Parramatta by-election, 1973

A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Parramatta on 22 September 1973. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former Liberal Party long serving Attorney General and Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Honourable (and later Sir) Nigel Bowen who accepted an appointment to the NSW Court of Appeal.

The seat was retained by the Liberal Party, with Philip Ruddock defeating the Parramatta City Council Mayor, Barry Wilde, who contested the seat for the Labor Party. Ten other candidates from minor parties contested the seat.

This was the first federal election in which eighteen-year-olds were eligible to vote, the voting age having been lowered from twenty-one earlier in the year.^[1]

Results

Parramatta by-election, 1973^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Philip Ruddock	33,506	52.6	+6.6
	Labor	Barry Wilde	24,623	38.7	-7.3
	Australia Party	John Butterworth	3,522	5.5	+2.0
	Independent	Marilyn Pye	575	0.9	n/a
	Def. of Govt Schools	Michael Hourihan	528	0.8	n/a
	Independent	Marcus Aussie-Stone	363	0.6	n/a
	Independent	Sidney McGarrity	325	0.6	n/a
	Independent	Gwenda Lister	65	0.1	n/a
	Independent	Charles Bellchambers	53	0.1	n/a
	National Socialist	Ross May	37	0.1	n/a
	Independent	Leonard Kiernan	30	0.0	n/a
	Independent	Kevin Meares	25	0.0	n/a
Total formal votes			63,652	97.7	-0.1
Informal votes			1,493	2.3	+0.1
Turnout			65,145	88.4	-7.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.3

See also

• List of Australian federal by-elections

References

1. House of Representatives Practice, 6th Edition, Ch. 3. Elections and the electoral system. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
2. "By-Elections 1972-1974". Psephos.