title: 1873 East Macquarie colonial by-election
text: # 1873 East Macquarie colonial by-election
  
  A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of East Macquarie on 1 December 1873 because Sir James Martin's seat was declared vacant on accepting appointment as Chief Justice of New South Wales.
  
  ## Dates
  
  | Date | Event |
  | - | - |
  | 11 November 1873 | Sir James Martin's seat declared vacant. |
  | 12 November 1873 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. |
  | 24 November 1873 | Nominations |
  | 1 December 1873 | Polling day |
  | 16 December 1873 | Return of writ |
  
  ## Result
  
  1873 East Macquarie by-election Monday 1 December :
  
  | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Walter Cooper (elected) | Walter Cooper (elected) | 513 | 46.8 |
  | Henry Rotton | Henry Rotton | 357 | 32.5 |
  | Bernhardt Holtermann | Bernhardt Holtermann | 224 | 20.4 |
  | John Smeed | John Smeed | 3 | 0.3 |
  | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 1,097 | 94.7 |
  | Informal votes | Informal votes | 61 | 5.3 |
  | Turnout | Turnout | 1,158 | 39.2 |
  