# Candidates of the 1961 Australian federal election

This article provides information on candidates who stood for the 1961 Australian federal election. The election was held on 9 December 1961.

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

* On 9 April 1960, John Jess (Liberal) was elected to replace Richard Casey (Liberal) as the member for La Trobe.
* On 9 April 1960, Bert James (Labor) was elected to replace H. V. Evatt (Labor) as the member for Hunter.
* On 16 July 1960, Noel Beaton (Labor) was elected to replace Percy Clarey (Labor) as the member for Bendigo.
* On 16 July 1960, Ray Whittorn (Liberal) was elected to replace Percy Joske (Liberal) as the member for Balaclava.
* On 5 November 1960, John England (Country) was elected to replace John Howse (Liberal) as the member for Calare.
* On 10 December 1960, Don Chipp (Liberal) was elected to replace Frank Timson (Liberal) as the member for Higinbotham.
* On 28 September 1961, Gordon Davidson (Liberal) was appointed a South Australian Senator to replace Rex Pearson (Liberal).
* Subsequent to the election, but prior to the new Senate taking its place:
** On 8 February 1962, Gordon Davidson (Liberal) was appointed a South Australian Senator to replace Nancy Buttfield (Liberal). Davidson had been appointed to the Senate in 1961 but had not contested the 1961 election. Buttfield, a sitting Senator, had been elected to the place originally won by Rex Pearson in 1961, but resigned it in order to take up the long-term vacancy. Davidson's appointment expired on 30 June 1963.

## Retiring Members and Senators
### Labor

* George Lawson MP (Brisbane, Qld)
* Senator John Armstrong (NSW)
* Senator Don Cameron (Vic)
* Senator Ben Courtice (Qld)
* Senator Sid O'Flaherty (SA)
* Senator Jim Sheehan (Vic)

### Liberal

* Francis Bland MP (Warringah, NSW)
* Senator John McCallum (NSW)
* Senator Sir Neil O'Sullivan (Qld)
* Senator Robert Wardlaw (Tas)

### Country

* George Bowden MP (Gippsland, Vic)
* Len Hamilton MP (Canning, WA)
* Senator Albert Reid (NSW)
* Senator Agnes Robertson (WA)

## 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 | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate |
| Australian Capital Territory | Labor | Jim Fraser | Geoffrey Small |

### New South Wales

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | DLP candidate | Other candidates |
| Banks | Labor | Eric Costa | Jack Manning (Lib) | John Antill | Frank Bollins (CPA) Russell Duncan (Ind) |
| Barton | Labor | Len Reynolds | Colin Sullivan (Lib) | Thomas Brosnan | |
| Bennelong | Liberal | Harry Jensen | John Cramer (Lib) | Edward Beck | |
| Blaxland | Labor | Jim Harrison | David Cowan (Lib) | Bernard Atkinson | |
| Bradfield | Liberal | Percy Staines | Harry Turner (Lib) | Dominique Droulers | |
| Calare | Country | Leroy Serisier | John England (CP) | George Boland | |
| Cowper | Country | Frank McGuren | Sir Earle Page (CP) | | Neville Weiley (Ind) |
| Cunningham | Labor | Victor Kearney | Jack Hough (Lib) | | Bill McDougall (CPA) |
| Dalley | Labor | William O'Connor | Arthur Nesbitt (Lib) | Reginald Lawson | Mavis Robertson (CPA) |
| Darling | Labor | Joe Clark | Rodan Dawson (CP) | | |
| East Sydney | Labor | Eddie Ward | John Folbigg (Lib) | Joseph Bergin | Bill Brown (CPA) |
| Eden-Monaro | Labor | Allan Fraser | Douglas Thomson (Lib) | | |
| Evans | Liberal | James Monaghan | Frederick Osborne (Lib) | Francis Collins | Harold O'Reilly (Ind) |
| Farrer | Liberal | Herb McPherson | David Fairbairn (Lib) | William Brennan | |
| Grayndler | Labor | Fred Daly | Evan MacLaurin (Lib) | Charles McCafferty | Hal Alexander (CPA) |
| Gwydir | Country | Austin Heffernan | Ian Allan (CP) | Stanley Parmenter | |
| Hughes | Labor | Les Johnson | Keith Woodward (Lib) | Wesley Johns | |
| Hume | Country | Arthur Fuller | Charles Anderson (CP) | Charles Rowe | |
| Hunter | Labor | Bert James | Edward Farrell (Lib) | | John Tapp (CPA) |
| Kingsford-Smith | Labor | Dan Curtin | Jack Cunningham (Lib) | John Cunningham | |
| Lang | Labor | Frank Stewart | Russell Carter (Lib) | Edward Byrnes | Frank Ball (Ind) |
| Lawson | Country | John Canobi | Laurie Failes (CP) | Denis Searls | |
| Lowe | Liberal | John Holland | William McMahon (Lib) | Denis Klein | Daniel Smith (ARP) |
| Lyne | Country | John Allan | Philip Lucock (CP) | Jack Collins | Joe Cordner (Ind) |
| Macarthur | Liberal | Don Nilon | Jeff Bate (Lib) | | |
| Mackellar | Liberal | Mabel Elliott | Bill Wentworth (Lib) | Philip Cohen | Hugh Begg (CPA) |
| Macquarie | Liberal | Tony Luchetti | John Heesh (Lib) | Frank Mackenzie | |
| Mitchell | Liberal | John Armitage | Roy Wheeler (Lib) | Allan Dwyer | John Mantova (Ind) |
| New England | Country | Donald White | David Drummond (CP) | John Burless | |
| Newcastle | Labor | Charles Jones | Henry Wansey (Lib) | Hugh Ansell | |
| North Sydney | Liberal | Maurice Isaacs | William Jack (Lib) | Michael Fitzpatrick | |
| Parkes | Labor | Les Haylen | William Dowd (Lib) | Vincent Couch | |
| Parramatta | Liberal | Maxwell McLaren | Sir Garfield Barwick (Lib) | Reginald Andrews | Matt Munro (CPA) |
| Paterson | Liberal | Bob Brown | Allen Fairhall (Lib) | Aubrey Barr | |
| Phillip | Liberal | Syd Einfeld | William Aston (Lib) | Peter Daly | |
| Reid | Labor | Tom Uren | Jack Cook (Lib) | Mick Carroll | |
| Richmond | Country | Raymond Freeman | Doug Anthony (CP) | | |
| Riverina | Country | Jack Ward | Hugh Roberton (CP) | Albert Elrington | |
| Robertson | Liberal | Tom Pendlebury | Roger Dean (Lib) | Neil Mackerras | |
| Shortland | Labor | Charles Griffiths | Allan Pitts (Lib) | Robert Burke | Geoff Curthoys (CPA) |
| St George | Labor | Lionel Clay | Clifford Amos (Lib) | Malcolm Towner | |
| Warringah | Liberal | James Brown | John Cockle (Lib) | John Plunkett | Rex Benson (Ind Lib) Russell Whybrow (Ind Lib) |
| Watson | Labor | Jim Cope | Sidney Pitkethly (Lib) | Mary Nappa | |
| Wentworth | Liberal | John Hirshman | Les Bury (Lib) | Francis Bull | |
| Werriwa | Labor | Gough Whitlam | Vernon Luckman (Lib) | Kevin Davis | |
| West Sydney | Labor | Dan Minogue | Milovan Kovjanic (Lib) | William Doherty | Ron Maxwell (CPA) |

### Northern Territory

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Independent candidate |
| Northern Territory | Labor | Jock Nelson | Harold Brennan |

### Queensland

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | QLP candidate | Other candidates |
| Bowman | Liberal | Jack Comber | Malcolm McColm (Lib) | Terence Burns | |
| Brisbane | Labor | Manfred Cross | Kevin Cairns (Lib) | Walter Barnes | Warren Bowden (CPA) |
| Capricornia | Liberal | George Gray | George Pearce (Lib) | Mick Gardner | |
| Darling Downs | Liberal | Jack McCafferty | Reginald Swartz (Lib) | Margaret Walsh | |
| Dawson | Country | Cyril Mitchell | Charles Davidson (CP) | Waller O'Grady | |
| Fisher | Country | William Weir | Charles Adermann (CP) | John Newman | |
| Griffith | Liberal | Wilfred Coutts | Arthur Chresby (Lib) | Donald McKenna | |
| Herbert | Liberal | Ted Harding | John Murray (Lib) | Victor Bodero | Frank Bishop (CPA) |
| Kennedy | Labor | Bill Riordan | Thomas Halloran (CP) | Harry Wright | |
| Leichhardt | Labor | Bill Fulton | Reginald Wiles (CP) | Arthur Trembath | |
| Lilley | Liberal | Don Cameron | Bruce Wight (Lib) | Frank Andrews | |
| Maranoa | Country | Trevor Alexander | Wilfred Brimblecombe (CP) | Bryan Hurley | |
| McPherson | Country | William Ware | Charles Barnes (CP) | John O'Connell | Allen Kirkegaard (Ind) Thomas Masterton (Ind) |
| Moreton | Liberal | John O'Donnell | James Killen (Lib) | Christian Hagen | Max Julius (CPA) |
| Oxley | Liberal | Bill Hayden | Donald Cameron (Lib) | Kenneth Rawle | |
| Petrie | Liberal | Reginald O'Brien | Alan Hulme (Lib) | Trevor Sturling | Cecil Guilfoyle (Ind) Francis O'Mara (Ind) |
| Ryan | Liberal | Joy Guyatt | Nigel Drury (Lib) | Michael Long | |
| Wide Bay | Country | Brendan Hansen | Henry Bandidt (CP) | Edward McDonnell | James Dunn (Ind) |

### South Australia

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate | DLP candidate | Other candidates |
| Adelaide | Labor | Joe Sexton | John Rundle | Ursula Cook | |
| Angas | Liberal | Arnold Busbridge | Alick Downer | John Balogh | |
| Barker | Liberal | Norman Alcock | Jim Forbes | Charles Coffey | John Gartner (Ind) |
| Bonython | Labor | Norman Makin | Margaret McLachlan | Edward Timlin | Thomas Ellis (Ind) Alan Miller (CPA) |
| Boothby | Liberal | Ronald Basten | John McLeay | Ted Farrell | |
| Grey | Labor | Edgar Russell | Arthur Dodgson | Richard Mills | |
| Hindmarsh | Labor | Clyde Cameron | Karl-Juergen Liebetrau | Cyril Holasek | |
| Kingston | Labor | Pat Galvin | John McCoy | Brian Crowe | |
| Port Adelaide | Labor | Albert Thompson | Kimball Kelly | George Basisovs | Peter Symon (CPA) |
| Sturt | Liberal | Arthur Penn | Keith Wilson | Walter Doran | |
| Wakefield | Liberal | Collin Wood | Bert Kelly | John McMahon | |

### Tasmania

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate | DLP candidate |
| Bass | Labor | Lance Barnard | Fred Marriott | Francis Boland |
| Braddon | Labor | Ron Davies | William Young | Frances Lane |
| Denison | Liberal | Eric Howroyd | Athol Townley | Harold Senior |
| Franklin | Liberal | William Wilkinson | Bill Falkinder | St Clair Courtney |
| Wilmot | Labor | Gil Duthie | Royston Ringrose Richard Thomas | Alastair Davidson |

### Victoria

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | DLP candidate | Other candidates |
| Balaclava | Liberal | Ernst Platz | Ray Whittorn (Lib) | John Ryan | John Murray (ARP) |
| Ballaarat | Liberal | Aubrey Keane | Dudley Erwin (Lib) | Bob Joshua | |
| Batman | Labor | Alan Bird | Bruce Skeggs (Lib) | Maurice Keady | |
| Bendigo | Labor | Noel Beaton | Henry Snell (Lib) | Ronald Anderson | Milan Lorman (Ind) |
| Bruce | Liberal | Keith Ewert | Billy Snedden (Lib) | Henri de Sachau | |
| Chisholm | Liberal | Malcolm Coughlin | Sir Wilfrid Kent Hughes (Lib) | John Duffy | |
| Corangamite | Liberal | Desmond Hulme | Dan Mackinnon (Lib) | Patrick Bourke | |
| Corio | Liberal | Lindsay Romey | Hubert Opperman (Lib) | James Mahoney | |
| Darebin | Labor | Frank Courtnay | John Wyss (Lib) | Tom Andrews | |
| Deakin | Liberal | George Slater | Frank Davis (Lib) | Maurice Weston | |
| Fawkner | Liberal | Gwendolyn Noad | Peter Howson (Lib) | Richard Coyne | |
| Flinders | Liberal | Ian Cathie | Robert Lindsay (Lib) | Jack Austin | Edmund Knowles (Ind) |
| Gellibrand | Labor | Hector McIvor | Reginald Cannon (Lib) | Jan Roszkowski | Frank Johnson (CPA) |
| Gippsland | Country | William Stephenson | Peter Nixon (CP) | John Hansen | |
| Henty | Liberal | Sir George Jones | Max Fox (Lib) | Henry Moore | |
| Higgins | Liberal | Roger Kirby | Harold Holt (Lib) | Celia Laird | |
| Higinbotham | Liberal | Henry Fowler | Don Chipp (Lib) | William Cameron | |
| Indi | Country | Mervyn Huggins | Malcolm Cameron (Lib) Mac Holten* (CP) | George Taylor | |
| Isaacs | Liberal | Angus McLean | William Haworth (Lib) | John Hughes | |
| Kooyong | Liberal | Moss Cass | Robert Menzies (Lib) | Thomas Brennan | Goldie Collins (Ind) Bill Tregear (CPA) |
| Lalor | Labor | Reg Pollard | Peter Kemp (Lib) | John Donnellon | Kenneth Agius (CCP) |
| La Trobe | Liberal | Don Pritchard | John Jess (Lib) | John Hoare | Bernard Rees (CCP) |
| Mallee | Country | Murray Homes | Winton Turnbull (CP) | Michael Howley | |
| Maribyrnong | Liberal | Neil Armour | Philip Stokes (Lib) | Paul Gunn | Norman McClure (CCP) |
| McMillan | Liberal | James Longstaff | Alex Buchanan* (Lib) Francis Hawtin (CP) | Les Hilton | Patrick Linane (ARP) |
| Melbourne | Labor | Arthur Calwell | James Moloney (Lib) | Michael Kearney | |
| Melbourne Ports | Labor | Frank Crean | Gordon Blackburne (Lib) | Albert Jones | Roger Wilson (CPA) |
| Murray | Country | Neil Frankland | John McEwen (CP) | Brian Lacey | |
| Scullin | Labor | Ted Peters | Rex Schurmann (Lib) | Barry O'Brien | |
| Wannon | Liberal | Jack Stanford | Malcolm Fraser (Lib) | Terence Callander | |
| Wills | Labor | Gordon Bryant | William Pyatt (Lib) | Bill Bryson | |
| Wimmera | Country | Thomas Windsor | Robert King* (CP) William Lawrence (Lib) | Joseph Murphy | |
| Yarra | Labor | Jim Cairns | Andrew Peacock (Lib) | Stan Keon | Geoffrey Broomhall (CCP) Ken Miller (CPA) |

### Western Australia

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | DLP candidate | Other candidates |
| Canning | Country | Charles Edwards | John Hallett (CP) Neil McNeill* (Lib) | Stanley Meredith | |
| Curtin | Liberal | George Piesley | Paul Hasluck (Lib) | Wilfred Bodeker | |
| Forrest | Liberal | Ernest Stapleton | Gordon Freeth (Lib) | | |
| Fremantle | Labor | Kim Beazley | John Waghorne (Lib) | | Joan Williams (CPA) |
| Kalgoorlie | Liberal | Fred Collard | Peter Browne (Lib) | George Jensen | Harold Illingworth (Ind) |
| Moore | Country | Wilbur Bennett | Hugh Halbert (Lib) Hugh Leslie* (CP) | John Crisafulli | |
| Perth | Liberal | Laurie Wilkinson | Fred Chaney (Lib) | Julius Re | |
| Stirling | Liberal | Harry Webb | Doug Cash (Lib) | Adrian Briffa | Jack Marks (CPA) |
| Swan | Liberal | Ted Johnson | Richard Cleaver (Lib) | Terence Merchant | |

## 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

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending one seat. The Liberal-Country Coalition was defending four seats. Senators Stan Amour (Labor), Ken Anderson (Liberal), James Arnold (Labor), Sir Alister McMullin (Liberal) and James Ormonde (Labor) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | DLP candidates | Communist candidates | Social Credit candidates | Pensioners candidates |
| Joe Fitzgerald* Lionel Murphy* Doug McClelland* | Bill Spooner* (Lib) Colin McKellar* (CP) Eileen Furley (Lib) | Jack Kane Jan Van Der Rijt Colin MacNaught | Laurie Aarons Freda Brown Les Kelton | William Ward Albert Lee Kenneth Whiteman | William Dawson Charles Johnston William Shaw |
| Republican candidates | Group C candidates | Ungrouped candidates | | | |
| John Phillips Keith Fitzgerald | Edward Spensley Arthur Ryan | Herbert Daley Ben Bernard Albert Milne | | | |

### Queensland

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal-Country Coalition was defending three seats. Senators Gordon Brown (Labor), Felix Dittmer (Labor), Roy Kendall (Liberal), Ted Maher (Country) and Ian Wood (Liberal) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | QLP candidates | Communist candidates | Group D candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
| Archie Benn* Max Poulter* Alf Arnell | Sir Walter Cooper* (CP) Dame Annabelle Rankin* (Lib) Bob Sherrington* (Lib) | Vince Gair Jack Williams Anne Wenck | Claude Jones John Nolan Pat Pastourel | Patrick Curtis Charles Stuckey | James Dwyer Damien Kennedy Lyndon Barker |

### South Australia

Six seats were up for election. One of these was a short-term vacancy caused by Liberal Senator Rex Pearson's death; this had been filled in the interim by Liberal Gordon Davidson. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending four seats. Senators Arnold Drury (Labor), Keith Laught (Liberal), Clem Ridley (Labor) and Jim Toohey (Labor) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | DLP candidates | Communist candidates |
| Theo Nicholls* Reg Bishop* Jim Cavanagh* | Ted Mattner* Clive Hannaford* Nancy Buttfield* | Francis Moran Daniel Smith Brian Nash | Alan Finger John Sendy Joseph Buchanan |

### Tasmania

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending three seats. Senators Bill Aylett (Labor), George Cole (Democratic Labor), Elliot Lillico (Liberal), John Marriott (Liberal) and Justin O'Byrne (Labor) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | DLP candidates | Communist candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
| Nick McKenna* Bob Poke* Don Devitt | Denham Henty* Reg Wright* John Orchard | Virgil Morgan John Mortimer Eleonora Tennant | Max Bound George Chenery Peter Cundall | Reg Turnbull* |

### Victoria

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. The Liberal-Country Coalition was defending one seat. The Democratic Labor Party was defending one seat. Senators John Gorton (Liberal), George Hannan (Liberal), Bert Hendrickson (Labor), Pat Kennelly (Labor) and Ivy Wedgwood (Liberal) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | DLP candidates | Communist candidates | Republican candidates | Centre candidates |
| Charles Sandford* Sam Cohen* Sam Benson | Magnus Cormack* (Lib) Harrie Wade* (CP) Marie Breen* (Lib) | Frank McManus Jack Little John Meere | Ralph Gibson Kath Williams Andy Wallace | Gerald Fitzgerald Richard Mullins | Anthony van de Loo Robert Huart Frank McCaw |
| Ungrouped candidates | | | | | |
| John Dunstan Louis Cole | | | | | |

### Western Australia

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats. The Country Party was defending one seat. Senators George Branson (Liberal), Harry Cant (Labor), Joe Cooke (Labor), Tom Drake-Brockman (Country) and Malcolm Scott (Liberal) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Country candidates | DLP candidates | Communist candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
| Dorothy Tangney* Don Willesee* Charles Edwards | Shane Paltridge* Seddon Vincent* Valerie Goode | Edgar Prowse* John Powell Clayton Mitchell | Brian Peachey Gilbert Handcock Francis Hrubos Percival Bonser | Paddy Troy Bill Latter John Gandini | Stephen Kellow Robert Salter |

## Summary by party

Beside each party is the number of seats contested 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 | * | 9 | * | 11 | * | 5 | * | 1 | 1 | 124 | 6 |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 36 | * | 30 | * | 11 | * | 9 | * | 11 | * | 6 | * | 1 | | 105 | 6 |
| Australian Country Party | 10 | * | 6 | * | 7 | * | 2 | * | | | | | | | 25 | 4 |
| Democratic Labor Party | 40 | * | 33 | * | | | 7 | * | 11 | * | 5 | * | | | 96 | 5 |
| Communist Party of Australia | 10 | * | 4 | * | 3 | * | 2 | * | 2 | * | | * | | | 21 | 6 |
| Queensland Labor Party | | | | | 18 | * | | | | | | | | | 18 | 1 |
| Commonwealth Centre Party | | | 4 | * | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | 1 |
| Australian Republican Party | 1 | * | 2 | * | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | 2 |
| Social Credit Party | | * | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Pensioner Party of Australia | | * | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Independent and other | 8 | | 3 | | 5 | | 1 | | 2 | | | | | 1 | 20 | |