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1949 Prahran state by-election

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1949 Prahran state by-election
← 1947 22 January 1949 1950 →
Electoral district of Prahran in the
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Registered25,791
Turnout86.9% (Decrease 3.9)
  First party Second party
 
Candidate Frank Crean Martin Smith
Party Labor Liberal
First preference vote 11,379 10,829
Percentage 51.2% 48.8%
Swing Increase 1.0 Decrease 1.0
MP before election

Bill Quirk
Labor

Elected MP

Frank Crean
Labor

The 1949 Prahran state by-election was held on 22 January 1949 to elect the member for Prahran in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, following the death of Labor Party MP Bill Quirk.

Frank Crean retained the seat for Labor, gaining a swing of 1% over the Liberal Party, which was serving in government at the time. Crean resigned two years later in 1951 to successfully contest the federal seat of Melbourne Ports, and he later served as Deputy Prime Minister for several months in 1975.

This was the second of three by-elections in Prahran held in a timeframe of six years, with by-elections also held in 1945 (where Quirk was elected) and 1951 (to replace Crean). This was also the final election contested by the original Victorian division of the Liberal Party, as the party ceased to exist in March 1949 when the new Liberal and Country Party (LCP) was formed.

Key events

Candidates

Candidates are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot.

Party Candidate Background
  Labor Frank Crean Member for Albert Park between 1945 and 1947
  Liberal Martin Smith Former mayor of Prahran and candidate for Prahran in 1947

Labor

Labor chose Frank Crean, who was elected as the member for Albert Park in 1945 and served until his defeat in 1947, as its candidate. The preselection was also contested by three other candidates – John Bourke (future MP for St Kilda), Thomas Brennan (Labor state executive member and future MLC for Monash) and Robert Pettiona (Federated Rubber and Allied Workers' Union of Australia president and future MP for Prahran) – but all three withdrew in order to allow Crean to win the nomination.

Liberal

Martin Smith, who served as the mayor of Prahran between 1946 and 1947 and unsuccessfully contested Prahran for the Liberals at the 1947 state election, was again endorsed as the party's candidate. Smith defeated ten other preselection candidates, including Desmond McGinnes, the president of the Liberal Party's Prahran branch.

Campaign

The by-election campaign was largely fought on the issue of price controls, which had been under the control of the state government since September 1948 following a national referendum held in May 1948. Labor leader John Cain claimed that if the Liberals won Prahran, it would immediately begin lifting price controls. The claim was disputed by Liberal leader and premier Thomas Hollway, who described it as "nonsense".

Communism was also a topic throughout the campaign. Hollway promised to fight "socialistic regimentation", with Smith saying he would "destroy communism" if elected. Cain accused the Liberals of having no intention of fighting communism, "because the communists are the greatest assets the Liberals have ever had".

On 3 December 1948, all Country Party ministers resigned from the Hollway ministry and returned to sitting in opposition, ending the coalition between the Liberal Party and the Country Party.

Labor had won Prahran by a margin of only 91 votes in 1947, and the by-election was expected to be close. Predictions were varied, with The Sun News-Pictorial saying a Liberal victory was "expected", while Labor Call (the official newspaper of the Political Labor Council of Victoria) claimed that Crean was indicated to win.

Results

1949 Prahran state by-election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Frank Crean 11,379 51.2 +1.0
Liberal Martin Smith 10,829 48.8 −1.0
Total formal votes 22,208 99.1 +0.2
Informal votes 195 0.9 −0.2
Turnout 22,403 86.9 −3.9
Labor hold Swing +1.0

See also

References

  1. "LABOR VICTORY IS CERTAIN IN PRAHRAN". Sunday Times. 23 January 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  2. "PRAHRAN BY-ELECTION AND THE PUNDITS". The Age. 24 January 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  3. "Francis Daniel (Frank) Crean (1916–2008)". Labour Australia. Archived from the original on 26 October 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  4. "PRAHRAN BY-ELECTION TODAY". The Argus. 18 August 1945. p. 10. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  5. "LABOR WINS PRAHRAN BY-ELECTION". Border Morning Mail. 18 June 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  6. "VICTORIAN LIBERAL COUNTRY PARTY". Morning Bulletin. 22 March 1949. p. 4. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  7. "BIRTH OF COMBINED PARTY". The Mercury. 23 March 1949. p. 4. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  8. "DEATH OF MR QUIRK, MLA". The Argus. 17 November 1948. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  9. ^ "By-Election for Prahran". The Age. 20 November 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  10. "By-Election for Prahran". The Age. 9 December 1948. p. 3. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  11. "PRAHRAN BY-ELECTION". The Argus. 27 January 1949. p. 5. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  12. ^ "THE THIRTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT ELECTED 8 NOVEMBER 1947". Psephos: Adam Carr's Electoral Archive. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  13. "Labor Candidate For Prahran". The Sun News-Pictorial. 4 December 1948. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  14. "Labor Candidate for By-Election". The Age. 4 December 1948. p. 11. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  15. "BY-ELECTION AT PRAHRAN". The Herald. 22 January 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  16. "Prahran Liberal Candidate". The Age. 27 November 1948. p. 3. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  17. "Cain Sums Up Victory". Sunday Times. 23 January 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  18. "Price control". Public Record Office Victoria. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  19. "'Labor loss will end price control'". The Argus. 13 January 1949. p. 3. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  20. "Victoria Not To Lift Price Control". The Canberra Times. 14 January 1949. p. 4. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  21. "FIRM ON PRICE CONTROL ISSUE". Advocate. 14 January 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  22. "Price Control to be Retained". The Age. 14 January 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  23. "PRAHRAN". Goulburn Evening Post. 24 January 1949. p. 4. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  24. ^ "Liberal Win Expected In Prahran Tomorrow". The Sun News-Pictorial. 21 January 1949. p. 8. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  25. "'Destroyer' Of Communism Takes Count". Tribune. 26 January 1948. p. 7. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  26. "Labor Opens Its Prahran Campaign". The Age. 8 January 1949. p. 9. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  27. "Liberal Stand on Communism". The Age. 10 January 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  28. ""C.P. COULD NOT STAND DICTATION": McDONALD". The Sun News-Pictorial. 7 December 1948. p. 6. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  29. "Mr McDonald re-opens the door". The Argus. 24 December 1948. p. 3. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  30. "CLOSE PRAHRAN POLL EXPECTED". Sunraysia Daily. 22 January 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  31. "FRANK CREAK WILL WIN PRAHRAN BY-ELECTION". Labor Call. 21 January 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  32. "LABOR WINS PRAHRAN BY-ELECTION". Advocate. 24 January 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  33. "Prahran By-Election: FINAL FIGURES ANNOUNCED". Kalgoorlie Miner. 25 January 1949. p. 4. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
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