Nominations: Wednesday, 18 December 1912, First Ballot: Friday, 3 January 1913, Second Ballot: Thursday, 23 January 1913
Second ballot required, Second Ballot changed primary result
Candidate
Party
Votes
%
2nd Ball
%
Beeby, George Stephenson (Re-elected)
Independent
1,156
28.35
2,244
51.56
Johnston, Valentine Carlyle Ross Wood
Labor Party
1,120
27.47
Withington, John Swann
Liberal Party
1,800
44.15
2,108
48.44
Formal Votes
4,077
4,356
Informal Votes
0
0.00
43
0.98
Total Votes / Turnout
4,077
0.00
4,399
Cause Category: Resignation - Other
Notes: George Beeby resigned as a minister, MP and member of the Labor Party, objecting to dictation of policy to MPs by the extra-parliamentary machine. (Rydon, Spann and Nelson) Beeby won re-election as an Independent, but having received local Labor support in the second ballot against the Liberal candidate, agreed to give general support to the government until the next election. (Evatt pp 235-238) Evatt further claims the crisis caused by the resignation of Beeby and pending resignation of Nielsen convinced Holman to stay in politics and withdraw his nomination for the position of Agent-General in London.
Source: First ballot totals taken from official declaration by Returning Officer, The West Macquarie, 11 January 1913, p.4 col.7. Slightly different totals reported in the SMH, 6 January 1913, p.10 col.1. Booth figures published in SMH 4 January with strange headline 'Great Liberal victory'. Second ballot results SMH 25 January, p.22 col.1, booths published 24 January p.9 col.8. Relevant issues of the West Macquarie missing from NSW State Library collection.