1973 Murray state by-election
# 1973 Murray state by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Murray on 6 October 1973 because of the death of Joe Lawson (Independent). Lawson had represented the district since 1932, as a member of the Country Party until 1968 when he lost pre-selection. He ran as an independent, winning the seat at the 1968 and 1971 elections.

## Dates

| Date | Event |
| - | - |
| 14 August 1973 | Joe Lawson died. |
| 7 September 1973 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. |
| 14 September 1973 | Nominations |
| 6 October 1973 | Polling day |
| 2 November 1973 | Return of writ |

## Candidates

This was the first election for all 3 candidates and each would again contest the electorate at the general election in November 1973 with similar results.

* Mary Meillon (Liberal) was the eldest daughter of Joe Lawson.
* Bruce Jeffery (Country) was secretary of the Rural Lands Protection Board in Jerilderie and would later be elected the member for Oxley.
* Douglas Drew (Labor) did not stand again after 1973.

## Result

1973 Murray by-election Saturday 6 October :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Country | Bruce Jeffery | 6,663 | 39.96 | +8.77 |
| | Liberal | Mary Meillon | 5,661 | 33.95 | +19.68 |
| | Labor | Douglas Drew | 4,351 | 26.09 | +26.09 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 16,675 | 98.6 | +1.6 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 236 | 1.4 | -1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,911 | 85.0 | -5.6 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal | Mary Meillon | 8,335 | 51.15 | +51.15 |
| | Country | Bruce Jeffery | 8,145 | 48.85 | -0.57 |
| | Liberal gain from Independent | Liberal gain from Independent | Swing | | |
