Queensland state election, 1904

Queensland state election, 1904

All 72 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland   First party Second party Third party   Leader Arthur Morgan William Kidston Robert Philp Party Liberal Labor Conservative Leader's seat Warwick Rockhampton Townsville Last election 15 seats 23 seats 31 seats Seats won 20 seats 35 seats 16 seats Seat change 5 12 15

Premier before election Arthur Morgan Liberal Elected Premier Arthur Morgan Liberal

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 27 August 1904 to elect the members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Liberal Party maintained government with the continued support of the Labour Party.

Key dates

The elections were held on 27 August 1904.^[1]

Election results

The Ministerialist sitting member in Nundah Thomas Bridges faced a formidable opponent in the person of Sir Arthur Rutledge. Rutledge had been a Wesleyan minister in New England and solicitor in Brisbane, before entering the Queensland parliament, where he rose to the office of Attorney-General and accepted a knighthood in 1903. As part of his strategy to become Premier, Rutledge decided not to re-contest his Maranoa electorate in favour of an electorate closer to Brisbane, and chose the semi-rural seat of Nundah which, he assumed, would be easily won by a man of his political experience, especially as it was already held by a fellow Ministerialist. Many large business houses backed Rutledge, as did the editor of the Brisbane Courier (Rutledge's son-in-law Charles Brundson Fletcher was the editor of the Brisbane Courier until 1903).^[2] His public meetings were packed with prominent religious and political leaders, in contrast to a low-key campaign run by Bridges based on his community service and commitment to keep the cost of railway tickets low. Contrary to every prediction, Bridges won the election by 253 votes. This humiliating loss ended Rutledge's political career, and he accepted an appointment as district judge.^[3][4]

Results

Queensland state election, 1904

Party Leader % Seats ± Liberal Arthur Morgan 20 +5 Labour William Kidston 35 +12 Conservative Robert Philp 16 -15 Independent 1 -2

This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

See also

• Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1904–1907

References

1. "Queensland General Election Dates 1860-1929" (PDF). Queensland Parliament. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
2. "Courier Mail Brisbane Newspaper History". Brisbane History. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
3. Outridge, Margaret (Ed.); Outridge, Margaret, 1918-; Nundah Historic Cemetery Preservation Association (1989), 150 years : Nundah families, 1838–1988, Nundah Historic Cemetery Preservation Association, ISBN 978-0-7316-6048-3
4. "OFFICIAL DECLARATION AT NUNDAH.". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 31 August 1904. p. 5. Retrieved 23 April 2015.