# Candidates of the 1949 Australian federal election

This article provides information on candidates who stood for the 1949 Australian federal election. The election was held on 10 December 1949.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate were expanded at this election. All seats are designated as held by the party that held the notional majority after the redistribution.

## By-elections, appointments and defections
### Defections

* In 1949, Labor MP Max Falstein (Watson) lost endorsement for the election. He was expelled from the Labor Party and sat as an Independent.
* At the previous election, Charles Davidson had been jointly endorsed by the Liberal and Country parties to contest the seat of Capricornia, and had caucused with the Liberals in parliament. In 1949, he was endorsed instead by the Country Party to contest the new seat of Dawson, and subsequently sat as a Country Party member.

## Redistributions and seat changes

* Due to the expansion of the House, redistributions of electoral boundaries occurred in all states.
** In New South Wales, nineteen new seats were created: the notionally Labor seats of Banks, Cunningham, Evans, Grayndler, Kingsford-Smith, Lawson, Lowe, Mitchell, Paterson, Phillip, Shortland and St George; the notionally Liberal seats of Bennelong, Bradfield, Macarthur and Mackellar; the notionally Country seats of Farrer and Lyne; and the notionally Lang Labor seat of Blaxland. The Liberal-held seat of North Sydney and the Lang Labor-held seat of Reid became notionally Labor.
*** The member for Martin, Fred Daly (Labor), contested Grayndler.
*** The member for North Sydney, Billy Hughes (Liberal), contested Bradfield.
*** The member for Reid, Jack Lang (Lang Labor), contested Blaxland.
*** The member for West Sydney, William O'Connor (Labor), contested Martin.
** In Victoria, the Independent-held seat Bourke was renamed Burke, and became notionally Labor. Thirteen new seats were created: the notionally Labor seats of Darebin, Gellibrand, Hoddle, Lalor and Wills; the notionally Liberal seats of Chisholm, Higgins, Higinbotham, Isaacs and La Trobe; and the notionally Country seats of Mallee, McMillan and Murray. The Liberal-held seat of Fawkner and the Country-held seat of Bendigo became notionally Labor.
*** The member for Ballaarat, Reg Pollard (Labor), contested Lalor.
*** The member for Bendigo, George Rankin (Country), contested the Senate.
*** The member for Bourke, Doris Blackburn (Independent Labor), contested Wills.
*** The member for Fawkner, Harold Holt (Liberal), contested Higgins.
*** The member for Indi, John McEwen (Country, contested Murray.
*** The member for Wimmera, Winton Turnbull (Country), contested Mallee.
** In Queensland, eight new seats were created: the notionally Labor seats of Bowman, Dawson and Leichhardt; the notionally Liberal seats of McPherson, Oxley, Petrie and Ryan; and the notionally Country seat of Fisher. The Labor-held seats of Griffith and Lilley became notionally Liberal.
*** The member for Capricornia, Charles Davidson (Country), contested Dawson.
*** The member for Darling Downs, Arthur Fadden (Country), contested McPherson, as part of a Coalition agreement that allocated Darling Downs to the Liberal Party.
*** The member for Maranoa, Charles Adermann (Country), contested Fisher.
** In Western Australia, three new seats were created: the notionally Labor seat of Curtin; and the notionally Country seats of Canning and Moore. The Country-held seat of Swan became notionally Labor.
*** The member for Swan, Len Hamilton (Country), contested Canning.
** In South Australia, four new seats were created: the notionally Labor seats of Kingston, Port Adelaide and Sturt; and the notionally Liberal seat of Angas. The Labor-held seat of Boothby became notionally Liberal.
*** The member for Boothby, Thomas Sheehy (Labor), contested Kingston.
*** The member for Hindmarsh, Albert Thompson (Labor), contested Port Adelaide.
** There were minimal changes in Tasmania.
** A new seat was created for the Australian Capital Territory.

## Retiring Members and Senators
### Labor

* Frank Brennan (Batman, Vic)
* Frank Gaha MP (Denison, Tas)
* James Scullin MP (Yarra, Vic)
* Senator Joe Collings (Qld)

### Liberal

* William Hutchinson MP (Deakin, Vic)

### Country

* Joe Abbott MP (New England, NSW)

## House of Representatives

Sitting members at the time of the election are shown in bold text. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour. Where there is possible confusion, an asterisk (*) is also used.

### Australian Capital Territory

| Electorate | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate | Independent candidates |
| Australian Capital Territory | Sidney Rhodes | Malcolm Moir | Jessie Ashton Lewis Nott* |

### New South Wales

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
| Banks | Labor | Eric Costa | Howard Fletcher (Lib) | Francis Foy (LL) |
| Barton | Labor | H. V. Evatt | Nancy Wake (Lib) | |
| Bennelong | Liberal | Raymond Watt | John Cramer (Lib) | |
| Blaxland | Lang Labor | Jim Harrison | Thomas Handran-Smith (Lib) | Roy Kirby (CPA) Jack Lang (LL) |
| Bradfield | Liberal | Ken Gee | Billy Hughes (Lib) | Edward Price (Ind) |
| Calare | Liberal | George Gibbons | John Howse (Lib) | |
| Cook | Labor | Tom Sheehan | Gerald Davis (Lib) | John Eldridge (LL) Mervyn Pidcock (CPA) |
| Cowper | Country | Louis Jabour | Sir Earle Page (CP) | |
| Cunningham | Labor | Billy Davies | Alan Thomson (Lib) | Eric Aarons (CPA) |
| Dalley | Labor | Sol Rosevear | Charles Shields (Lib) | |
| Darling | Labor | Joe Clark | Elson Whyte (CP) | Cecil Connors (CPA) Madge Roberts (Ind) |
| East Sydney | Labor | Eddie Ward | John Mant (Lib) | William Dalton (Ind) |
| Eden-Monaro | Labor | Allan Fraser | Denzil Macarthur-Onslow (Lib) | |
| Evans | Labor | Ronald Nicholls | Frederick Osborne (Lib) | |
| Farrer | Country | Thomas McGrath | David Fairbairn* (Lib) John Mackay (CP) | Bill Gollan (CPA) |
| Grayndler | Labor | Fred Daly | Donald Clark (Lib) | William McCristal (RP) Henry McPhillips (CPA) |
| Gwydir | Labor | William Scully | Thomas Treloar (CP) | |
| Hume | Labor | Arthur Fuller | Charles Anderson (CP) | |
| Hunter | Labor | Rowley James | Ted Fletcher (Lib) | Evan Phillips (CPA) |
| Kingsford-Smith | Labor | Gordon Anderson | Charles de Monchaux (Lib) | Henry Crittenden (Ind) Clare Peters (Ind) |
| Lang | Labor | Dan Mulcahy | Eric Willis (Lib) | Roy Boyd (CPA) |
| Lawson | Labor | Alan Manning | Elwyn Croft (Lib) Laurie Failes* (CP) | William Ferguson (Ind) |
| Lowe | Labor | Hector McDonald | William McMahon (Lib) | Edith Shortland (Ind Lib) |
| Lyne | Country | Edward Hayes | Jim Eggins* (CP) Francis Hain (CP) Philip Lucock (CP) Eric Mackay (CP) | Joe Cordner (Ind) |
| Macarthur | Liberal | William McDonnell | Jeff Bate (Lib) | |
| Mackellar | Liberal | James Mitchell | Bill Wentworth (Lib) | |
| Macquarie | Labor | Ben Chifley | Bob Cotton (Lib) | John King (CPA) |
| Martin | Labor | William O'Connor | Frederick Mann (Lib) | Tom Dowling (CPA) Malinda Ivey (Ind) Frank Moss (LL) |
| Mitchell | Labor | Joseph White | Roy Wheeler (Lib) | |
| New England | Country | William Wilson | David Drummond* (CP) Donald Shand (CP) | |
| Newcastle | Labor | David Watkins | Harry Quinlan (Lib) | Laurie Aarons (CPA) Grahame Bland (Ind) |
| North Sydney | Labor | Leo Haylen | William Jack (Lib) | Norman Ferguson (LL) Patrick Williams (Ind) |
| Parkes | Labor | Les Haylen | Dick Dein (Lib) | |
| Parramatta | Liberal | Clement Jackson | Howard Beale (Lib) | |
| Paterson | Labor | Cecil Robinson | Robert Clendinning (CP) Arie Dorsman (CP) Allen Fairhall* (Lib) Greg McGirr (CP) Ernest Slater (CP) | |
| Phillip | Labor | Joe Fitzgerald | William Latimer (Lib) | Jessie Street (Ind) |
| Reid | Labor | Charles Morgan | Jim Clough (Lib) | Rupert Sheldon (LL) |
| Richmond | Country | Alexander Bryen | Larry Anthony (CP) | |
| Riverina | Labor | Joe Langtry | Hugh Roberton (CP) | William Mitchell (CPA) |
| Robertson | Labor | Thomas Williams | Roger Dean (Lib) | |
| Shortland | Labor | Charles Griffiths | Harold Daisley (Lib) | Alfred Boa (Ind) Isabel Longworth (Ind) Eugene Marshall (CPA) |
| St George | Labor | Joseph Nicholson | Bill Graham (Lib) | |
| Warringah | Liberal | | Percy Spender (Lib) | Norman Chadwick (Ind Lab) Bill Fisher (Ind Lab) |
| Watson | Labor | Dan Curtin | Stanley Card (Lib) | Max Falstein (Ind Lab) Harold O'Reilly (LL) |
| Wentworth | Liberal | William McKell | Eric Harrison (Lib) | |
| Werriwa | Labor | Bert Lazzarini | Ray Watson (Lib) | |
| West Sydney | Labor | Dan Minogue | Basil Mottershead (Lib) | Horace Foley (LL) Stan Moran (CPA) |

### Northern Territory

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Independent candidates |
| Northern Territory | Independent | Jock Nelson | Adair Blain Victor Webster |

### Queensland

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Communist candidate | Independent candidates |
| Bowman | Labor | Wilfred Coutts | Malcolm McColm (Lib) | Mabel Hanson | |
| Brisbane | Labor | George Lawson | James Long (Lib) | Alby Graham | |
| Capricornia | Liberal | Mick Gardner | George Pearce (Lib) | Ted Robertson | |
| Darling Downs | Country | James Kane | Reginald Swartz (Lib) | Raymond Mullaly | Charles Farquharson Charles Lacaze |
| Dawson | Labor | George Burns | Charles Davidson (CP) | Richard Andrew | |
| Fisher | Country | Edmund Roberts | Charles Adermann (CP) | | Norman Logan |
| Griffith | Liberal | William Conelan | Doug Berry (Lib) | Anna Slater | |
| Herbert | Labor | Bill Edmonds | Doug Jeffrey (CP) | Jim Henderson | |
| Kennedy | Labor | Bill Riordan | Ulick Browne (CP) | Eric Wyper | |
| Leichhardt | Labor | Cecil Holdcroft | Tom Gilmore (CP) | Ralph Leinster | Leslie Keough Thomas Mackey |
| Lilley | Liberal | Jim Hadley | Bruce Wight (Lib) | | |
| Maranoa | Country | Martin Laracy | Charles Russell (CP) | | |
| McPherson | Liberal | John Hilton | Arthur Fadden (CP) | | |
| Moreton | Liberal | William Thieme | Josiah Francis (Lib) | Bill Yarrow | |
| Oxley | Liberal | Evan Marginson | Donald Cameron* (Lib) John Martin (CP) | Edmund Crisp | |
| Petrie | Liberal | Samuel Martin | Alan Hulme (Lib) | | James Ryan |
| Ryan | Liberal | Leonard Eastment | Nigel Drury (Lib) | | |
| Wide Bay | Country | Samuel Round | Bernard Corser (CP) | | Robert McDowell |

### South Australia

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate | Other candidates |
| Adelaide | Labor | Cyril Chambers | Basil Harford | Christopher Doherty (Ind) Elsie Watt (CPA) |
| Angas | Liberal | Albert Strachan | Alick Downer | Ralph Whittle (Ind) |
| Barker | Liberal | John Klar | Archie Cameron | John Gartner (Ind) |
| Boothby | Liberal | Ralph Wells | John McLeay | |
| Grey | Labor | Edgar Russell | Edward Andrews | |
| Hindmarsh | Labor | Clyde Cameron | Albert Turnbull | |
| Kingston | Labor | Thomas Sheehy | Jim Handby | |
| Port Adelaide | Labor | Albert Thompson | Frederick Boscombe | Peter Symon (CPA) |
| Sturt | Labor | Leslie McMullin | Keith Wilson | Leonard Smith (Ind) |
| Wakefield | Liberal | Cyril Hasse | Philip McBride | |

### Tasmania

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate |
| Bass | Labor | Claude Barnard | Bruce Kekwick |
| Darwin | Liberal | Harold Kirkpatrick | Dame Enid Lyons |
| Denison | Labor | Henry Cosgrove | Athol Townley |
| Franklin | Liberal | Jack Frost | Bill Falkinder |
| Wilmot | Labor | Gil Duthie | Rickman Furmage |

### Victoria

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
| Balaclava | Liberal | Martin Dunne | Thomas White (Lib) | |
| Ballaarat | Labor | Raymond Hyatt | Alan Pittard (Lib) | |
| Batman | Labor | Alan Bird | Neil McKay (Lib) | |
| Bendigo | Labor | Percy Clarey | Thomas Grigg (Lib) | Allan Goodman (Ind) |
| Burke | Labor | Ted Peters | Alfred Wall (Lib) | Henry Hodges (Ind) James Whitworth (Ind) |
| Chisholm | Liberal | Leo Fennessy | Wilfrid Kent Hughes (Lib) | Bill Tregear (CPA) |
| Corangamite | Liberal | Henry Stacpoole | Allan McDonald (Lib) | Elsie Brushfield (Ind) |
| Corio | Labor | John Dedman | Hubert Opperman (Lib) | |
| Darebin | Labor | Tom Andrews | Jack McColl (Lib) | |
| Deakin | Liberal | Rod Leeson | Frank Davis (Lib) | |
| Fawkner | Labor | Bill Bourke | Magnus Cormack (Lib) | |
| Flinders | Liberal | Robert Wilson | Rupert Ryan (Lib) | Andrew Hughes (Ind Lab) |
| Gellibrand | Labor | Jack Mullens | William Massey (Lib) | William Anderson (Ind) John Arrowsmith (CPA) Angus Macdonald (Ind Lab) |
| Gippsland | Country | Horace Hawkins | George Bowden (CP) | |
| Henty | Liberal | Val Doube | Jo Gullett (Lib) | Charles Dicker (LL) |
| Higgins | Liberal | Jules Meltzer | Harold Holt (Lib) | |
| Higinbotham | Liberal | Frank Field | Frank Timson (Lib) | |
| Hoddle | Labor | Jack Cremean | Terence Kirby (Lib) | Leslie Loye (CPA) Albert Wallace (Ind) |
| Indi | Country | Charles Edmondson | William Bostock* (Lib) Clive Nason (CP) | |
| Isaacs | Liberal | John Bourke | William Haworth (Lib) | |
| Kooyong | Liberal | Keith Ewert | Robert Menzies (Lib) | |
| La Trobe | Liberal | Robert Balcombe | Richard Casey (Lib) | |
| Lalor | Labor | Reg Pollard | John Bellair (Lib) | |
| Mallee | Country | Alfred O'Connor | Winton Turnbull (CP) | |
| Maribyrnong | Labor | Arthur Drakeford | George Hannan (Lib) | Colin Neyland (Ind) |
| McMillan | Country | Adam Keltie | Geoffrey Brown* (Lib) Bob May (CP) | Bob Hamilton (CPA) |
| Melbourne | Labor | Arthur Calwell | Desmond McGinnes (Lib) | Charles McLaren (Ind) Niven Neyland (PCD) Gerry O'Day (CPA) Philip Wilson (ALPN) |
| Melbourne Ports | Labor | Jack Holloway | Frank Block (Lib) | |
| Murray | Country | Desmond Devlin | John McEwen (CP) | |
| Wannon | Labor | Don McLeod | Dan Mackinnon* (Lib) Helena Marfell (CP) | |
| Wills | Labor | Bill Bryson | Allan Tyrer (Lib) | Doris Blackburn (Ind Lab) |
| Wimmera | Country | Cyril Sudholz | William Lawrence* (Lib) Harrie Wade (CP) | |
| Yarra | Labor | Stan Keon | Charles Barrington (Lib) | John Prescott (CPA) Wenham Vines (Ind) |

### Western Australia

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
| Canning | Country | Thomas Scaddan | William Gillespie (Lib) Len Hamilton* (CP) | Arthur Neville (Ind CP) |
| Curtin | Labor | William Lonnie | Paul Hasluck (Lib) | |
| Forrest | Labor | Nelson Lemmon | Gordon Freeth* (Lib) Arnold Potts (CP) | James Bolitho (Ind) |
| Fremantle | Labor | Kim Beazley | Billy Snedden (Lib) | Paddy Troy (CPA) |
| Kalgoorlie | Labor | Herbert Johnson | John Porteus (Lib) | |
| Moore | Country | Kevin Byrne | Ken Jones (Lib) Hugh Leslie* (CP) | |
| Perth | Labor | Tom Burke | Gordon Hack (Lib) | James Collins (Ind) James Kelly (CPA) |
| Swan | Labor | Harry Webb | Bill Grayden (Lib) | |

## Senate

Sitting Senators are shown in bold text. The Senate was expanded at this election, with each state now allocated ten senators instead of six. Each state elected seven senators, two of whom were elected to short-term vacancies. This was also the first occasion where the Senate was elected using proportional representation. Tickets that elected at least one Senator are highlighted in the relevant colour. Successful candidates are identified by an asterisk (*).

### New South Wales

Seven seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. Four seats were newly created. Labor Senators James Arnold, Bill Ashley and William Large were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Communist candidates | Freedom candidates | FDP candidates | PPP candidates |
| John Armstrong* Donald Grant* Stan Amour* Patrick Grace | Bill Spooner* (Lib) Albert Reid* (CP) John McCallum* (Lib) John Tate* (Lib) | Edgar Ross Adam Ogston Joe Bailes Freda Brown | Alexander Huie John Owen Lionel Willis | George McDonald Clem Turnbull | Ronald Sarina Jonno Hodgson |
| PSJP candidates | Ungrouped candidates | | | | |
| Peter Pollack George Jameson | Frederick Roberts Edward Harding | | | | |

### Queensland

Seven seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. Four seats were newly created. Liberal Senators Neil O'Sullivan and Annabelle Rankin and Country Party Senator Walter Cooper were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Communist candidates | PPP candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
| Ben Courtice* Archie Benn* Gordon Brown* Austin Elliott Martin Hanson John Quinlan | Ted Maher* (CP) Ian Wood* (Lib) Roy Kendall* (Lib) Wilfrid Simmonds* (Lib) | Max Julius Alex Macdonald Gloria Phelan Bert Field | James Fowler Arthur Sainsbury | James Julin |

### South Australia

Seven seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. Four seats were newly created. Labor Senators Fred Beerworth, Jack Critchley and Frederick Ward were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Communist candidates | PPP candidates | ESWD candidates | Group D candidates |
| Sid O'Flaherty* Theo Nicholls* Alex Finlay* John Ryan* | Ted Mattner* George McLeay* Clive Hannaford* Frank Chapman | Alan Finger Alf Watt John Sendy | Hector Mackay James McNicoll | Charles Johnson Lawrence McKenzie George Reval | Albert Smith Charles Lloyd John Williams |
| Ungrouped candidates | | | | | |
| Charles Armbruster Edmund Craig Frank Halleday Frank Rieck Mary Smith George Edwin Yates | | | | | |

### Tasmania

Seven seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. Four seats were newly created. Labor Senators Bill Morrow, Reg Murray and Justin O'Byrne were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Communist candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
| Nick McKenna* Bill Aylett* Charles Lamp George Cole* Howard D'Alton | Allan Guy* Denham Henty* Robert Wordsworth* Reg Wright* | George Walliss Jack Lynch | Burford Sampson |

### Victoria

Seven seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. Four seats were newly created. Labor Senators Bert Hendrickson, Fred Katz and Charles Sandford were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Communist candidates | PPP candidates | HGL candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
| Don Cameron* Jack Devlin* Jim Sheehan* Arthur Clarey | John Spicer* (Lib) George Rankin* (CP) John Gorton* (Lib) Ivy Wedgwood* (Lib) | Ralph Gibson Ted Laurie Thelma Lees Leslie Sampson | Gordon Stead Mervyn Ray | John Atkinson Leslie Bawden Eileen Serpell | Charles Webber John Dale Edmund Evans Ada Bromham |

### Western Australia

Seven seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. Four seats were newly created. Labor Senators Joe Cooke, John Harris and Dorothy Tangney were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Communist candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
| Richard Nash* James Fraser* Don Willesee* Robert Clothier | Agnes Robertson* (Lib) Edmund Piesse* (CP) Seddon Vincent* (Lib) Malcolm Scott* (Lib) Hubert Malcolm (Lib) | Alex Jolly Kevin Healy Joan Williams | Robert Salter (IBI) William Fitzgerald (PPP) Claude Swaine (Indiv.) Mary McKinlay (Ind) Carlyle Ferguson (APA) |

## Summary by party

Beside each party is the candidates put forward by that party in the House of Representatives for each state, as well as an indication of whether the party contested Senate elections in each state.
| Party | NSW | NSW | Vic | Vic | Qld | Qld | WA | WA | SA | SA | Tas | Tas | ACT | NT | Total | Total |
| Party | HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | HR | HR | S |
| Australian Labor Party | 46 | * | 33 | * | 18 | * | 8 | * | 10 | * | 5 | * | 1 | 1 | 122 | 6 |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 39 | * | 30 | * | 10 | * | 8 | * | 10 | * | 5 | * | 1 | | 103 | 6 |
| Australian Country Party | 18 | * | 7 | * | 9 | * | 3 | * | | | | | | | 37 | 4 |
| Communist Party of Australia | 14 | * | 6 | * | 11 | * | 2 | * | 2 | * | | * | | | 35 | 6 |
| Lang Labor | 8 | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 | |
| Republican Party | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | |
| Protestant People's Party | | * | | * | | * | | * | | * | | | | | | 5 |
| Freedom Party | | * | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Fair Deal Party | | * | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| People's Social Justice Party | | * | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Henry George League | | | | * | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Independent British Israel | | | | | | | | * | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Individualist | | | | | | | | * | | | | | | | | 1 |
| All Parties Administration | | | | | | | | * | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Ex-Servicemen and Women and Dependents | | | | | | | | | | * | | | | | | 1 |
| Independent and other | 17 | | 13 | | 7 | | 3 | | 4 | | | | 2 | 2 | 48 | |