# List of South Australian Legislative Council by-elections

This is a list of historical by-elections for the South Australian Legislative Council. They were caused by the resignation or death of an incumbent member.

## History

From inauguration until the 1975 election and the introduction of South Australian Legislative Council appointments, casual vacancies in the Legislative Council, like the House of Assembly, were also filled at by-elections. Amendments to the South Australian Constitution and Electoral Acts in that year saw the whole state become a single electorate for the Legislative Council and gave, in line with the Australian Senate, an assembly of members of both Houses of Parliament the right to meet to choose a replacement member. The constitution also states that if the previous sitting Legislative Council member was at the time of his/her election the representative of a particular political party, that party should nominate a replacement from amongst its own members.

## List of by-elections

Gains for Labor are highlighted in red; for Liberal and its predecessors in blue; and others in grey.
| By-election | Date | Incumbent | Party | Winner | Party | Cause |
| The Province | 3 April 1860 | Arthur Henry Freeling Edward Castres Gwynne | | George Marsden Waterhouse George Tinline | | Resigned Failure to attend |
| The Province | 7 August 1863 | Thomas Shuldham O'Halloran William Scott George Tinline | | Edward McEllister Thomas Elder John Baker | | Resigned Resigned Failure to attend |
| The Province | 26 September 1866 | Judah Moss Solomon Samuel Davenport Edward McEllister George Fife Angas | | Thomas Hogarth John Hodgkiss Henry Mildred John Tuthill Bagot | | Resigned Resigned Died Resigned |
| The Province | 26 November 1866 | Charles Bonney | | William Parkin | | Resigned |
| The Province | 6 August 1867 | Abraham Scott, Thomas Magarey, George Hall | | John Crozier, William Morgan, Emanuel Solomon | | Resigned Resigned Death |
| Uncontested | 4 July 1870 | John Tuthill Bagot | | John B. Neales | | Resigned |
| The Province | 4 October 1871 | John Henry Barrow Augustine Stow Emanuel Solomon | | William Storrie Thomas Elder Philip Santo | | Resigned (3) |
| The Province | 22 September 1873 | John B. Neales | | William Sandover | | Deceased |
| The Province | 10 September 1878 | Thomas English William Storrie Thomas Elder William Everard | | Henry Scott Allan Campbell John Hodgkiss Charles Burney Young | | Resigned Resigned Resigned Failure to attend the Parliament |
| The Province | 7 July 1880 | Walter Duffield Henry Kent Hughes Charles Burney Young | | John Dunn Jr. James Garden Ramsay Alexander Borthwick Murray | | Resigned (3) |
| Central | 28 February 1884 | Sir William Morgan | | William Knox Simms | | Deceased |
| Southern | 7 July 1885 | Thomas English | | Samuel Tomkinson | | Deceased |
| North-Eastern | 28 June 1886 | George Witherage Cotton | | John Bosworth | | Resigned |
| Central | 25 June 1887 | John Crozier John Brodie Spence | | Alfred Muller Simpson John Howard Angas | | Deceased Resigned |
| Northern | 6 July 1887 | William Dening Glyde | | William Copley | | Resigned |
| Northern | 11 July 1888 | William Wadham | | Arthur Richman Addison | | Resigned |
| Southern | 28 June 1890 | James Garden Ramsay | | Friedrich Eduard Heinrich Wulf Krichauff | | Deceased |
| Southern | 11 July 1891 | W. A. E. West-Erskine | | John Lancelot Stirling | | Resigned |
| Central | 15 April 1893 | George Witherage Cotton | | William Alfred Robinson | | Deceased |
| Southern | 15 April 1893 | John Hannah Gordon | | John Hannah Gordon | | Resigned due to financial difficulties, but stood for the vacant seat and was elected |
| Central | 11 September 1897 | David Charleston | United Labour Party | David Morley Charleston | Independent | Resigned |
| North-Eastern | 4 June 1898 | William Haslam | | John Lewis | | Deceased |
| Northern | 26 November 1898 | Allan Campbell | | Andrew Tennant | | Deceased |
| North East uncontested | 31 March 1900 | James Martin | | John James Duncan | | Deceased |
| Central | 22 September 1900 | Samuel Tomkinson | | Charles Cameron Kingston | | Deceased |
| Central uncontested | 9 February 1901 | Charles Cameron Kingston | | John Langdon Parsons | | Resigned |
| Central uncontested | 1 June 1901 | David Morley Charleston | | George Brookman | | Seated in Federal Parliament |
| Southern | 8 June 1901 | Gregor McGregor, Richard Chaffey Baker | | Alfred von Doussa, George Riddoch | | Seated in Federal Parliament (2) |
| Central | 19 September 1903 | John Langdon Parsons | | Hugo Carl Emil Muecke | | Deceased |
| Southern uncontested | 14 December 1903 | John Hannah Gordon | | Louis von Doussa | | Resigned |
| Central | 19 December 1903 | Robert Storrie Guthrie | | Beaumont Arnold Moulden | | Resigned |
| Central | 20 October 1906 | Henry Thompson | Independent | David Jelley | Labor | Death |
| Central | 3 November 1906 | Joseph Vardon | Independent | James Phillips Wilson | Labor | Resignation |
| Central | 2 March 1907 | David Jelley | Labor | Frederick Samuel Wallis | Labor | Death |
| Central | 15 May 1909 | Andrew Kirkpatrick | Labor | Theodore Bruce | Independent | Death |
| Central | 5 August 1911 | Theodore Bruce | Liberal | Charles Morris | Liberal | Death |
| Midland | 15 November 1913 | John Duncan | Liberal | David Gordon | Liberal | Death |
| Southern | 16 August 1915 | John Downer | Liberal | Joseph Botterill | Liberal | Death |
| Central No. 2 | 20 August 1915 | Ern Klauer | Labor | William Humphrey Harvey | Labor | Death |
| Southern | 9 October 1920 | Joseph Botterill | Liberal | Thomas McCallum | Liberal | Death |
| Central No. 1 | 27 October 1928 | Andrew Kirkpatrick | Labor | Frank Condon | Labor | Death |
| Central No. 1 | 17 August 1929 | John Carr | Labor | Stanley Whitford | Labor | Death |
| Central No. 1 | 24 October 1931 | Tom Gluyas | Labor | Joseph Anderson | Independent | Death |
| Southern | 17 June 1932 | Lancelot Stirling | LCL | Reuben Cranstoun Mowbray | LCL | Death |
| Northern | 20 October 1934 | William Morrow | LCL | Lyell McEwin | LCL | Death |
| Central No. 2 | 14 December 1935 | William Humphrey Harvey | LCL | Edward Holden | LCL | Death |
| Southern | 18 June 1938 | Thomas McCallum | LCL | Alec Bagot | Independent | Death |
| Northern | 2 September 1939 | Hartley Gladstone Hawkins | LCL | James Beerworth | Labor | Death |
| Midland | 1 November 1948 | Douglas Peel Gordon | LCL | Colin Rowe | LCL | Death |
| Northern | 14 May 1949 | Percy Blesing | LCL | Robert Richard Wilson | LCL | Death |
| Southern | 26 May 1949 | Norman Brookman | LCL | John Lancelot Cowan | LCL | Death |
| Central No. 1 | 24 October 1951 | Oscar Oates | Labor | Stan Bevan | Labor | Death |
| Midland | 26 February 1955 | Reginald Rudall | LCL | Ross Story | LCL | Death |
| Central No. 1 | 16 September 1961 | Frank Condon | Labor | Alfred Kneebone | Labor | Death |
| Midland | 20 October 1962 | Alexander Melrose | LCL | Les Hart | LCL | Death |
| Southern | 15 December 1962 | Allan Hookings | LCL | Ren DeGaris | LCL | Death |
| Southern | 19 June 1964 | Geoffrey Giles | LCL | Henry Kemp | LCL | Resignation |
| Central No. 2 | 4 December 1965 | Frank Perry | LCL | Murray Hill | LCL | Death |
| Northern | 29 October 1966 | Dudley Octoman | LCL | Arthur Whyte | LCL | Resignation |
| Southern | 2 June 1967 | Les Densley | LCL | Victor George Springett | LCL | Resignation |
| Central No. 1 | 15 May 1970 | Stan Bevan | Labor | Tom Casey | Labor | Resignation |
| Midland | 12 September 1970 | Colin Rowe | LCL | Keith Russack | LCL | Death |
| Southern | 3 July 1971 | Norman Jude | LCL | Martin Cameron | LCL | Resignation |
| Southern | 11 August 1973 | Henry Kemp | LCL | John Burdett | LCL | Death |