The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the Liberal member for the seat, Premier Sir Charles Court, on 25 January 1982.
Having served as a senior minister in the Brand–Watts Ministry and then as Premier since the 1974 state election, his retirement had been widely expected and was announced on 18 December, a few months after his 70th birthday.
[3] The seat of Nedlands, first established in 1929,[4] was considered to be a safe seat for the Liberal Party, and had had just two other members since its creation—former Attorney-General and leader of the Nationalist Party, Norbert Keenan, and the independent Liberal member David Grayden, who served for a single term from 1950 until his defeat in 1953 by Court.
Temby accused local real estate agents of discriminating against him with a view to preventing him from obtaining a campaign office.
As largely predicted, Richard Court retained the seat for the Liberal Party, albeit against an estimated swing of 9.1% to the ALP.