Western Australian state election, 1911
Encyclopedia
Elections were held in the state
of Western Australia
on 3 October 1911 to elect 50 members to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
. The Labor
party, led by Opposition Leader
John Scaddan
, defeated the conservative
Ministerialist government led by Premier
Frank Wilson. In doing so, Scaddan achieved both Labor's first absolute majority on the floor of the Assembly with 68% of the seats (34 of 50) won, and its largest to date. The result came as something of a surprise to many commentators and particularly to the Ministerialists, as they went to an election for the first time as a single grouping backed by John Forrest
's Western Australian Liberal League, under a new system of compulsory preferential voting and new electoral boundaries both of which had been passed by Parliament earlier in the year despite ardent Labor opposition.
The 1911 election is considered by political historians such as Brian de Garis and David Black
to mark the end of the first phase of the development of party politics in Western Australia, which had begun with the granting of responsible government
to the then British colony
in 1890. Labor held onto government with a one-seat majority in the following 1914 election
but lost power in 1916 after losing a by-election and after another member left the Labor Party to sit as an Independent.
The Scaddan government was characterised by its involvement in a number of State-owned manufacturing and service businesses on the back of a relatively sluggish economy. The Government Trading Concerns Act 1912 saw it establishing and running the State Brickworks, the State Saw Mills, the State Implement Works, the State Shipping Service, the State Hotels, the State Quarry at Boya as well as meatworks, ferries and tramways.
Notes:
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 3 October 1911 to elect 50 members to the Western Australian 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
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...
party, 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...
John Scaddan
John Scaddan
John Scaddan, CMG , popularly known as "Happy Jack", was Premier of Western Australia from 7 October 1911 until 27 July 1916.- Biography :...
, defeated the conservative
Conservatism in Australia
Conservativism in Australia covers similar political issues as found in other Western democracies.In Australia political conservatism is primarily represented by the Liberal Party of Australia, and its rural-based coalition partner, the National Party...
Ministerialist government 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...
Frank Wilson. In doing so, Scaddan achieved both Labor's first absolute majority on the floor of the Assembly with 68% of the seats (34 of 50) won, and its largest to date. The result came as something of a surprise to many commentators and particularly to the Ministerialists, as they went to an election for the first time as a single grouping backed by John Forrest
John Forrest
Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
's Western Australian Liberal League, under a new system of compulsory preferential voting and new electoral boundaries both of which had been passed by Parliament earlier in the year despite ardent Labor opposition.
The 1911 election is considered by political historians such as Brian de Garis and David Black
David Black (historian)
David Black is a Western Australian historian. He has lectured and written extensively on Australian and Western Australian history, especially political history. He was Professor in History and Politics in the School of Social Sciences and Asian Languages at Curtin University of Technology...
to mark the end of the first phase of the development of party politics in Western Australia, which had begun with the granting of responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
to the then British colony
Self-governing colony
A self-governing colony is a colony with an elected legislature, in which politicians are able to make most decisions without reference to the colonial power with formal or nominal control of the colony...
in 1890. Labor held onto government with a one-seat majority in the following 1914 election
Western Australian state election, 1914
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 21 October 1914 to elect 50 members to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. The Labor party, led by Premier John Scaddan, retained government against the opposition conservative Liberal Party led by Opposition Leader Frank Wilson,...
but lost power in 1916 after losing a by-election and after another member left the Labor Party to sit as an Independent.
The Scaddan government was characterised by its involvement in a number of State-owned manufacturing and service businesses on the back of a relatively sluggish economy. The Government Trading Concerns Act 1912 saw it establishing and running the State Brickworks, the State Saw Mills, the State Implement Works, the State Shipping Service, the State Hotels, the State Quarry at Boya as well as meatworks, ferries and tramways.
Results
|}Notes:
- The Labor Party's total of 34 seats includes 10 which were uncontested, representing 30,270 of the 152,645 enrolled voters.
- The Ministerialist group (whose elected members formed the Liberal Party soon after the election) stood 65 candidates for a total of 38 seats - notably five in the MooreElectoral district of MooreMoore is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia.Moore has had three incarnations as an electorate. It its first incarnation, Moore was one of the original 30 seats contested at the 1890 state election....
district and four in CanningElectoral district of CanningThe Electoral district of Canning was an electorate in the state of Western Australia. The electorate, which was named for the Canning River which ran through the electorate, was first contested at the 1897 elections and was abolished in the 1988 redistribution...
.
See also
- Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1908–1911
- Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1911–1914