The Roe state by-election, 1967 was a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 held on 2 September 1967 for the 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...

n 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....

 seat of Roe

Electoral district of Roe

Roe was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1950 to 1983 and again from 1989 to 2008.The district was based in the rural south of Western Australia...

 in the southeastern agricultural part of the state.

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Country Party

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....

 member Tom Hart on 6 July 1967.

The seat of Roe, first established in 1950, was considered to be a safe seat for the Country Party. At the time of the by-election, the seat included the towns of Dumbleyung

Dumbleyung, Western Australia

Dumbleyung is a town and shire in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, south-east of Perth between Wagin and Lake Grace on State Route 107.-History:...

, Gnowangerup

Gnowangerup, Western Australia

Gnowangerup is a town located south east of Katanning in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The townsite was first gazetted in 1908 under the spelling of Ngowangerupp. Local dissatisfaction with this spelling led to it being altered to Gnowangerup in 1913.A branch railway from...

, Kondinin

Kondinin, Western Australia

Kondinin is a town located in the Eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, east of the state capital, Perth via the Brookton Highway and State Route 40 between Corrigin and Hyden. It is the main town in the Shire of Kondinin...

, Kulin

Kulin, Western Australia

Kulin is a town located in the Eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately 280 km from Perth. It is the main town in the Shire of Kulin.- History :...

, Lake Grace

Lake Grace, Western Australia

-Natural disasters:In late 2005 and early 2006, Lake Grace experienced two natural disasters. The first was a hail storm on 16 October 2005, which destroyed 500 hectares of wheat and barley crop and damaged a further 5,500 hectares, with some farmers reporting fields covered by up to...

, Narembeen

Narembeen, Western Australia

Narembeen is a town in the Western Australia wheatbelt. It is 286 km, almost due east, from Perth, the capital of WA. It is the major settlement in the Shire of Narembeen, in which the major industries are growing cereal crops and raising cattle and sheep....

 and Ravensthorpe

Ravensthorpe, Western Australia

Ravensthorpe is a town 541 km south east of Perth, 40 km inland from the south coast of Western Australia. It is the seat of government of the Shire of Ravensthorpe...

.

Timeline

Date	Event
6 July 1967	Tom Hart resigned, vacating the seat of Roe Electoral district of Roe Roe was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1950 to 1983 and again from 1989 to 2008.The district was based in the rural south of Western Australia... .
2 August 1967	The Minister for Justice, Arthur Griffith Arthur Griffith (Australian politician) Sir Arthur Frederick Griffith was an Australian politician, and a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1950 until 1953 representing the seat of Canning, and a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council representing the Suburban and North Metropolitan provinces from... , appointed polling places in the district.
4 August 1967	Writs were issued by the Speaker Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer in the Legislative Assembly. The office has existed since the creation of the Legislative Assembly in 1890 under the Constitution Act 1889...  of 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....  to proceed with a by-election.
11 August 1967	Close of nominations and draw of ballot papers.
2 September 1967	Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
18 September 1967	The writ was returned and the results formally declared.

Candidates

The by-election attracted two candidates. Bill Young, representing the Country Party, was a farmer and party official residing in Kondinin

Kondinin, Western Australia

Kondinin is a town located in the Eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, east of the state capital, Perth via the Brookton Highway and State Route 40 between Corrigin and Hyden. It is the main town in the Shire of Kondinin...

, while Mel Bungey

Mel Bungey

Melville Harold "Mel" Bungey is a retired Australian politician. Born in Gnowangerup, Western Australia, he was educated at Wesley College, Perth and the University of Western Australia before becoming a farmer. Later, he was Vice-President of the Wool Section in the Farmers' Union of Western...

, representing the Liberal and Country League

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

, was a farmer residing in Gnowangerup

Gnowangerup, Western Australia

Gnowangerup is a town located south east of Katanning in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The townsite was first gazetted in 1908 under the spelling of Ngowangerupp. Local dissatisfaction with this spelling led to it being altered to Gnowangerup in 1913.A branch railway from...

.

Results

Bill Young easily retained the seat for the Country Party. No swings are noted due to the seat being uncontested at the 1965 election

Western Australian state election, 1965

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 20 February 1965 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly and 15 members to the 30-seat Legislative Council...

.