Vaucluse state by-election, 1957
Encyclopedia
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
seat of Vaucluse
Electoral district of Vaucluse
Vaucluse is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, based on the suburb of Vaucluse. Vaucluse is one of two original electorates to have never been held by the opposing Labor party and always by the Liberal Party or its predecessors, the other...
on Saturday, 24 August 1957.
It was triggered by the resignation of the former Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party
Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party
The position of leader of the Liberal Party of Australia's New South Wales division is a formal role held by a Liberal member of the Parliament of New South Wales...
, Lt.Col. Murray Robson, who retired from parliament.
The seat was subsequently won by Brigadier Geoffrey Cox
Geoffrey Cox (Australian politician)
Brigadier Geoffrey Souter Cox DSO, MC, ED was an Australian soldier and politician. A decorated officer during World War II, he later entered politics, serving as a Liberal Party of Australia member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1957 to 1964, representing the electorate of...
of the Liberal Party of Australia
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...
. Vaucluse being a blue-ribbon Liberal seat, the Labor Party chose not to field a candidate. The Liberals witnessed a drop in their primary vote due to several Independent Liberal candidates splitting the strong conservative vote.
Background
The seat of Vaucluse, a traditionally safe Liberal seat, was held since 1936 by Murray Robson, who, after serving with distinction in the Second World War returned and rose to become Leader of the Liberal Party in 1954.In August 1954, after the long-serving leader, Vernon Treatt
Vernon Treatt
Sir Vernon Haddon Treatt KBE, MM, QC was an Australian lawyer, soldier, Rhodes Scholar and politician. Born in Singleton, New South Wales and educated at Shore School, Treatt interrupted his studies at the University of Sydney to enlist at the outbreak of the First World War...
, announced his intention to resign, and Deputy-Leader Robert Askin
Robert Askin
Sir Robert William Askin GCMG, was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party of Australia. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but always disliked his first name and changed it by deed poll in 1971...
and Pat Morton
Pat Morton
Philip Henry Morton was an Australian businessman and politician. Born in Lismore in Northern New South Wales to a prominent political family and educated at Lismore High School, Morton left school at fourteen to be employed in a legal firm, before branching out into various businesses...
had tied in a vote to succeed him, Robson was persuaded by Askin to accept the Leadership of the Liberal Party as a compromise candidate. Like other senior members of the party, after having no conservative government since Alexander Mair in 1941, Robson had no experience in government, he had little interest in policy except for Cold War anti-communism, ignored majority views of his party and fellow parliamentary colleagues and further alienated party members by trying to forge a closer alliance with Michael Bruxner
Michael Bruxner
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Michael Frederick Bruxner KBE, DSO, JP was an Australian politician and soldier, serving for many years as Leader of the Country Party and its predecessors...
's Country Party.
Over a year after he assumed the leadership, at a party meeting on 20 September 1955, senior party member Ken McCaw
Ken McCaw
Sir Kenneth Malcolm McCaw QC , an Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Lane Cove for the Liberal Party of Australia from 1947 until his retirement from political office in 1975...
moved that the leadership be declared vacant, citing that Robson's leadership lacked the qualities necessary for winning the next election. The motion was carried 15 votes to 5. Robson then moved a motion to prevent Pat Morton, who was the only person nominated for leader, from taking the leadership. This was defeated 16 votes to 6 and Morton was elected unnopposed as leader, with Robert Askin remaining as Deputy Leader. Robson retorted that there had been a "continuous intrigue" against his leadership. He was returned for the last time at the 3 March 1956 election
New South Wales state election, 1956
The 1956 New South Wales state election was held on 3 March 1956. It was conducted in single member constituencies with compulsory preferential voting and was held on boundaries created at a 1952 redistribution...
with 71.41%. Robson, however, did not stay long afterward; on 26 July 1957, he resigned his seat and returned to his legal practice until he retired.