1918 Corangamite by-election

A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Corangamite on 14 December 1918. This was triggered by the death of Nationalist MP Chester Manifold.

1918 Corangamite by-election

14 December 1918

First party Second party Third party   NAT Candidate William Gibson James Scullin George Knox Party Victorian Farmers Labor Nationalist Popular vote 6,604 10,630 5,737 Percentage 26.4% 42.5% 22.9% Swing 26.4pp 2.9pp 37.5pp TPP 56.3% 43.7% TPP swing 56.3pp 4.1pp

MP before election Chester Manifold Nationalist Elected MP William Gibson Victorian Farmers

In October, the Labor Party had won a by-election for the safe conservative seat of Swan when the entry of the Farmers' and Settlers' Association had split the conservative vote. The Nationalists quickly introduced preferential voting, which was first practiced at the Corangamite by-election. Although the Labor candidate, future Prime Minister James Scullin, came first on the primary vote, Nationalist preferences elected William Gibson of the Victorian Farmers' Union, who thus became the first "Country" member of the Australian Parliament.

Results

Corangamite by-election, 1918^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	James Scullin	10,630	42.5	+2.9
	Victorian Farmers	William Gibson	6,604	26.4	+26.4
	Nationalist	George Knox	5,737	22.9	−37.5
	Ind. Nationalist	Russell Coldham	1,174	4.7	+4.7
	Returned Soldiers	Thomas Leaper	895	3.6	+3.6
Total formal votes			25,040	98.0
Informal votes			516	2.0
Turnout			25,553	73.2
Two-party-preferred result
	Victorian Farmers	William Gibson	14,096	56.3	+56.3
	Labor	James Scullin	10,944	43.7	+4.1
	Victorian Farmers gain from Nationalist		Swing	−4.1