Parliament of New South Wales, Legislative Assembly election
Election of 21 March 1959
Government in office and parliamentary support before and after the election
Government in office at election
Government in office after election
Enrolment and voting
New South Wales, Legislative Assembly votes and seats won
Election held on 21 March 1959
Criteria for the inclusion of parties in this table are set out in the Glossary under 'listed party'
| Party Name | First preference vote n | First preference vote share % | Change from previous election % | Seats won n | Uncontested seats held n | Seat share % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | 838,836 | 49.12 | +1.25 | 49 | 1 | 52.13 |
| Liberal Party | 603,718 | 35.35 | +0.24 | 28 | 5 | 29.79 |
| Country Party | 143,099 | 8.38 | -1.78 | 16 | 5 | 17.02 |
| Independents | 74,771 | 4.38 | -0.38 | 1 | 0 | 1.06 |
| Communist Party | 24,784 | 1.45 | -0.66 | 0 | ||
| Democratic Labor Party | 22,508 | 1.32 | * | 0 | ||
| Votes for other than listed parties | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||
| Totals | 1,707,716 | 100.00 | 94 | 11 | 100.00 |
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* Party did not contest previous election or did not meet criteria for listing, or contested previous election under a different party name.
Notes
Democratic Labor Party: The Democratic Labor Party in New South Wales was formed in September 1956 as a consequence of the major internal divisions which had beset the Australian Labor Party in the 1950s; see Robert Murray, The Split: Australian Labor in the Fifties, (Melbourne: Cheshire, 1972), particularly ch. 18. Premier Cain (senior) of Victoria worked hard to preserve the unity of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales and, together with his allies, was able to limit the influence and electoral success of the Democratic Labor Party's New South Wales branch; see Clune, '1959', pp. 357-364 (see 'Reference', below).
Reference: For a comprehensive survey of this election and the preceding period, see David Clune, '1959', in Michael Hogan and David Clune (editors), The People's Choice: Electoral Politics in 20th Century New South Wales, vol. 2 (1930 to 1965), pp. 355-380, (Sydney: Parliament of New South Wales and University of Sydney, 2001, ISBN 0909907404).
Sources
Colin A Hughes and B D Graham, A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1890-1964, pp. 423-460, (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1968, SBN 708102700); New South Wales, Parliament, The New South Wales Parliamentary Record: Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, 1824-1999, vol. VI, pp. 7-15, (Sydney: Parliament of New South Wales, 1999).