23 March 1916 1919 → 16 seats 14 seats 48.23% 48.47% Start date March 23, 1916 | September 1915 1906 15 seats 14 seats 4.35 2.47 | |
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Winner Walter Lee | ||
A general election for the House of Assembly was held in the Australian state of Tasmania on 23 March 1916 (a Thursday, as the convention of holding elections on a Saturday did not become common until the 1920s).
Contents
Background
Although the Liberals had won the 1913 election, events since then had seen them lose government, and by 1916 the incumbent Premier of Tasmania was Labor's John Earle. Earle's government had been appointed on the expectation that he would quickly call for a dissolution of parliament, however he refused to do so, and successfully appealed to the Colonial Office. He remained Premier until the writ for the next election was issued.
The Liberal Party was headed by Walter Lee.
Aftermath
The Labor Party made no gains at the 1916 election, and with one seat in Darwin going to Joshua Whitsitt who ran as an independent, the Liberals had no clear majority, although Walter Lee became Premier as leader of the party with the most seats.