# 1958 Victorian Legislative Council election

Elections were held in the Australian state of Victoria on Saturday 21 June 1958 to elect 17 of the 34 members of the state's Legislative Council for six year terms. MLCs were elected in single-member provinces using preferential voting. This was the last time Legislative Council elections were held separately to those of the Legislative Assembly.

## Results
### Legislative Council

Victorian Legislative Council election, 21 June 1958 Legislative Council
<< 1955–1961 >> :
| Enrolled voters | Enrolled voters | 1,488,293 | | | | |
| Votes cast | Votes cast | 1,283,665 | | Turnout | 86.3 | +8.6 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | 22,085 | | Informal | 1.7 | -0.4 |
| Summary of votes by party |||||||
| Party | Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats won | Seats held |
| | Labor | 494,892 | 39.2 | +0.3 | 5 | 9 |
| | Liberal and Country | 451,462 | 35.8 | +5.3 | 8 | 17 |
| | Democratic Labor | 187,618 | 14.9 | −1.6 | 0 | 0 |
| | Country | 69,028 | 5.5 | -0.6 | 4 | 8 |
| | Independent | 58,580 | 4.6 | −3.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 1,261,580 | | | 17 | 34 |

## Retiring Members
### Democratic Labor

* Paul Jones MLC (Doutta Galla) — elected as Labor

## Candidates

Sitting members are shown in bold text. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour. Where there is possible confusion, an asterisk (*) is also used.
| Province | Held by | Labor candidates | LCP candidates | Country candidates | DLP candidates | Other candidates |
| Ballarat | Labor | Jack Jones | Murray Byrne | | Maurice Calnin | David Milburn (Ind) |
| Bendigo | Labor | Arthur Smith | George Morison | | Arthur White | |
| Doutta Galla | Labor | Samuel Merrifield | Nicholas Dawe | | Herbert Morris | |
| East Yarra | Independent | | Rupert Hamer | | John Hoare | Sir Clifden Eager (Ind) |
| Gippsland | Country | Frederick Gregory | | Bill Fulton | John Hansen | |
| Higinbotham | LCP | Genevieve Mann | Sir Arthur Warner | | | Grace Stratton (Ind) |
| Melbourne | Labor | Jack O'Connell | | | Pat Sheehy | |
| Melbourne North | Labor | John Walton | Gladys Brown | | Jack Little | |
| Melbourne West | Labor | Archie Todd | | | Bert Bailey | |
| Monash | Labor | Gwendolyn Noad | Graham Nicol | | Thomas Brennan | |
| Northern | Country | | | Dudley Walters | | |
| North Eastern | Country | | | Ivan Swinburne | | |
| North Western | Country | | | Percy Byrnes | | Albert Allnutt (Ind) |
| Southern | Labor | Roy Rawson | Raymond Garrett | | Leo Mahony | |
| South Eastern | Labor | George Tilley | Bill Mair | | Jack Austin | |
| South Western | Labor | Don Ferguson | Geoffrey Thom | | Norman Smith | |
| Western | Labor | David Arnott | Kenneth Gross | | James Eveston | |

## Results by province
### Ballarat

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: Ballarat Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labor | Jack Jones | 23,336 | 43.6 | +0.5 |
| | Liberal and Country | Murray Byrne | 21,227 | 39.7 | −17.2 |
| | Democratic Labor | Maurice Calnin | 5,692 | 10.7 | +10.7 |
| | Independent | David Milburn | 3,214 | 6.0 | +6.0 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 53,649 | 98.7 | −0.3 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 682 | 1.3 | +0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,151 | 95.9 | +1.2 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal and Country | Murray Byrne | 27,210 | 50.9 | −6.0 |
| | Labor | Jack Jones | 26,259 | 49.1 | +6.0 |
| | Liberal and Country gain from Labor | Liberal and Country gain from Labor | Swing | −6.0 | |

### Bendigo

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: Bendigo Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labor | Arthur Smith | 26,841 | 48.1 | +8.4 |
| | Liberal and Country | George Morison | 21,591 | 38.7 | −6.4 |
| | Democratic Labor | Arthur White | 7,368 | 13.2 | −2.0 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 55,800 | 99.0 | +0.1 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 536 | 1.0 | −0.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,336 | 94.2 | +0.1 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Labor | Arthur Smith | 28,375 | 50.9 | +9.3 |
| | Liberal and Country | George Morison | 27,425 | 49.1 | −9.3 |
| | Labor hold | Labor hold | Swing | +9.3 | |

### Doutta Galla

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: Doutta Galla Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labor | Samuel Merrifield | 50,548 | 53.0 | −17.5 |
| | Liberal and Country | Nicholas Dawe | 29,656 | 31.1 | +31.1 |
| | Democratic Labor | Herbert Morris | 15,219 | 16.0 | −13.5 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 95,423 | 98.1 | +1.4 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,858 | 1.9 | −1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 97,281 | 92.0 | +1.0 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Labor | Samuel Merrifield | | 56.2 | |
| | Liberal and Country | Nicholas Dawe | | 43.8 | |
| | Labor gain from Democratic Labor | Labor gain from Democratic Labor | Swing | N/A | |
* Two party preferred vote was estimated.

### East Yarra

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: East Yarra Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal and Country | Rupert Hamer | 57,238 | 49.0 | −6.2 |
| | Independent | Clifden Eager | 38,055 | 32.6 | +32.6 |
| | Democratic Labor | John Hoare | 21,495 | 18.4 | +8.3 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 116,788 | 98.0 | +0.1 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,350 | 2.0 | −0.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 119,138 | 92.5 | +1.1 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal and Country | Rupert Hamer | 75,174 | 64.4 | |
| | Independent | Clifden Eager | 41,614 | 35.6 | |
| | Liberal and Country gain from Independent | Liberal and Country gain from Independent | Swing | N/A | |

### Gippsland

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: Gippsland Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Country | Bill Fulton | 36,878 | 56.1 | −16.1 |
| | Labor | Frederick Gregory | 19,645 | 29.9 | +29.9 |
| | Democratic Labor | John Hansen | 9,191 | 14.0 | −13.8 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 65,714 | 98.7 | +0.7 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 883 | 1.3 | −0.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 66,597 | 93.4 | +2.4 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Country | Bill Fulton | | 67.3 | |
| | Labor | Frederick Gregory | | 32.7 | |
| | Country hold | Country hold | Swing | N/A | |
* Two party preferred vote was estimated.

### Higinbotham

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: Higinbotham Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal and Country | Arthur Warner | 64,984 | 59.3 | −40.7 |
| | Labor | Genevieve Mann | 38,174 | 34.9 | +34.9 |
| | Independent | Grace Stratton | 6,345 | 5.9 | +5.9 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 109,503 | 98.2 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,035 | 1.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 111,538 | 92.0 | |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal and Country | Arthur Warner | | 62.3 | |
| | Labor | Genevieve Mann | | 37.7 | |
| | Liberal and Country hold | Liberal and Country hold | Swing | N/A | |
* Two party preferred vote was estimated.

### Melbourne

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: Melbourne Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labor | Jack O'Connell | 30,298 | 68.7 | +5.4 |
| | Democratic Labor | Maurie Sheehy | 13,784 | 31.3 | −5.4 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 44,082 | 96.5 | −0.1 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,603 | 3.5 | +0.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,685 | 88.3 | −0.7 |
| | Labor hold | Labor hold | Swing | +5.4 | |
* Maurie Sheehy was elected in 1952 as a member of Labor, then defected to the DLP in 1955.

### Melbourne North

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: Melbourne North Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labor | John Walton | 69,982 | 52.8 | −12.5 |
| | Liberal and Country | Gladys Brown | 37,369 | 28.2 | +28.2 |
| | Democratic Labor | Jack Little | 25,208 | 19.0 | +3.2 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 132,559 | 98.2 | +0.3 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,359 | 1.8 | −0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 134,918 | 92.9 | −0.1 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Labor | John Walton | | 56.6 | |
| | Liberal and Country | Gladys Brown | | 43.4 | |
| | Labor hold | Labor hold | Swing | N/A | |
* Two party preferred vote was estimated.
* Jack Little was elected in 1952 as a member of Labor, then defected to the DLP in 1955.

### Melbourne West

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: Melbourne West Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labor | Archie Todd | 64,209 | 71.3 | +1.4 |
| | Democratic Labor | Bert Bailey | 25,797 | 28.7 | −1.4 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 90,006 | 97.6 | +0.3 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,228 | 2.4 | −0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 92,234 | 92.4 | +0.1 |
| | Labor hold | Labor hold | Swing | +1.4 | |
* Bert Bailey was elected in 1952 as a member of Labor, then defected to the DLP in 1955.

### Monash

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: Monash Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal and Country | Graham Nicol | 43,317 | 49.6 | −11.9 |
| | Labor | Gwendolyn Noad | 26,847 | 30.7 | −7.8 |
| | Democratic Labor | Thomas Brennan | 17,249 | 19.7 | +19.7 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 87,411 | 97.8 | −0.5 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,925 | 2.2 | +0.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 89,336 | 89.3 | +3.0 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal and Country | Graham Nicol | 58,490 | 66.9 | +5.4 |
| | Labor | Gwendolyn Noad | 28,921 | 33.1 | −5.4 |
| | Liberal and Country gain from Democratic Labor | Liberal and Country gain from Democratic Labor | Swing | +5.4 | |
* Thomas Brennan was elected in 1952 as a member of Labor, then defected to the DLP in 1955.

### Northern

Victorian Legislative Council Election, 1958: Northern Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Country | Dudley Walters | unopposed | | |
| | Country hold | Country hold | Swing | | |

### North-Eastern

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: North Eastern Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Country | Ivan Swinburne | unopposed | | |
| | Country hold | Country hold | Swing | | |

### North-Western

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: North Western Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Country | Percy Byrnes | 32,150 | 74.6 | −25.4 |
| | Independent | Albert Allnutt | 10,966 | 25.4 | +25.4 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 43,116 | 98.4 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 699 | 1.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,815 | 93.9 | |
| | Country hold | Country hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Southern

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: Southern Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal and Country | Raymond Garrett | 68,095 | 46.9 | −5.6 |
| | Labor | Roy Rawson | 60,691 | 41.8 | +4.8 |
| | Democratic Labor | Leo Mahony | 16,372 | 11.3 | +0.8 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 145,158 | 98.5 | +0.1 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,233 | 1.5 | −0.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 147,391 | 92.4 | +0.8 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal and Country | Raymond Garrett | 82,395 | 56.8 | −5.2 |
| | Labor | Roy Rawson | 62,763 | 43.2 | +5.2 |
| | Liberal and Country gain from Labor | Liberal and Country gain from Labor | Swing | −5.2 | |

### South-Eastern

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: South Eastern Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal and Country | Bill Mair | 51,103 | 50.7 | +0.9 |
| | Labor | George Tilley | 34,896 | 34.6 | +34.6 |
| | Democratic Labor | Jack Austin | 14,898 | 14.8 | −11.8 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 100,897 | 98.4 | +0.9 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,608 | 1.6 | −0.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 102,505 | 92.6 | +2.0 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal and Country | Bill Mair | | 63.3 | N/A |
| | Labor | George Tilley | | 36.7 | N/A |
| | Liberal and Country gain from Labor | Liberal and Country gain from Labor | Swing | N/A | |
* Two party preferred vote was estimated.

### South-Western

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: South Western Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal and Country | Geoffrey Thom | 31,878 | 46.4 | −7.5 |
| | Labor | Don Ferguson | 28,510 | 41.5 | +11.4 |
| | Democratic Labor | Norman Smith | 8,298 | 12.1 | −4.0 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 68,686 | 99.1 | +0.2 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 645 | 0.9 | −0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 69,331 | 93.6 | +1.2 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal and Country | Geoffrey Thom | 38,909 | 56.6 | −11.6 |
| | Labor | Don Ferguson | 29,777 | 43.4 | +11.6 |
| | Liberal and Country gain from Labor | Liberal and Country gain from Labor | Swing | −11.6 | |

### Western

Victorian Legislative Council election, 1958: Western Province :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal and Country | Kenneth Gross | 25,004 | 47.2 | −1.6 |
| | Labor | David Arnott | 20,917 | 39.5 | +8.6 |
| | Democratic Labor | James Eveston | 7,047 | 13.3 | +2.1 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 52,968 | 99.2 | +0.3 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 441 | 0.8 | −0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,409 | 95.5 | +4.2 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal and Country | Kenneth Gross | 30,563 | 57.7 | −8.9 |
| | Labor | David Arnott | 22,405 | 42.3 | +8.9 |
| | Liberal and Country gain from Labor | Liberal and Country gain from Labor | Swing | −8.9 | |