# Candidates of the 1931 Australian federal election

This article provides information on candidates who stood for the 1931 Australian federal election. The election was held on 19 December 1931.
In 1931, the Nationalist Party had become the United Australia Party, absorbing several Labor defectors. In New South Wales, the Labor Party split, with the Lang Labor group voting against the Labor government. Seats held by Labor defectors are here considered to be held by the Labor Party.

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

* On 14 December 1929, Charles Frost (Labor) was elected to replace William McWilliams (Independent) as the member for Franklin.
* On 31 January 1931, Charles Marr (Nationalist) was elected to replace Edward McTiernan (Labor) as the member for Parkes.
* On 7 March 1931, Eddie Ward (Labor) was elected to replace John West (Labor) as the member for East Sydney.
* On 1 April 1931, Harry Kneebone (Labor) was appointed as a South Australian Senator to replace John Chapman (Country).
* On 12 May 1931, Tom Brennan (UAP) was appointed as a Victorian Senator to replace Harold Elliott (UAP).
* On 14 October 1931, Percy Stewart (Independent), the member for Wimmera, died. No by-election was held due to the proximity of the election.
* Subsequent to the election, but prior to the new Senate taking its place:
** On 23 December 1931, Patrick Mooney (NSW Labor) was appointed as a New South Wales Senator to replace Walter Duncan (UAP).
** On 3 March 1932, Charles Grant (UAP) was appointed as a Tasmanian Senator to replace James Ogden (UAP).

### Defections

* In 1930, the three MPs elected as Independent Nationalists in 1929 – Billy Hughes (North Sydney), Walter Marks (Wentworth) and George Maxwell (Fawkner) – constituted themselves as the Australian Party.
* In 1931, Labor MPs James Fenton (Maribyrnong), Moses Gabb (Angas), Allan Guy (Bass), Joseph Lyons (Wilmot), Charles McGrath (Ballaarat) and John Price (Boothby) resigned from the party in protest at the reappointment of Ted Theodore as Treasurer. They sat with the Opposition Nationalist Party and soon merged with them to become the United Australia Party. The UAP was also joined by the three Australian Party MPs, Billy Hughes (North Sydney), Walter Marks (Wentworth) and George Maxwell (Fawkner).
* In 1931, supporters of NSW Premier Jack Lang broke away from the federal Labor Party to form the Australian Labor Party (NSW). Federally, these members were Jack Beasley (West Sydney), Senator James Dunn (New South Wales), John Eldridge (Martin), Rowley James (Hunter), Bert Lazzarini (Werriwa), Senator Arthur Rae (New South Wales) and Eddie Ward (East Sydney).

## Seat changes

* The member for Eden-Monaro (NSW), John Cusack (Labor), contested Cowper.
* The member for Flinders (Vic), Jack Holloway (Labor), contested Melbourne Ports.
* The member for Martin (NSW), John Eldridge (NSW Labor), contested Barton.
* New South Wales Senator Walter Duncan (UAP) resigned from the Senate to contest Warringah.

## Retiring Members and Senators
### Labor

* James Mathews MP (Melbourne Ports, Vic)

### United Australia

* Senator Sir John Newlands (SA)

### Country

* William Killen MP (Riverina, 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.

### New South Wales

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Labor (NSW) candidate | Other candidates |
| Barton | Labor | James Tully | Albert Lane (UAP) | John Eldridge | |
| Calare | Labor | George Gibbons | Harold Thorby (CP) | Tom Watson | |
| Cook | Labor | Edward Riley | Charles Robinson (UAP) | Jock Garden | Tom Wright (CPA) |
| Cowper | Country | John Cusack | Earle Page (CP) | Tom Roach | |
| Dalley | Labor | Ted Theodore | Sidney Massey (UAP) | Sol Rosevear | William Little (Ind Nat) Jack Sylvester (CPA) |
| Darling | Labor | Arthur Blakeley | Harold Campbell (CP) | Richard Quintrell | Ted Tripp (CPA) |
| East Sydney | Labor | George Buckland | John Clasby (UAP) | Eddie Ward | |
| Eden-Monaro | Labor | Gerald O'Sullivan | Arthur Christian (CP) John Perkins* (UAP) | | |
| Gwydir | Labor | Lou Cunningham | Aubrey Abbott* (CP) Arnold Brown (CP) | Edward Cummins | |
| Hume | Labor | Parker Moloney | Thomas Collins (CP) | Lynden Regan | |
| Hunter | Labor | Allan Howie | | Rowley James | Arnold Bailey (Ind) Harris Burnham (CPA) |
| Lang | Labor | William Long | Alfred Bennett (UAP) Dick Dein* (UAP) | Dan Mulcahy | |
| Macquarie | Labor | Ben Chifley | John Lawson (UAP) | Tony Luchetti | Robert Deveney (CPA) |
| Martin | Labor | James Catts | Mac Abbott (UAP) William Holman* (UAP) | Charles Hankin | |
| New England | Country | | Victor Thompson (CP) | | Angus Campbell (Ind) |
| Newcastle | Labor | David Watkins | | James Kidd | Rowland Clark (AAL) Jack Simpson (CPA) Walter Skelton (Ind Lab) |
| North Sydney | Independent Nationalist | | Norman Cowper (UAP) Billy Hughes* (UAP) | Norman Nelson | |
| Parkes | United Australia | William Gibbs | Charles Marr (UAP) | Herbert Garden | |
| Parramatta | Labor | Albert Rowe | Frederick Stewart (UAP) | Valentine Patterson | Anwoth Brown (Ind) |
| Reid | Labor | Percy Coleman | Robert Uebel (UAP) | Joe Gander | |
| Richmond | Country | | Robert Gibson (CP) Roland Green* (CP) Leonard Greening (CP) Percy Tighe (CP) | | Jim Fredericks (Ind) |
| Riverina | Country | Louis Levy | Robert Hankinson (CP) Horace Nock* (CP) | John Heiss | |
| Robertson | United Australia | Wilfred Turnbull | Sydney Gardner (UAP) | Peter Robb | William Fleming (Ind CP) |
| South Sydney | Labor | Edward Riley | John Jennings (UAP) | John Stewart | |
| Warringah | United Australia | | Walter Duncan (UAP) Archdale Parkhill* (UAP) | | |
| Wentworth | Independent Nationalist | | Eric Harrison* (UAP) Walter Marks (UAP) | | |
| Werriwa | Labor | Ernest Tully | Walter McNicoll* (CP) | Bert Lazzarini | Mont Sheppard (Ind AAL) |
| West Sydney | Labor | James Donaldson | Arthur Butterell (UAP) | Jack Beasley | |

### Northern Territory

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Independent candidate |
| Northern Territory | Labor | Harold Nelson | William Easton (Ind) John McMillan (Ind Lab) |

### Queensland

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
| Brisbane | United Australia | George Lawson | Donald Cameron (UAP) | Hugh Talty (LL) |
| Capricornia | Labor | Frank Forde | Robert Staines (CP) | |
| Darling Downs | United Australia | | Arthur Morgan (UAP) | Sir Littleton Groom* (Ind) Herbert Yeates (Ind) |
| Herbert | Labor | George Martens | Grosvenor Francis (UAP) | |
| Kennedy | Labor | Darby Riordan | Jim Clarke (UAP) | |
| Lilley | United Australia | | George Mackay (UAP) | Alexander Costello (Ind Lab) Frank Mason (SC) |
| Maranoa | Country | Myles Ferricks | James Hunter (CP) | |
| Moreton | United Australia | | Josiah Francis (UAP) | |
| Oxley | United Australia | Francis Baker | James Bayley (UAP) | Frank Pforr (LL) |
| Wide Bay | Country | | Bernard Corser (CP) | |

### South Australia

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | EC candidate | Other candidates |
| Adelaide | Labor | George Edwin Yates | Fred Stacey | Agnes Goode (Ind) Tom Howard (LL) Crawford Vaughan (L-L) John Zwolsman (CPA) |
| Angas | Labor | David Fraser | Moses Gabb | |
| Barker | Emergency | Cyril Hasse | Malcolm Cameron | Percy Spehr (Ind) |
| Boothby | Labor | Cecil Skitch | John Price | Sam Lindsay (ST) |
| Grey | Labor | Andrew Lacey | Philip McBride | Alfred Barns (Ind) James Hodgson (ST) |
| Hindmarsh | Labor | Norman Makin | Ernest Evans | Sid O'Flaherty (LL) |
| Wakefield | Emergency | | Charles Hawker | Maurice Collins (Ind CP) |

### Tasmania

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | UAP candidate | Other candidates |
| Bass | Labor | Claude Barnard | Allan Guy | Harold Solomon (Nat) |
| Darwin | United Australia | Joseph McGrath | George Bell | |
| Denison | Labor | Charles Culley | Arthur Hutchin | |
| Franklin | Labor | Charles Frost | Archibald Blacklow | Albert Beard (Ind) |
| Wilmot | Labor | George Becker | Joseph Lyons | George Pullen (Nat) |

### Victoria

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
| Balaclava | United Australia | Edward Stewart | Thomas White (UAP) | James Denyer (ADP) |
| Ballaarat | Labor | Stewart Miller | Henry Bromfield (CP) Charles McGrath* (UAP) | |
| Batman | Labor | Frank Brennan | Samuel Dennis (UAP) | Frank Blake (ADP) Jim Hannan (CPA) |
| Bendigo | Labor | Richard Keane | Eric Harrison (UAP) | |
| Bourke | Labor | Frank Anstey | Roy Ivey (UAP) | James Adie (CPA) Walter Norman (Ind) |
| Corangamite | Labor | Richard Crouch | William Gibson (CP) | |
| Corio | Labor | Arthur Lewis | Richard Casey (UAP) | John Lister (Ind UAP) |
| Echuca | Country | | William Hill (CP) | John Fitzpatrick (Ind UAP) William Moss (Ind CP) Galloway Stewart (Ind CP) |
| Fawkner | Independent Nationalist | John McKenna | George Maxwell (UAP) | David Robertson (Ind) |
| Flinders | Labor | Arthur Haywood | Stanley Bruce (UAP) | |
| Gippsland | Country | | Thomas Paterson (CP) | |
| Henty | United Australia | Fred Katz | Henry Gullett (UAP) | |
| Indi | Labor | Paul Jones | William Hutchinson* (UAP) Arthur Walter (CP) | |
| Kooyong | United Australia | Cornelius Loughnan | John Latham (UAP) | |
| Maribyrnong | Labor | William Beckett | James Fenton (UAP) | William Scott (ADP) |
| Melbourne | Labor | William Maloney | Israel Smith (UAP) | |
| Melbourne Ports | Labor | Jack Holloway | William Orr (UAP) | Thomas Houston (LL) William Howey (Ind UAP) Noble Kerby (Ind) Thomas le Huray (CPA) |
| Wannon | Labor | John McNeill | Arthur Rodgers (CP) Thomas Scholfield* (UAP) | |
| Wimmera | CPP | | Samuel Lockhart (CP) William McCann (CP) Hugh McClelland* (CP) William Morgan (UAP) | Alexander Dowsley (Ind) |
| Yarra | Labor | James Scullin | John Davis (UAP) | Patrick Branagan (ST) Ernie Thornton (CPA) |

### Western Australia

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
| Forrest | Country | | John Prowse (CP) | |
| Fremantle | Labor | John Curtin | Keith Watson (UAP) | William Watson (Ind) |
| Kalgoorlie | Labor | Albert Green | William Pickering (CP) George Rainsford (UAP) | |
| Perth | United Australia | John Moloney | Walter Nairn (UAP) | |
| Swan | Country | John Fraser | Henry Gregory (CP) | Carlyle Ferguson (Ind) Alfred Reynolds (Ind CP) |

## Senate

Sitting Senators are shown in bold text. Tickets that elected at least one Senator are highlighted in the relevant colour. Successful candidates are identified by an asterisk (*).

### New South Wales

Three seats were up for election. The United Australia Party was defending three seats. Labor Senator John Dooley and NSW Labor Senators James Dunn and Arthur Rae were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Lang Labor candidates | Other candidates |
| John Bailey Hilton Blackburn Albert Gardiner | Charles Cox* (UAP) Walter Massy-Greene* (UAP) Charles Hardy* (CP) | Christopher Anderson Tom Arthur Ernest Barker | James Dooley (Ind Lab) George McDonald (Ind) Lance Sharkey (CPA) Abraham Taylor (Ind) |

### Queensland

Three seats were up for election. The United Australia Party-Country Party Coalition was defending three seats. United Australia Party Senators Thomas Crawford, Harry Foll and Matthew Reid were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Other candidates |
| Gordon Brown* Joe Collings* John MacDonald* | Walter Cooper (CP) Sir William Glasgow (UAP) William Thompson (UAP) | Fred Paterson (CPA) |

### South Australia

Three seats were up for election. The Emergency Committee of South Australia was defending three seats. Labor Senators John Daly, Bert Hoare and Mick O'Halloran were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | EC candidates | Independent candidates |
| Harry Kneebone John Verran Frederick Ward | Oliver Badman* Jack Duncan-Hughes* Alexander McLachlan* | Raphael Cilento Ruth Ravenscroft |

### Tasmania

Three seats were up for election. The United Australia Party was defending three seats. United Australia Party Senators John Hayes, Herbert Hays and James Ogden were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | UAP candidates |
| Thomas Jude David O'Keefe Walter Woods | Andrew Cooper James Counsel Bayard Edgell Syd Jackson John Millen* Herbert Payne* Benjamin Pearsall Herbert Postle Burford Sampson* |

### Victoria

Three seats were up for election. The United Australia Party was defending three seats. Labor Senator John Barnes, United Australia Party Senator Harry Lawson and Country Party Senator Robert Elliott were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | UAP candidates | Other candidates |
| Don Cameron Jim Sheehan Alf Wallis | Tom Brennan* James Guthrie* William Plain* | Alured Kelly (Ind Nat) William Murchison (Ind UAP) Harold Partridge (CPA) |

### Western Australia

Three seats were up for election. The United Australia Party-Country Party Coalition was defending three seats. United Australia Party Senators Sir Hal Colebatch and Walter Kingsmill and Country Party Senator Bertie Johnston were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Other candidates |
| George Gaunt Louis Greive Ted Needham | William Carroll* (CP) Patrick Lynch* (UAP) Sir George Pearce* (UAP) | Findlay MacKay (CPA) John Thomson (Ind CP) |