Kearsley Shire was proclaimed (as Cessnock Shire) on 7 March 1906, one of 134 shires created after the passing of the Local Government (Shires) Act 1905.[1]
Ahead of the 1947 local elections, the state Labor government introduced compulsory voting for local elections, seen as an attempt to give them an advantage and harm the Communist Party. Ultimately, no CPA members were re-elected in Kearsley (although their actual number of votes rose, their percent of the vote went down).[10]
^"LABOUR'S BID FAILS IN NEWCASTLE". Newcastle Morning Herald And Miners' Advocate. No. 22, 209. New South Wales, Australia. 8 December 1947. p. 1 – via National Library of Australia.