1942 South Coast state by-election
# 1942 South Coast state by-election

A by-election was held on 14 November 1942 for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of South Coast. It was triggered by the death of Rupert Beale, who was an independent MP.

## Dates

| Date | Event |
| - | - |
| 28 September 1942 | Rupert Beale died. |
| 19 October 1942 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. |
| 26 October 1942 | Day of nomination |
| 14 November 1942 | Polling day |
| 27 November 1942 | Return of writ |

## Candidates

* Henry Bate (United Australia) was the former member for South Coast, who had been defeated by Rupert Beale by 39 votes at the 1941 election.
* Jack Beale (Independent) was the son of Rupert, and was an engineer on munition works with the New South Wales Department of Public Works.

## Result

1942 South Coast by-election Saturday 14 November :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Independent | Jack Beale | 7,915 | 72.9 | |
| | United Australia | Henry Bate | 2,942 | 27.1 | -22.7 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 10,857 | 99.2 | +0.7 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 86 | 0.8 | -0.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,943 | 84.0 | -8.8 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | N/A | |

## Aftermath

Jack Beale went on to hold the seat for 30 years. He was an independent until 1948, after which he joined the Liberal Party.

