title: 1879 East Macquarie colonial by-election
text: # 1879 East Macquarie colonial by-election
  
  A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of East Macquarie on 15 August 1879 because of the resignation of William Suttor Jr.
  
  ## Dates
  
  | Date | Event |
  | - | - |
  | 23 July 1879 | William Suttor Jr resigned. |
  | 24 July 1879 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. |
  | 11 August 1879 | Nominations |
  | 5 August 1879 | Polling day |
  | 29 August 1879 | Return of writ |
  
  ## Candidates
  
  * Edward Combes had been the member for Orange, until his seat was declared vacant because the Elections and Qualifications Committee held that his position of Executive Commissioner for New South Wales at the Paris International Exhibition was an office of profit under the crown.
  * Thomas Dalveen was a publican from Bathurst. This was his third attempt at election, having previously been unsuccessful at East Macquarie in 1878, and Orange in March 1879. He would stand four more times over the following four years, but was unsuccessful on each occasion.
  
  ## Result
  
  1879 East Macquarie by-election Friday 15 August :
  
  | Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Edward Combes (elected) | Edward Combes (elected) | 784 | 72.1 |
  | Thomas Dalveen | Thomas Dalveen | 303 | 27.9 |
  | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 1,087 | 100.0 |
  | Informal votes | Informal votes | 0 | 0.0 |
  | Turnout | Turnout | 1,087 | 51.5 |
  