Robert Blackwood (Free Trade Party) defeated the sitting member John Chanter (Protectionist) by
Blackwood, R.O. | 4,341 |
Chanter, J.M. | 4,336 |
Not surprisingly, John Chanter
petitioned for a recount, and the result was
declared void. A by-election was held on 18 May 1904, in which John Chanter re-defeated Robert Blackwood by
363 votes (5,547 votes to 5,184)
Werriwa, 5 September 1914 - seven votesJohn Lynch (Australian Labor Party) defeated the sitting member Alfred Conroy (Liberal) by
seven votesLynch, J. | 13,162 |
Conroy, A.H.B. | 13,155 |
Although a petition against his election
was discussed, John Lynch held the seat. He later changed allegiance along with Billy Hughes to form the Nationalist Party, and was re-elected in 1917.
Macquarie, 5 May 1917 - nine votesSamuel Nicholls (Australian Labor Party) defeated the sitting member Ernest Carr (Nationalist Party) by
nine votesNicholls, S.R. | 13,566 |
Carr, E.S. | 13,557 |
Ernest Carr decided
not to proceed with a petition to challenge the result, and was again defeated by Samuel Nicholls in the 1919 Federal Election.
Ballaarat, 13 December 1919 - one voteEdwin Kerby (Nationalist Party) defeated the sitting member Charles McGrath (Australian Labor Party) by
a single voteKerby, E.T.J. | 13,569 |
McGrath, D.C. | 13,568 |
McGrath successfully
challenged, and the result was eventually
declared void. A by-election was held on 10 July 1920, in which Charles McGrath re-defeated Edwin Kerby by a much more comfortable
3,615 votes (15,058 to 11,443)
The figures reported here are from
Voting for the Australian House of Representatives 1901-1964 (Hughes & Graham), and may not correspond with the newspapers of the time.
[UPDATE: 3 October 2013]
Antony Green has written
an article in his blog discussing the close Senate result in Western Australia, and the precedents for Senate recounts.