title: Electoral district of Armidale
text: # Electoral district of Armidale
  
  Armidale was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, named after and including Armidale. It was originally created in 1894, when multi-member districts were abolished, and the three member district of New England was largely divided between Armidale, Uralla-Walcha and Bingara. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, it was absorbed into Northern Tablelands, along with Gough and Tenterfield. It was recreated in 1927 and abolished in 1981 and partly replaced by the recreated Northern Tablelands.
  
  ## Members for Armidale
  
  First incarnation (1894–1920) :
  
  | Member | Member | Party | Term |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | | Henry Copeland | Protectionist | 1894–1895 |
  | | Edmund Lonsdale | Free Trade | 1895–1898 |
  | | Charles Wilson | Protectionist | 1898–1901 |
  | | Edmund Lonsdale | Liberal Reform | 1901–1903 |
  | | Sydney Kearney | Liberal Reform | 1903–1907 |
  | | Edmund Lonsdale | Liberal Reform | 1907–1913 |
  | | George Braund | Liberal Reform | 1913–1915 |
  | | Herbert Lane | Liberal Reform | 1915–1917 |
  | | Herbert Lane | Nationalist | 1917–1920 |
  | Second incarnation (1927–1981) ||||
  | Member | Member | Party | Term |
  | | David Drummond | Country | 1927–1949 |
  | | Davis Hughes | Country | 1949–1953 |
  | | Jim Cahill | Labor | 1953–1956 |
  | | Davis Hughes | Country | 1956–1973 |
  | | David Leitch | Country | 1973–1975 |
  | | David Leitch | National Country | 1975–1978 |
  | | Bill McCarthy | Labor | 1978–1981 |
  
  ## Election results
  
  1978 New South Wales state election: Armidale :
  
  | Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Labor | Bill McCarthy | 11,538 | 48.5 | +5.1 |
  | | National Country | David Leitch | 11,345 | 47.7 | -8.9 |
  | | Democrats | Sidney Burkey | 890 | 3.7 | +3.7 |
  | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 23,773 | 98.5 | -0.2 |
  | Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 349 | 1.5 | +0.2 |
  | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,122 | 94.1 | +1.1 |
  | Two-party-preferred result ||||||
  | | Labor | Bill McCarthy | 12,034 | 50.6 | +7.2 |
  | | National Country | David Leitch | 11,739 | 49.4 | -7.2 |
  | | Labor gain from National Country | Labor gain from National Country | Swing | +7.2 | |
  