Western Australian state election, 1939

Elections were held in the state

States and territories of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...

of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

on 18 March 1939 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly

Western Australian Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....

. The Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

, led by Premier

Premier of Western Australia

The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...

John Willcock

John Collings Willcock was the 15th Premier of Western Australia.-Early life:John Willcock was born at Frogmoor , New South Wales on 9 August 1879. The son of miner Joseph Willcock, he was educated at Sydney High School before emigrating to Western Australia in 1897...

, won a third term in office against the Country

National Party of Western Australia

The National Party of Western Australia is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity....

and Nationalist

Nationalist Party of Australia

The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...

parties, led by Opposition Leader

Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia)

The Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia is the leader of the largest minority political party or coalition of parties in the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia. By convention, he or she is generally a member of the Legislative Assembly...

Charles Latham

Sir Charles Latham was an Australian politician born in Hythe, Kent in England.- Biography :Latham became an orphan in early childhood when his parents Thomas Latham and Isabella died before the age of 8...

and Robert Ross McDonald respectively.

Results

The election was notable for the lack of change to the status quo. Only one member—former Speaker Michael Troy, who had been in the Assembly continuously since 1904—opted to retire, being replaced in his seat of Mount Magnet

Electoral district of Mount Magnet

Mount Magnet was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1904 to 1950.The district was based on the outback town of Mount Magnet. It was held at all times by the Australian Labor Party.-Members:...

by fellow Labor member Lucien Triat. Labor's Alec Rodoreda gained the seat of Pilbara from two-term Nationalist MLA Frank Welsh

Frank Welsh (politician)

Frank Robert Welsh was an Australian politician who represented the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Pilbara from 1933 until 1939, and one of the three Legislative Council seats for North Province from 1940 until 1954...

, whilst the Nationalist member since 1914 for North Perth

Electoral district of North Perth

The Electoral district of North Perth was a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. The district was named for its location immediately to the north of the central business district of Perth....

, James MacCallum Smith

James MacCallum Smith

James MacCallum Smith was an Australian politician, newspaper proprietor and stock breeder. He lobbied unsuccessfully for many years for the secession of Western Australia from the Federation of Australia....

, was defeated by independent Nationalist Arthur Abbott (who joined the party some years later).

Elsewhere, the only change was the exit of one Independent member—Clarence Doust in Nelson

Electoral district of Nelson

Nelson was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1890 to 1950.The district was based in the south-western part of Western Australia, including towns such as Manjimup and Pemberton, and was named for the Nelson land district which formed...

, who was defeated by his Nationalist predecessor John Henry Smith after one term—and the entry of another from Irwin-Moore, Claude Barker

Claude Barker

Claude Osmonde Barker was an Australian politician. He was the Independent member for Irwin-Moore in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 18 March to 2 August 1939, when he resigned....

, replacing Country member Percy Ferguson.

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265,987 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 10 of the 50 seats were uncontested—4 Labor seats representing 9,414 enrolled voters, 2 Nationalist seats representing 11,396 voters and 4 Country seats representing 16,614 voters.

Results

See also