A by-election was held for the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

seat of

Neutral Bay Neutral Bay is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is around 1.5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Neutral Bay takes ...

on Saturday 15 December 1945. It was triggered by the death of the

Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party The New South Wales Liberal Party, officially called The Liberal Party of Australia, New South Wales Division, and colloquially known as the NSW Liberals, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in New South Wales. The party is c ...

and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

Reginald Weaver Reginald Walter Darcy Weaver (18 July 187612 November 1945) was an Australian conservative parliamentarian who served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for 28 years. Serving from 1917 in the backbenches, he entered the cabinet of Th ...

, who died a week after suffering a mild heart attack in the Legislative Assembly chamber. The seat was subsequently won by barrister

Ivan Black Ivan Carlisle Black (6 July 1913 – 8 July 1990) was an Australian politician and a member of the Liberal Party. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1945 until 1962. Black was born in Ryde, New South Wales. He was t ...

(). Neutral Bay being a safe Liberal seat, the Labor Party chose not to field a candidate.

Dates

Background

The seat of Neutral Bay, a safe Liberal seat, was held since 1927 by Reginald Weaver, who served as a Minister of the Crown in the Bavin and

Stevens Stevens may refer to: People * Stevens (surname), including a list of people with the surname Given name * Stevens Baker (1791–1868), farmer and member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada * Stevens T. Mason (1811–1843), territorial ...

Governments. Weaver was the

Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly The Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly, New South Wales's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is Greg Piper, who was elected on 9 May 2023. Role The Speaker p ...

until 1941 and the

since February 1944. He was also the first parliamentary leader of the newly formed

New South Wales Liberal Party The New South Wales Liberal Party, officially called The Liberal Party of Australia, New South Wales Division, and colloquially known as the NSW Liberals, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in New South Wales. The party is c ...

since April 1945. Weaver suffered a heart attack in the Legislative Assembly chamber on the evening of 7 November 1945, and died a week later on 12 November 1945 at Hornsby Hospital. Only two candidates nominated for the by-election. They were:

, a barrister and war veteran, for the Liberal Party and Kenneth McLeod Bolton, a merchant, standing as an independent. A. E. Newland, the candidate of the small Services and Consumers Party of Australia, who had previously expressed interest in contesting, did not nominate because his name was not on the state electoral roll.

Results

The Liberal Party retained the seat, with a minimal change in the margin. The Liberal candidate, Ivan Black, emerged with 56% of the vote against Independent Kenneth Bolton.

() died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neutral Bay 1945 New South Wales state by-elections 1945 elections in Australia 1940s in New South Wales December 1945 in Australia

Dates

Background

Results

See also

References