# 1929 Queensland state election

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 11 May 1929 to elect the 72 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. In this election, Irene Longman became the first woman to both stand and be elected into the Queensland Parliament.
The Labor government was seeking its sixth continuous term in office since the 1915 election; it would be Premier William McCormack's second election. His main opponent was the Country and Progressive National Party (CPNP), led by Arthur Edward Moore. The term had not gone well for McCormack's government, including a railway lock-out in 1927 which pitted the Labor Party against the union movement, restrictive financial policies and attempts to sell off state-owned enterprises, as well as suggestions of corruption which later came to be known as the Mungana affair.
The election resulted in the defeat of the McCormack government in a landslide, and the first non-Labor ministry since 1915.

## Key dates

| Date | Event |
| 11 April 1929 | The Parliament was dissolved. |
| 12 April 1929 | Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. |
| 19 April 1929 | Close of nominations. |
| 11 May 1929 | Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. |
| 21 May 1929 | The McCormack Ministry resigned and the Moore Ministry was sworn in. |
| 15 June 1929 | The writ was returned and the results formally declared. |
| 29 June 1929 | The writ was returned for the seat of Gregory. |
| 20 August 1929 | Parliament resumed for business. |

## Results

The election saw the defeat of the Labor government by the CPNP.
Queensland state election, 11 May 1929 Legislative Assembly
<< 1926–1932 >> :
| Enrolled voters | Enrolled voters | 491,589 | | | | |
| Votes cast | Votes cast | 438,248 | | Turnout | 89.15% | +0.42 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | 6,836 | | Informal | 1.56% | +0.33 |
| Summary of votes by party |||||||
| Party | Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | CPNP | 233,977 | 54.23% | +5.03 | 43 | +15 |
| | Labor | 173,242 | 40.16% | –7.80 | 27 | –16 |
| | Communist | 2,890 | 0.67% | +0.67 | 0 | ± 0 |
| | Independent | 21,303 | 4.94% | +3.33 | 2 | + 1 |
| Total | Total | 431,412 | | | 72 | |
Popular vote
CPNP
54.23%
Labor
40.16%
Communist
0.67%
Independents
4.94% :
Seats
CPNP
59.72%
Labor
37.50%
Independents
2.78% :
    $^1$ 517,466 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 4 seats (5.6% of the total) were uncontested—2 Labor seats (3 less than 1926) representing 9,041 enrolled voters and two CPNP seats (one more than 1926) representing 16,536 enrolled voters.

## Seats changing party representation

This table lists changes in party representation at the 1929 election.
Party :
| Bulimba | Harry Wright | Labor | Irene Longman | CPNP |
| Chillagoe | John O'Keefe | Labor | Ernest Atherton | CPNP |
| Cook | Henry Ryan | Labor | James Kenny | CPNP |
| Dalby | Wilfred Russell | Independent | Wilfred Russell | CPNP |
| Eacham | Cornelius Ryan | Labor | George Duffy | CPNP |
| Fitzroy | Harry Hartley | Labor | William Carter | CPNP |
| Gympie | Thomas Dunstan | Labor | Vivian Tozer | CPNP |
| Ipswich | David Gledson | Labor | James Walker | CPNP |
| Kelvin Grove | William Lloyd | Labor | Richard Hill | CPNP |
| Keppel | James Larcombe | Labor | Owen Daniel | CPNP |
| Lockyer | George Logan | CPNP | Charles Jamieson | Independent |
| Maree | William Bertram | Labor | George Tedman | CPNP |
| Merthyr | Peter McLachlan | Labor | Patrick Kerwin | CPNP |
| Port Curtis | George Carter | Labor | Frank Butler | CPNP |
| Rockhampton | George Farrell | Labor | Thomas Dunlop | Independent |
| Rosewood | William Cooper | Labor | Ted Maher | CPNP |
| South Brisbane | Myles Ferricks | Labor | Neil MacGroarty | CPNP |
| Toowoomba | Evan Llewelyn | Labor | James Annand | CPNP |

## Post-election pendulum

Note: from 1892 until 1942, Queensland used contingency voting, which was similar to the modern optional preferential voting system. In electorates with 3 or more candidates, preferences were not distributed if a candidate received more than 50% of the primary vote.

## Aftermath

The CPNP found itself in power as the Great Depression took hold. It lost power after one term.