Results of the 1897 Western Australian colonial election

Western Australian state election, 1897 Legislative Assembly
Enrolled voters		17,114
Votes cast		9,016		Turnout	52.68%
Informal votes		279		Informal	3.09%
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Ministerialist	4,351	49.80%		29	+ 10
	Opposition	2,390	27.35%		8	– 5
	Independent	1,613	18.46%		6	+ 5
	Labor	383	4.38%	+4.38%	1	+ 1
Total		8,737			44

This is a list of electoral district results of the 1897 Western Australian election.

Results by Electoral district

Albany

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Albany

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Opposition	George Leake	unopposed
	Opposition hold		Swing

Ashburton

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Ashburton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Septimus Burt	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Beverley

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Beverley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Charles Harper	90	63.4
	Opposition	James Dempster	52	36.6
Total formal votes			142	96.6
Informal votes			5	3.4
Turnout			147	54.7
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Bunbury

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Bunbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	John Forrest	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Canning

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Canning

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Opposition	Frank Wilson	90	48.1
	Ministerialist	William Gibbs	41	21.9
	Ministerialist	Edward Rodoreda	29	15.5
	Ind. Ministerialist	William Stubbs	14	7.5
	Opposition	Marinus Canning	13	7.0
Total formal votes			187	93.5
Informal votes			13	6.5
Turnout			200	62.3
	Opposition hold		Swing

Central Murchison

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Central Murchison

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Opposition	Frederick Illingworth	182	59.7
	Ministerialist	Joseph Thompson	97	31.8
	Independent	Daniel McIntosh	26	8.5
Total formal votes			305	97.8
Informal votes			7	2.2
Turnout			312	43.6
	Opposition hold		Swing

Coolgardie

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Coolgardie

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Alf Morgans	595	70.8
	Opposition	Alfred Hales	245	29.2
Total formal votes			840	97.8
Informal votes			19	2.2
Turnout			859	41.3
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

De Grey

1897 Western Australian colonial election: De Grey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Edward Hooley	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Dundas

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Dundas

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ind. Ministerialist	John Conolly	85	41.7
	Opposition	Edward Harney	72	35.3
	Independent	Arthur Austin	47	23.0
Total formal votes			204	94.4
Informal votes			12	5.6
Turnout			216	74.0
	Ind. Ministerialist hold		Swing

East Coolgardie

1897 Western Australian colonial election: East Coolgardie

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Charles Moran	500	56.1
	Independent	James Wilkinson	309	34.7
	Labour	Robert Norman	82	9.2
Total formal votes			891	95.1
Informal votes			46	4.9
Turnout			937	63.1
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

East Fremantle

1897 Western Australian colonial election: East Fremantle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Joseph Holmes	182	50.8
	Opposition	Matthew Moss	176	49.2
Total formal votes			358	98.3
Informal votes			6	1.7
Turnout			364	68.0
	Ministerialist gain from Opposition		Swing

East Kimberley

1897 Western Australian colonial election: East Kimberley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Francis Connor	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

East Perth

1897 Western Australian colonial election: East Perth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Opposition	Walter James	246	71.1
	Opposition	Archibald Sanderson	65	18.8
	Independent	Nicholas Raven	35	10.1
Total formal votes			346	97.2
Informal votes			10	2.8
Turnout			356	37.5
	Opposition hold		Swing

Fremantle

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Fremantle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	John Higham	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Gascoyne

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Gascoyne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	George Hubble	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Geraldton

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Geraldton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Opposition	George Simpson	146	55.7
	Opposition	Joseph Thomson	59	22.5
	Ministerialist	Henry Spalding	54	20.6
	Opposition	James Simpson	3	1.2
Total formal votes			262	97.8
Informal votes			6	2.2
Turnout			268	50.0
	Opposition hold		Swing

Greenough

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Greenough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ind. Ministerialist	Richard Pennefather	73	52.9
	Ministerialist	William Traylen	41	29.7
	Ministerialist	Major Logue	24	17.4
Total formal votes			138	97.9
Informal votes			3	2.1
Turnout			141	78.3
	Ind. Ministerialist gain from Ministerialist		Swing

Irwin

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Irwin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Samuel J. Phillips	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Moore

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Moore

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Henry Lefroy	165	63.2
	Ministerialist	Jeremiah Clune	96	36.8
Total formal votes			261	97.4
Informal votes			7	2.6
Turnout			268	81.5
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Murchison

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Murchison

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Samuel Mitchell	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Murray

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Murray

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William George	148	57.6
	Ministerialist	William Paterson	109	42.4
Total formal votes			257	98.5
Informal votes			4	1.5
Turnout			261	67.1
	Independent hold		Swing

Nelson

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Nelson

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	James George Lee-Steere	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

North Coolgardie

1897 Western Australian colonial election: North Coolgardie

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Henry Gregory	288	54.6
	Opposition	Hugh Mahon	228	43.3
	Independent	William Kerr	11	2.1
Total formal votes			527	99.2
Informal votes			4	0.8
Turnout			531	68.8
	Independent hold		Swing

North Fremantle

1897 Western Australian colonial election: North Fremantle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Denis Doherty	160	51.4
	Opposition	James King	84	27.0
	Independent	Robert Dearle	47	15.1
	Independent	Rowland Rees	20	6.4
Total formal votes			311	92.6
Informal votes			25	7.4
Turnout			336	33.6
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

North Murchison

1897 Western Australian colonial election: North Murchison

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Opposition	Henry Kenny	52	53.1
	Ministerialist	Frederick Moorhead	46	46.9
Total formal votes			98	98.0
Informal votes			2	2.0
Turnout			100	52.9
	Opposition hold		Swing

North Perth

1897 Western Australian colonial election: North Perth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Oldham	73	30.2
	Ministerialist	James Bennett	69	28.5
	Ministerialist	Horace Stirling	47	19.4
	Independent	Michael Cavanagh	34	14.1
	Independent	John Phair	19	7.9
Total formal votes			242	92.7
Informal votes			19	7.3
Turnout			261	62.0
	Labour gain from Ministerialist		Swing

North-East Coolgardie

1897 Western Australian colonial election: North-East Coolgardie

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Opposition	Frederick Vosper	236	43.0
	Independent	Nathaniel Harper	177	32.2
	Opposition	John Dwyer	69	12.6
	Opposition	Archibald Barclay	67	12.2
Total formal votes			549	94.8
Informal votes			30	5.2
Turnout			579	50.7
	Opposition hold		Swing

Northam

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Northam

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	George Throssell	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Perth

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Perth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Lyall Hall	268	50.5
	Opposition	Stephen Parker	263	49.5
Total formal votes			531	98.3
Informal votes			9	1.7
Turnout			540	45.7
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Pilbara

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Pilbara

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Walter Kingsmill	110	68.8
	Independent	Edward Edgecumbe	50	31.2
Total formal votes			160	98.2
Informal votes			3	1.8
Turnout			163	62.5
	Independent hold		Swing

Plantagenet

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Plantagenet

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Albert Hassell	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Roebourne

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Roebourne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Horace Sholl	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

South Fremantle

1897 Western Australian colonial election: South Fremantle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Elias Solomon	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

South Murchison

1897 Western Australian colonial election: South Murchison

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Cornthwaite Rason	87	40.8
	Ministerialist	Frederick Trude	80	37.6
	Independent	Malcolm Reid	39	18.3
	Opposition	John Perryman	7	3.3
Total formal votes			213	98.6
Informal votes			3	1.4
Turnout			216	54.1
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Sussex

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Sussex

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Ernest Locke	100	43.1
	Ministerialist	Frank Backhouse	71	30.6
	Ministerialist	Joseph Cookworthy	61	26.3
Total formal votes			232	96.3
Informal votes			9	3.7
Turnout			241	81.4
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Swan

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Swan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Norman Ewing	116	38.4
	Ministerialist	William Johnson	91	30.1
	Ministerialist	James Morrison	82	27.2
	Ministerialist	James Huelin	13	4.3
Total formal votes			302	97.4
Informal votes			8	2.6
Turnout			310	51.5
	Independent hold		Swing

Toodyay

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Toodyay

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Timothy Quinlan	201	63.6
	Ministerialist	Barnard Clarkson	115	36.4
Total formal votes			316	98.4
Informal votes			5	1.6
Turnout			321	82.1
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Wellington

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Wellington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Harry Venn	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

West Kimberley

1897 Western Australian colonial election: West Kimberley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Alexander Forrest	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

West Perth

1897 Western Australian colonial election: West Perth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Barrington Wood	411	53.9
	Ministerialist	Thomas Molloy	260	34.1
	Opposition	Robert Knox-Peden	91	11.9
Total formal votes			762	98.3
Informal votes			13	1.7
Turnout			775	44.5
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Williams

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Williams

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Frederick Piesse	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

Yalgoo

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Yalgoo

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Frank Wallace	39	50.7
	Opposition	Henry Mills	35	45.4
	Independent	Solomon Lowns	3	3.9
Total formal votes			77	100.0
Informal votes			0	0.0
Turnout			77	56.6
	Independent hold		Swing

Yilgarn

1897 Western Australian colonial election: Yilgarn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Oats	115	50.9
	Ministerialist	Isidor Cohn	89	39.4
	Opposition	George Leckie	22	9.7
Total formal votes			226	95.4
Informal votes			11	4.6
Turnout			237	47.5
	Independent hold		Swing

York

1897 Western Australian colonial election: York

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ministerialist	Frederick Monger	unopposed
	Ministerialist hold		Swing

See also

• 1897 Western Australian colonial election
• Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1897–1901