pp  | 2.9pp  | 37.5pp
TPP | 56.3% | 43.7%  |
TPP swing  | 56.3pp  | 4.1pp  |

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| MP before election

Chester Manifold
Nationalist

| Elected MP

William Gibson
Victorian Farmers

|

A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Corangamite on 14 December 1918. This was triggered by the death of Nationalist MP Chester Manifold.

In October, the Labor Party had won a by-election for the safe conservative seat of Swan when the entry of the Farmers' and Settlers' Association had split the conservative vote. The Nationalists quickly introduced preferential voting, which was first practiced at the Corangamite by-election. Although the Labor candidate, future Prime Minister James Scullin, came first on the primary vote, Nationalist preferences elected William Gibson of the Victorian Farmers' Union, who thus became the first "Country" member of the Australian Parliament.

## Results

[edit]

Corangamite by-election, 1918[1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| Labor | James Scullin | 10,630  | 42.5  | +2.9
| Victorian Farmers | William Gibson | 6,604  | 26.4  | +26.4
| Nationalist | George Knox | 5,737  | 22.9  | −37.5
| Ind. Nationalist | Russell Coldham  | 1,174  | 4.7  | +4.7
| Returned Soldiers  | Thomas Leaper  | 895  | 3.6  | +3.6
Total formal votes  | 25,040  | 98.0  |
Informal votes  | 516  | 2.0  |
Turnout | 25,553  | 73.2  |
Two-party-preferred result
| Victorian Farmers | William Gibson | 14,096  | 56.3  | +56.3
| Labor | James Scullin | 10,944  | 43.7  | +4.1
| Victorian Farmers gain from Nationalist | Swing | −4.1 |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "By-Elections 1917-1919". Psephos.

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By-elections of the 7th Parliament of Australia (1917–1919)

1917|

* Darwin
* Grampians

1918|

* Flinders
* Swan
* Corangamite

1919|

* Echuca

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