1917 New South Wales state election

The 1917 New South Wales state election was held on 24 March 1917. This election was for all of the 90 seats in the 24th New South Wales Legislative Assembly and it was conducted in single-member constituencies with a second ballot if a majority was not achieved on the first. The 23rd parliament of New South Wales was dissolved on 21 February 1917 by the governor, Sir Gerald Strickland, on the advice of the premier William Holman.

1917 New South Wales state election

← 1913 24 March 1917 (1917-03-24) 1920 →
All 90 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 46 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader William Holman John Storey Party Nationalist Labor Leader since 15 November 1916 February 1917 Leader's seat Cootamundra Balmain Last election 39 seats 49 seats Seats won 52 33 Seat change 13 16 Popular vote 292,306 262,655 Percentage 47.44% 43.63% Swing 1.17 4.00
Legislative Assembly after the election
Premier before election William Holman Nationalist Subsequent Premier William Holman Nationalist

Since the previous election, Premier Holman had left the Labor Party with 17 of his supporters and entered into a coalition with the opposition Liberal Party, as a result of the 1916 conscription dispute that split the Labor Party nationally. In early 1917, Holman's supporters merged with the Liberals to form the New South Wales branch of the Nationalist Party. Although the merged party was dominated by former Liberals, Holman became its leader, and thus remained premier.

The Nationalists won a sweeping victory, scoring a 13-seat swing which was magnified by the large number of former Labor MPs who followed Holman out of the party. It thus presaged the federal Nationalists' equally comprehensive victory in the federal election two months later.

Key dates

Date	Event
21 February 1917	The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the governor to proceed with an election.
3 March 1917	Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon.
24 March 1917	Polling day.
17 April 1917	Opening of 24th Parliament.

Results

1917 New South Wales state election  Legislative Assembly << 1913–1920 >>
Enrolled voters		1,109,830
Votes cast		616,146		Turnout	61.43	-6.81
Informal votes		6,332		Informal	1.02	–1.28
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Nationalist	292,306	47.44	+1.17	52	+13
	Labor	262,655	42.63	−4.00	33	−16
	Independent	25,528	4.14	+1.86	3	+2
	Independent Labor	20,085	3.26	+1.88	1	0
	Ind. Nationalist	15,201	2.47	+0.03	1	+1
	Ind. Socialist Labor	371	0.06	–0.19	0	0
Total		616,146			90

Popular vote

Nationalist			47.44%
Labor			42.63%
Independent			4.14%
Ind. Labor			3.26%
Ind. Nationalist			2.47%
Others			0.06%
Parliamentary seats
Nationalist			52
Labor			33
Independent			3
Ind. Labor			1
Ind. Nationalist			1

Retiring members

This section is an excerpt from Candidates of the 1917 New South Wales state election § Retiring Members.edit

Labor

• Ernest Durack MLA (Bathurst)

Nationalist

• Henry Hoyle MLA (Surry Hills) — elected as Labor
• James Mercer (Rozelle) — elected as Labor
• Charles Wade MLA (Gordon)

See also

• Candidates of the 1917 New South Wales state election
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1917–1920