1861 Parramatta colonial by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Parramatta on 10 April 1861 caused by the resignation of sitting member James Byrnes. At the election in December 1860 he gained second place behind a newcomer John Lackey. While still successful, Byrnes took offence at being placed second, stating that the majority of voters had decided that he was not fit to serve them and resigned in March 1861 without taking his seat.[1][2]

Dates
DateEvent
8 December 1860 Election for Parramatta
26 March 1861 James Byrnes resigned.[2]
27 March 1861 Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[3]
8 April 1861 Nominations.[4]
10 April 1861 Polling day
13 April 1861 Return of writ

Candidates
  • John Harrington West was a one-time candidate and very little is known about him. His nomination speech was greeted with much laughter,[4] which suggests his candidacy was intended to be humorous. He did however hold a meeting to set out his political principles,[7] and at the nominations the show of hands was declared to be in his favour.[4]

Results
1861 Parramatta by-election
Wednesday 10 April [8]
Candidate Votes %
Arthur Holroyd (elected) 275 49.1
Charles Kemp 244 43.6
John West 41 7.3
Total formal votes 560 100.0
Informal votes 0 0.0
Turnout 560 45.9

See also

References
  1. "Election for Parramatta". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 December 1860. p. 5. Retrieved 21 September 2019 – via Trove.
  2. Walsh, G P (1969). "Byrnes, James (1806–1886)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  3. "Writ of election: Parramatta". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 68. 27 March 1861. p. 715. Retrieved 15 June 2021 – via Trove.
  4. "Representation of Parramatta". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 April 1861. p. 5. Retrieved 15 June 2021 – via Trove.
  5. Green, Antony. "1860 Liverpool Plains". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  6. Holt, H T E. "Mr Holroyd, Arthur (1806–1887)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  7. "Mr West's meeting". The Empire. 8 April 1861. p. 3. Retrieved 15 June 2021 – via Trove.
  8. Green, Antony. "1861 Parramatta by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
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