Due to the slim majority Ted Theodore's government had at the time, the result of the 1923 Rockhampton by-election was critical to the Labor Party as to whether they could remain in power.
[1][2][3][4] During the campaign, it was discovered a woman had been allegedly paid to come to Rockhampton to claim Labor candidate George Farrell was the father of her two-year-old child in a deliberate attempt to cost him votes.
Iredale had previously contested 13 local elections before finally being successful in becoming an alderman on Rockhampton City Council where he served just one term.
[18] He launched an eleventh-hour bid to contest the by-election as an Independent Nationalist with an announcement at the Rockhampton School of Arts just days before the event.
Iredale's impromptu campaign for the by-election was generally met with derision with his address frequently interrupted by heckles and interjections from the crowd that had gathered to watch.