# Candidates of the 1955 Australian federal election

This article provides information on candidates who stood for the 1955 Australian federal election. The election was held on 10 December 1955.

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

* On 21 May 1955, Jim Cope (Labor) was elected to replace Tom Sheehan (Labor) as the member for Cook.
* On 11 October 1955, Nancy Buttfield (Liberal) was appointed a South Australian Senator to replace George McLeay (Liberal).

### Defections

* In 1955, the Australian Labor Party split, with the right-wing Catholic faction forming the Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist). This latter group included Victorian Labor MPs Tom Andrews (Darebin), Bill Bourke (Fawkner), Bill Bryson (Wills), Jack Cremean (Hoddle), Bob Joshua (Ballaarat), Stan Keon (Yarra) and Jack Mullens (Gellibrand), together with Tasmanian Labor Senator George Cole.
* In 1955, Liberal Senator Agnes Robertson (Western Australia) lost preselection and defected to the Country Party.

## Redistributions and seat changes

* Redistributions of electoral boundaries occurred in all states.
** In New South Wales, the Labor-held seats of Cook and Martin were abolished, and the notionally Labor seat of Hughes was created. The Country-held seat of Lawson became notionally Labor.
*** The member for Cook, Jim Cope (Labor), contested Watson.
*** The member for Martin, William O'Connor (Labor), contested Dalley.
*** The member for Watson, Dan Curtin (Labor), contested Kingsford-Smith.
** In Victoria, the Labor-held seats of Burke and Hoddle were abolished, and the notionally Liberal seat of Bruce and the notionally Labor seat of Scullin were created. The Liberal-held seat of Corio became notionally Labor, while the Labor-held seats of Fawkner and Wannon became notionally Liberal.
*** The member for Burke, Edward Peters (Labor), contested Scullin.
*** The member for Gellibrand, Jack Mullens (Anti-Communist), contested Melbourne.
*** The member for Hoddle, Jack Cremean (Anti-Communist), contested Scullin.
** The changes in Queensland did not result in any changes of party status.
** In Western Australia, the notionally Labor seat of Stirling was created. The Labor-held seat of Swan became notionally Liberal.
*** The member for Swan, Harry Webb (Labor), contested Stirling.
** In South Australia, the notionally Labor seat of Bonython was created. The Labor-held seat of Sturt became notionally Liberal.
*** The member for Sturt, Norman Makin (Labor), contested Bonython.
** In Tasmania, the Liberal-held seat of Darwin was renamed Braddon.
*** The member for Darwin, Aubrey Luck (Liberal), contested Braddon.

## Retiring Members and Senators
### Labor

* Gordon Anderson MP (Kingsford-Smith, NSW)
* Arthur Greenup MP (Dalley, NSW)
* Don McLeod MP (Wannon, Vic)

### Liberal

* Josiah Francis MP (Moreton, Qld)
* Jo Gullett MP (Henty, Vic)

### Country

* Senator George Rankin (Vic)

## 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 | Robert Greenish |

### New South Wales

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
| Banks | Labor | Eric Costa | Harold Stalker (Lib) | Pat Clancy (CPA) |
| Barton | Labor | H. V. Evatt | Bill Arthur (Lib) | Eric Trembath (Ind) |
| Bennelong | Liberal | Harold Coates | John Cramer (Lib) | |
| Blaxland | Labor | Jim Harrison | Reginald Allsop (Lib) | |
| Bradfield | Liberal | | Harry Turner (Lib) | |
| Calare | Liberal | Lionel Wood | John Howse (Lib) | |
| Cowper | Country | | Sir Earle Page (CP) | |
| Cunningham | Labor | Billy Davies | John Parkinson (Lib) | William Harkness (CPA) |
| Dalley | Labor | William O'Connor | Stanley Tyler (Lib) | Ernie Thornton (CPA) |
| Darling | Labor | Joe Clark | Ewen Martin (CP) | |
| East Sydney | Labor | Eddie Ward | Joseph Landor (Lib) | Bill Brown (CPA) |
| Eden-Monaro | Labor | Allan Fraser | Mark Flanagan (Lib) | Royce Beavis (Ind) |
| Evans | Liberal | Sidney Pollard | Frederick Osborne (Lib) | |
| Farrer | Liberal | Robert Garland | David Fairbairn (Lib) | |
| Grayndler | Labor | Fred Daly | Ian Chisholm (Lib) | Hal Alexander (CPA) William McCristal (Ind) |
| Gwydir | Country | Austin Heffernan | Ian Allan (CP) | |
| Hughes | Labor | Les Johnson | Keith Bates (Lib) | Robert Mackie (Ind) Alf Watt (CPA) |
| Hume | Labor | Arthur Fuller | Charles Anderson (CP) | |
| Hunter | Labor | Rowley James | Edward Farrell (Lib) | Evan Phillips (CPA) |
| Kingsford-Smith | Labor | Dan Curtin | John McGirr (Lib) | Hubert O'Connell (Ind) |
| Lang | Labor | Frank Stewart | Wallace Peacock (Lib) | |
| Lawson | Labor | Jack Williamson | Laurie Failes (CP) | |
| Lowe | Liberal | Edward Davies | William McMahon (Lib) | |
| Lyne | Country | Jack Collins | Philip Lucock (CP) | Joe Cordner (Ind) |
| Macarthur | Liberal | Claude Allen | Jeff Bate (Lib) | |
| Mackellar | Liberal | Norman McAlpine | Bill Wentworth (Lib) | Frank Hardy (CPA) |
| Macquarie | Labor | Tony Luchetti | Norman Leven (Lib) | Vernon Moffitt (CPA) |
| Mitchell | Liberal | Doug Bowd | Roy Wheeler (Lib) | |
| New England | Country | Frederick Cowley | David Drummond (CP) | |
| Newcastle | Labor | David Watkins | Eric Cupit (Lib) | Sidney Monroe (Ind) Doug Olive (CPA) |
| North Sydney | Liberal | Joseph McNally | William Jack (Lib) | |
| Parkes | Labor | Les Haylen | John Spicer (Lib) | |
| Parramatta | Liberal | John Heazlewood | Howard Beale (Lib) | |
| Paterson | Liberal | William Harvey | Allen Fairhall (Lib) | |
| Phillip | Labor | Joe Fitzgerald | William Aston (Lib) | |
| Reid | Labor | Charles Morgan | George Walker (Lib) | Jack Hughes (CPA) Charles Tubman (Ind) |
| Richmond | Country | | Larry Anthony (CP) | |
| Riverina | Country | Oscar Washington | Hugh Roberton (CP) | |
| Robertson | Liberal | Frank Spencer | Roger Dean (Lib) | |
| St George | Labor | Nelson Lemmon | Bill Graham (Lib) | |
| Shortland | Labor | Charles Griffiths | Gordon Greig (Lib) | |
| Warringah | Liberal | | Francis Bland (Lib) | |
| Watson | Labor | Jim Cope | Jill Huxtable (Lib) | Harry Hatfield (CPA) |
| Wentworth | Liberal | | Sir Eric Harrison (Lib) | Hal Lashwood (Ind) |
| Werriwa | Labor | Gough Whitlam | John Shannon (Lib) | |
| West Sydney | Labor | Dan Minogue | Frank Weaver (Lib) | Lance Sharkey (CPA) |

### Northern Territory

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate |
| Northern Territory | Labor | Jock Nelson |

### Queensland

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
| Bowman | Liberal | Hector Chalmers | Malcolm McColm (Lib) | |
| Brisbane | Labor | George Lawson | Kevin Cairns (Lib) | Claude Jones (CPA) |
| Capricornia | Liberal | Colin Maxwell | George Pearce (Lib) | Eric Browne (CPA) |
| Darling Downs | Liberal | | Reginald Swartz (Lib) | |
| Dawson | Country | Stanley Dalton | Charles Davidson (CP) | |
| Fisher | Country | | Charles Adermann (CP) | |
| Griffith | Labor | Wilfred Coutts | Doug Berry (Lib) | |
| Herbert | Labor | Bill Edmonds | Arnold White (CP) | Frank Bishop (CPA) |
| Kennedy | Labor | Bill Riordan | Timothy Donnelly (CP) | |
| Leichhardt | Labor | Harry Bruce | Tom Gilmore (CP) | Frank Falls (CPA) |
| Lilley | Liberal | Jack Melloy | Bruce Wight (Lib) | |
| Maranoa | Country | | Wilfred Brimblecombe (CP) | Paul Bauers (Ind) Charles Russell (Ind) |
| McPherson | Country | David Clarke | Sir Arthur Fadden (CP) | Thomas Green (Ind) |
| Moreton | Liberal | Allen Edwards | James Killen (Lib) | Max Julius (CPA) |
| Oxley | Liberal | Norman Thomas | Donald Cameron (Lib) | James Dwyer (Ind) Mervyn Welsby (CPA) |
| Petrie | Liberal | Noel Curran | Alan Hulme (Lib) | |
| Ryan | Liberal | Norman Buchan | Nigel Drury (Lib) | |
| Wide Bay | Country | Matthew Tallon | William Brand (CP) | |

### South Australia

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate | Other candidates |
| Adelaide | Labor | Cyril Chambers | James Maitland | Olaf Alland (ALPAC) Jim Moss (CPA) |
| Angas | Liberal | Darcy Nielsen | Alick Downer | Frank Rieck (Ind) |
| Barker | Liberal | Ralph Dettman | Archie Cameron | |
| Bonython | Labor | Norman Makin | John Mathwin | |
| Boothby | Liberal | Rex Mathews | John McLeay | John Sutherland (ALPAC) |
| Grey | Labor | Edgar Russell | George Bockelberg | |
| Hindmarsh | Labor | Clyde Cameron | Frank Potter | Francis Moran (ALPAC) |
| Kingston | Labor | Pat Galvin | Jim Forbes | |
| Port Adelaide | Labor | Albert Thompson | | Peter Symon (CPA) |
| Sturt | Liberal | Frederick Hansford | Keith Wilson | |
| Wakefield | Liberal | Robert Bruce | Sir Philip McBride | Hector Henstridge (Ind) |

### Tasmania

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate | Other candidates |
| Bass | Labor | Lance Barnard | Frederick White | Leslie Duke (ALPAC) |
| Braddon | Liberal | Reg Murray | Aubrey Luck | |
| Denison | Liberal | Brian Miller | Athol Townley | Max Bound (CPA) |
| Franklin | Liberal | Brian Crawford | Bill Falkinder | Henry Roberts (ALPAC) |
| Wilmot | Labor | Gil Duthie | Robert Bethell | Owen Doherty (ALPAC) |

### Victoria

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Anti-Communist candidate | Communist candidate |
| Balaclava | Liberal | George Smith | Percy Joske (Lib) | Rex Keane | |
| Ballaarat | Labor | Austin Dowling | Dudley Erwin (Lib) | Bob Joshua | |
| Batman | Labor | Alan Bird | Fred Capp (Lib) | Tom Walsh | |
| Bendigo | Labor | Percy Clarey | Bill Day (Lib) | Jim Brosnan | |
| Bruce | Liberal | Keith Ewert | Billy Snedden (Lib) | Reginald Kearney | |
| Chisholm | Liberal | John Stewart | Wilfrid Kent Hughes (Lib) | Leonora Lloyd | |
| Corangamite | Liberal | Edwin Morris | Dan Mackinnon (Lib) | Leo O'Brien | |
| Corio | Labor | Charles Loader | Hubert Opperman (Lib) | Francis Singleton | |
| Darebin | Labor | Robert Holt | Charles White (Lib) | Tom Andrews | |
| Deakin | Liberal | Norm Griffiths | Frank Davis (Lib) | Terence Collins | |
| Fawkner | Labor | Patrick Thompson | Peter Howson (Lib) | Bill Bourke | |
| Flinders | Liberal | Francis Cranston | Robert Lindsay (Lib) | Jack Austin | |
| Gellibrand | Labor | Hector McIvor | John Bown (Lib) | James Eudey | Frank Johnson |
| Gippsland | Country | Clement Little | George Bowden (CP) | Frank Burns | |
| Henty | Liberal | Percy Treyvaud | Max Fox (Lib) | Henry Moore | |
| Higgins | Liberal | Andrew Hughes | Harold Holt (Lib) | John Fitzgerald | |
| Higinbotham | Liberal | Les Coates | Frank Timson (Lib) | Frank Gaffy | |
| Indi | Liberal | Carl Reeves | William Bostock (Lib) | William Findlay | |
| Isaacs | Liberal | Barry Jones | William Haworth (Lib) | John Hughes | |
| Kooyong | Liberal | Dolph Eddy | Robert Menzies (Lib) | Kevin Gregson | Gerry O'Day |
| La Trobe | Liberal | Bill Webber | Richard Casey (Lib) | George Noone | |
| Lalor | Labor | Reg Pollard | Peter Kemp (Lib) | William Lloyd | |
| Mallee | Country | William Nicholas | Winton Turnbull (CP) | Edwin Leyden | |
| Maribyrnong | Labor | Arthur Drakeford | Philip Stokes (Lib) | David Purcell | |
| McMillan | Liberal | Horace Hawkins | Alex Buchanan (Lib) | Desmond Devlin | |
| Melbourne | Labor | Arthur Calwell | James Moloney (Lib) | Jack Mullens | |
| Melbourne Ports | Labor | Frank Crean | Harold Sher (Lib) | Stan Corrigan | Alex Dobbin |
| Murray | Country | James Cameron | John McEwen (CP) | Michael Reilly | |
| Scullin | Labor | Ted Peters | Phillip Lynch (Lib) | Jack Cremean | |
| Wannon | Liberal | Roy Cundy | Malcolm Fraser (Lib) | Terence Callander | |
| Wills | Labor | Gordon Bryant | Alfred Wall (Lib) | Bill Bryson | |
| Wimmera | Liberal | Winston Lamb | William Lawrence (Lib) | Bernard Flanagan | |
| Yarra | Labor | Jim Cairns | James Wilkie (Lib) | Stan Keon | Ken Miller |

### Western Australia

| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
| Canning | Country | | Len Hamilton (CP) | |
| Curtin | Liberal | | Paul Hasluck (Lib) | |
| Forrest | Liberal | | Gordon Freeth (Lib) | |
| Fremantle | Labor | Kim Beazley | Vernon Hubbard (Lib) | Paddy Troy (CPA) |
| Kalgoorlie | Labor | Herbert Johnson | | Harold Illingworth (Ind) |
| Moore | Country | | Hugh Leslie (CP) | |
| Perth | Labor | Tom Burke | Fred Chaney (Lib) | |
| Stirling | Labor | Harry Webb | Frederick Payne (Lib) | |
| Swan | Liberal | Thomas Williams | Richard Cleaver (Lib) | |

## 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 two seats. The Liberal-Country Coalition was defending three seats. Senators Stan Amour (Labor), Ken Anderson (Liberal), James Arnold (Labor), Donald Grant (Labor) and Alister McMullin (Liberal) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Communist candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
| Bill Ashley* John Armstrong* Lindsay North | Bill Spooner* (Lib) Albert Reid* (CP) John McCallum* (Lib) | Jim Healy Cecil Connors Flo Davis | Donald Skelton Stanley Allen Harry Sawkins Wal Campbell Vincent Scott |

### 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), Condon Byrne (Labor), Roy Kendall (Liberal), Ted Maher (Country) and Ian Wood (Liberal) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Communist candidates |
| Archie Benn* Ben Courtice* Edward Ashmore | Walter Cooper* (CP) Neil O'Sullivan* (Lib) Annabelle Rankin* (Lib) | Tom Millar Warren Bowden Albert Robinson |

### South Australia

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending three seats. Senators Jack Critchley (Labor), Keith Laught (Liberal), Rex Pearson (Liberal), John Ryan (Labor) and Jim Toohey (Labor) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Anti-Communist candidates | Communist candidates |
| Sid O'Flaherty* Theo Nicholls* Joe Sexton | Ted Mattner* Clive Hannaford* Nancy Buttfield* | Francis Boylan Daniel Smith Norman Vowles | Alan Finger Edward Robertson James Doyle |

### Tasmania

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending one seat. The Liberal Party was defending four seats. Senators Bill Aylett (Labor), George Cole (Labor), John Marriott (Liberal), Justin O'Byrne (Labor) and Robert Wordsworth (Liberal) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Anti-Communist candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
| Nick McKenna* Bob Poke* Bert Lacey | Denham Henty* Reg Wright* Allan Guy Arthur Smith Robert Wardlaw* | Virgil Morgan Edward Vickers Lawrence O'Keeffe | Bill Wedd |

### Victoria

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. The Liberal-Country Coalition was defending two seats. Senators Jack Devlin (Labor), John Gorton (Liberal), Bert Hendrickson (Labor), Pat Kennelly (Labor) and Ivy Wedgwood (Liberal) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Anti-Communist candidates | Communist candidates | HGJP candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
| Don Cameron* Jim Sheehan* Charles Sandford | John Spicer* (Lib) Harrie Wade* (CP) Magnus Cormack (Lib) | Frank McManus* John Cameron Thomas Carter | Ralph Gibson Laurence Troy Agnes Doig | Leslie Bawden William Pitt | John Dunstan |

### Western Australia

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending three seats (although Senator Agnes Robertson had defected to the Country Party). Senators Joe Cooke (Labor), James Fraser (Labor), John Harris (Labor), Malcolm Scott (Liberal) and Harrie Seward (Country) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Country candidates | Anti-Communist candidates | Communist candidates |
| Dorothy Tangney* Don Willesee* Charlie Golding | Shane Paltridge* Seddon Vincent* George Branson | Agnes Robertson* Reginald Davies | Ian Handcock Olive Anstey | John Gandini Annette Aarons Jack Marks |
| PEP candidates | Ungrouped candidates | | | |
| Claude Swaine Robert Salter | Carlyle Ferguson (APA) | | | |

## 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 | 42 | * | 33 | * | 15 | * | 5 | * | 11 | * | 5 | * | 1 | 1 | 113 | 6 |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 38 | * | 30 | * | 10 | * | 6 | * | 10 | * | 5 | * | 1 | | 100 | 6 |
| Australian Country Party | 9 | * | 3 | * | 8 | * | 2 | * | | | | | | | 22 | 4 |
| Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) | | | 33 | * | | | | * | 3 | * | 3 | * | | | 39 | 4 |
| Communist Party of Australia | 14 | * | 4 | * | 6 | * | 1 | * | 2 | * | 1 | | | | 28 | 5 |
| Henry George Justice Party | | | | * | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Progress Enterprise Party | | | | | | | | * | | | | | | | | 1 |
| All Parties Administration | | | | | | | | * | | | | | | | | 1 |
| Independent and other | 8 | | | | 1 | | 1 | | 2 | | | | | | 12 | |