1953 South Australian state election
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All 39 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly 20 seats were needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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State elections were held in
Background
Labor won three seats, metropolitan Norwood and Prospect and rural Victoria from the LCL.[3] The LCL won one seat, rural Murray from Labor.[4] Neither major party contested the independent-held seat of Ridley.[1][2]
The Labor opposition won 53 percent of the statewide two-party vote, but the LCL retained government with the assistance of the Playmander − an electoral malapportionment that also saw a clear majority of the statewide two-party vote won by Labor while failing to form government in 1944, 1962 and 1968.[1][2]
Results
|
South Australian state election, 7 March 1953[5] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enrolled voters | 354,273 | |||||
| Votes cast | 336,592 | Turnout | 95.01% | +1.86% | ||
| Informal votes | 9,871 | Informal | 2.93% | –0.40% | ||
| Summary of votes by party | ||||||
| Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |
| Labor | 166,517 | 50.97% | +2.88% | 14 | + 2 | |
Liberal and Country
|
119,106 | 36.45% | –4.05% | 21 | – 2 | |
| Communist | 4,827 | 1.48% | +0.14% | 0 | ± 0 | |
| Independent | 36,271 | 11.10% | +1.03% | 4 | ± 0 | |
| Total | 326,721 | 39 | ||||
| Two-party-preferred | ||||||
Liberal and Country
|
47.00% | –4.30% | ||||
| Labor | 53.00% | +4.30% | ||||
- The primary vote figures were from contested seats, while the state-wide two-party-preferred vote figures were estimated from all seats.
Post-election pendulum
| LCL seats (21) | |||
| Marginal | |||
| Unley | Colin Dunnage | LCL | 0.3% |
| Murray | Hector White | LCL | 0.5% |
| Glenelg | Baden Pattinson | LCL | 0.7% |
| Torrens | John Travers
|
LCL | 1.3% |
| Fairly safe | |||
| Gouger | Rufus Goldney | LCL | 6.1% |
| Onkaparinga | Howard Shannon | LCL | 7.0% |
| Flinders | Glen Pearson | LCL | 8.4% |
| Burra | George Hawker | LCL | 9.4% |
| Light | Herbert Michael | LCL | 9.5% |
| Safe | |||
| Newcastle | George Jenkins | LCL | 13.7% |
| Burnside | Geoffrey Clarke | LCL | 16.1% |
| Eyre | Arthur Christian | LCL | 17.8% v IND |
| Angas | Berthold Teusner | LCL | 18.1% v IND |
| Gumeracha | Thomas Playford | LCL | 40.4% v COM |
| Albert | Malcolm McIntosh | LCL | undistributed |
| Stirling | William Jenkins | LCL | undistributed |
| Alexandra | David Brookman | LCL | unopposed |
| Mitcham | Henry Dunks | LCL | unopposed |
| Rocky River | James Heaslip | LCL | unopposed |
| Yorke Peninsula | Cecil Hincks | LCL | unopposed |
| Young | Robert Nicholls | LCL | unopposed |
| Labor seats (15) | |||
| Marginal | |||
| Victoria | Jim Corcoran | ALP | 0.8% |
| Prospect | Joe Jennings
|
ALP | 3.4% |
| Fairly safe | |||
| Norwood | Don Dunstan | ALP | 6.3% |
| Safe | |||
| Stanley | Percy Quirke | ALP | 11.9% |
| Goodwood | Frank Walsh | ALP | 13.1% |
| Gawler | John Clark | ALP | 27.1% v IND |
| Semaphore | Harold Tapping | ALP | 37.6% v IND |
| Adelaide | Sam Lawn | ALP | 39.5% v COM |
| Stuart | Lindsay Riches | ALP | 39.8% v COM |
| Port Adelaide | James Stephens | ALP | 41.9% v COM |
| Port Pirie | Charles Davis | ALP | undistributed |
| Frome | Mick O'Halloran | ALP | unopposed |
| Hindmarsh | Cyril Hutchens | ALP | unopposed |
| Thebarton | Fred Walsh | ALP | unopposed |
| Wallaroo | Hughie McAlees | ALP | unopposed |
| Crossbench seats (3) | |||
| Mount Gambier | John Fletcher | IND | 4.3% v ALP |
| Chaffey | William MacGillivray | IND | 19.1% v LCL |
| Ridley | Tom Stott | IND | 27.8% v IND |
See also
- Results of the South Australian state election, 1953 (House of Assembly)
- Candidates of the 1953 South Australian state election
- Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1953-1956
- Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 1953-1956
- Playmander
Notes
- ^ ISBN 9780975048634. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2015 – via Electoral Commission of South Australia.
- ^ ISBN 9780646290928– via Professional Historians Association (South Australia).
- ^ "Fate of Govern. in Doubt in Swing to Labor: LCL Appears Certain to Lose at least Three Seats". The Mail. 7 March 1953. Retrieved 13 January 2016 – via Trove.
- ^ "Absolute Majority for Government: L.C.L. Candidate Wins Murray Seat". The Advertiser. 14 March 1953. Retrieved 13 January 2016 – via Trove.
- ^ "Summary of 1953 Election". University of Western Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2015.