Australian federal election, 1929
Encyclopedia
Federal elections were held in Australia on 12 October 1929. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives
were up for election, with no Senate
seats up for election, as a result of Billy Hughes
and other rebel backbenchers crossing the floor
over industrial relations legislation, depriving the Bruce government of a lower house majority. In the resulting election, the incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia
led by Prime Minister of Australia
Stanley Bruce
in power since 1923 with coalition
partner the Country Party
led by Earle Page
was defeated by the opposition Australian Labor Party
led by James Scullin
. Labor won with its then largest-ever majority in the federal parliament, but still held a minority of Senate seats after the house-only election.
It was the only federal election in Australia's history at which no sitting members retired. It also saw the defeat of the Prime Minister Stanley Bruce in his own seat of Flinders
; this was the first time that a serving Prime Minister has lost his own seat at an election.
Independent: William McWilliams
(Franklin
, Tas)
See Australian federal election, 1928
for Senate composition.
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
were up for election, with no Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
seats up for election, as a result of Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
and other rebel backbenchers crossing the floor
Crossing the floor
In politics, crossing the floor has two meanings referring to a change of allegiance in a Westminster system parliament.The term originates from the British House of Commons, which is configured with the Government and Opposition facing each other on rows of benches...
over industrial relations legislation, depriving the Bruce government of a lower house majority. In the resulting election, the incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
led by Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Stanley Bruce
Stanley Bruce
Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC , was an Australian politician and diplomat, and the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the second Australian granted an hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, but the first whose peerage was formally created...
in power since 1923 with coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
partner the Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
led by Earle Page
Earle Page
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, GCMG, CH was the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, and is to date the second-longest serving federal parliamentarian in Australian history, with 41 years, 361 days in Parliament.-Early life:...
was defeated by the opposition Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
led by James Scullin
James Scullin
James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
. Labor won with its then largest-ever majority in the federal parliament, but still held a minority of Senate seats after the house-only election.
It was the only federal election in Australia's history at which no sitting members retired. It also saw the defeat of the Prime Minister Stanley Bruce in his own seat of Flinders
Division of Flinders
The Division of Flinders is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election...
; this was the first time that a serving Prime Minister has lost his own seat at an election.
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | ||
| Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
1,406,327 | 48.84 | +4.20 | 46 | +15 | (6 elected unopposed) |
|
| Nationalist Party of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime... |
975,979 | 33.90 | −5.20 | 14 | −15 | ||
| Country Party | 295,640 | 10.27 | −0.20 | 10 | −3 | (3 elected unopposed) |
|
| Independent Nationalist Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
112,108 | 3.89 | * | 3 | +3 | ||
| Country Progressive Party Country Progressive Party The Country Progressive Party was a splinter group from the Victorian branch of the Australian Country Party active in the late 1920s. It was formed by federal MP Percy Stewart and future Victorian Premier Albert Dunstan. It was formed in protest over protection of sitting members and state... |
27,942 | 0.97 | −0.64 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
61,254 | 2.13 | −2.06 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 2,879,250 | 75 | |||||
| Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
WIN | 46 | +15 | ||||
| Nationalist/Country coalition Coalition (Australia) The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922... |
24 | −18 |
Independent: William McWilliams
William McWilliams
William James McWilliams was the inaugural leader of the Country Party of Australia.Born in Bream Creek, near Sorell, Tasmania, the son of Irish immigrants who ran the local school. Originally trained as a teacher, McWilliams became a journalist in 1877, rising to editor of the Launceston...
(Franklin
Division of Franklin
The Division of Franklin is an Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania. The division was created in 1903 and is named for Sir John Franklin, the polar explorer who was Lt Governor of Van Diemen's Land 1843-46. It is located in southern Tasmania, including the Hobart suburbs of Bridgewater,...
, Tas)
See Australian federal election, 1928
Australian federal election, 1928
Federal elections were held in Australia on 17 November 1928. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
for Senate composition.
Seats changing hands
| Seat | Pre-1929 | Swing | Post-1929 | ||||||
| Party | Member | Margin | Margin | Member | Party | ||||
| Angas, SA Division of Angas (1903-34) The Division of Angas was an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. The division was created in 1903 and abolished in 1934. It was named for George Fife Angas, a South Australian pioneer, and was based in rural areas including Angaston, Eudunda, Gawler and Kapunda... |
Nationalist | Walter Parsons Walter Parsons (Australian politician) Walter Langdon Parsons was an Australian politician. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, he was educated at Whieham College before becoming a shopkeeper and citrus grower in Gladstone. A member of Gladstone Council, he served in the military in 1918... |
9.4 | 14.1 | 4.7 | Moses Gabb Moses Gabb Joel Moses Gabb was an Australian politician. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, he was educated there at Prince Alfred College before becoming a church worker and greengrocer. In 1919, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Angas, defeating long-serving... |
Labor | ||
| Bass, Tas Division of Bass The Division of Bass is an Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania. The division was created in 1903 and is named for the explorer George Bass. It has always been based on the city of Launceston and surrounding rural areas, and its boundaries have changed very little in the century since its... |
Nationalist | David Jackson David Jackson (Australian politician) David Sydney Jackson was an Australian politician. Born in Launceston, Tasmania, he was educated at state schools before becoming a manufacturing locksmith. He also served as President of the Tasmanian Chamber of Manufacturers... |
3.1 | 13.5 | 10.4 | Allan Guy Allan Guy James Allan Guy, CBE was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in both the Tasmanian House of Assembly and the Federal House of Representatives, before leaving to represent the United Australia Party and then the Liberal Party of Australia in both the House of... |
Labor | ||
| Bendigo, Vic Division of Bendigo The Division of Bendigo is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the city of Bendigo... |
Nationalist | Geoffry Hurry Geoffry Hurry Geoffry Hurry was an Australian politician. Born in Kyneton, Victoria, he attended Melbourne Grammar School before becoming a solicitor. He served on Kyneton Shire Council before undergoing military service from 1915 to 1920... |
3.1 | 8.2 | 5.1 | Richard Keane Richard Keane Richard Valentine Keane was an Australian politician.Keane was born in Beechworth, Victoria and, after his police constable father was transferred to Melbourne, was educated at Christian Brothers College, St Kilda. When he was 16 he took a position as a clerk in the Victorian Railways... |
Labor | ||
| Calare, NSW Division of Calare The Division of Calare is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was first contested at the 1906 election and is named for the local Aboriginal name for the Lachlan River, which runs through the western part of the division... |
Nationalist | Neville Howse Neville Howse Major General Sir Neville Reginald Howse VC, KCB, KCMG, KStJ was a British-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces... |
10.7 | 12.3 | 1.6 | George Gibbons George Gibbons George Albert Gibbons was an Australian politician. Born in Tichborne, New South Wales, he received a primary education before becoming a farm labourer and then a farmer. He was secretary of the Rural Workers Union, and later an organiser of the Australian Workers' Union... |
Labor | ||
| Corangamite, Vic Division of Corangamite The Division of Corangamite is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election... |
Country | William Gibson | 3.0 | 5.1 | 2.1 | Richard Crouch Richard Crouch Richard Armstrong Crouch was an Australian politician.Crouch was born on at Ballarat East, Victoria, son of George Crouch, miner, storekeeper and later a wealthy boot-retailer from Tottenham, London, and his wife Selina Durham, née Marks, from Aberdeen, Scotland.Crouch was elected to Federal... |
Labor | ||
| Corio, Vic Division of Corio The Division of Corio is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for Corio Bay. It has always been based on the city of Geelong, although in the past it has also included parts of the western... |
Nationalist | John Lister John Lister (Australian politician) John Henry Lister was an Australian politician. Born in Lincolnshire, England, he was educated there at Wesley School. Having migrated to Australia in 1889, he farmed at Wutul, South Australia, before serving in the military 1914-16... |
8.5 | 14.5 | 6.0 | Arthur Lewis Arthur Lewis (Australian politician) Arthur Lewis was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he received no formal education and was raised in an orphanage. He became a farm labourer and was a member of the Secretary Carters and Drivers Union. In 1929, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor... |
Labor | ||
| Eden-Monaro, NSW Division of Eden-Monaro The Division of Eden-Monaro is anAustralian Electoral Division in New South Wales.The division was created in 1900, and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the town of Eden and the Monaro district of southern New South Wales... |
Nationalist | John Perkins John Perkins (Australian politician) John Arthur Perkins was an Australian politician and journalist.Perkins was born at Gocup near Tumut, New South Wales and educated at public schools in Tumut and Cooma. He was a member of the Cooma Municipal Council from 1902 to 1909 and mayor in 1904 and 1908... |
7.6 | 7.7 | 0.1 | John Cusack John Cusack (Australian politician) John Joseph Cusack was an Australian politician, coachbuilder and garage proprietor.-Early life:Cusack was born at Bellevale near Yass, New South Wales and had some schooling in Yass. He was apprenticed at 15 to a blacksmith at Berrima... |
Labor | ||
| Fawkner, Vic Division of Fawkner The Division of Fawkner was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1906 , and was abolished itself in 1969. It was named for John Pascoe Fawkner, one of the founders of Melbourne. It was located in the inner southern suburbs of Melbourne, including at various... |
Nationalist | George Maxwell George Maxwell (Australian politician) George Arnot Maxwell was a barrister and Australian politician.Maxwell was born in Montrose, Forfarshire, Scotland and educated in Fife. He migrated to Australia with his family in 1875. He worked briefly as a jackeroo and then completed his matriculation in Melbourne... |
N/A | 23.1 | 11.4 | George Maxwell George Maxwell (Australian politician) George Arnot Maxwell was a barrister and Australian politician.Maxwell was born in Montrose, Forfarshire, Scotland and educated in Fife. He migrated to Australia with his family in 1875. He worked briefly as a jackeroo and then completed his matriculation in Melbourne... |
Independent Nationalist | ||
| Flinders, Vic Division of Flinders The Division of Flinders is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election... |
Nationalist | Stanley Bruce Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC , was an Australian politician and diplomat, and the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the second Australian granted an hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, but the first whose peerage was formally created... |
10.7 | 10.9 | 0.2 | Jack Holloway | Labor | ||
| Gwydir, NSW Division of Gwydir The Division of Gwydir was an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election... |
Country | Aubrey Abbott Aubrey Abbott Charles Lydiard Aubrey Abbott was an Australian politician and administrator of the Northern Territory. He was born at St Leonards, Sydney, to Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, a magistrate, and Marion, née Lydiard... |
2.3 | 6.0 | 3.7 | Lou Cunningham Lou Cunningham Lucien Lawrence "Lou" Cunningham was an Australian farmer and politician. He was born at Inverell, New South Wales, to a farmer, Eugene Cunningham, and his wife Mary, née Edgeworth, both born in Ireland... |
Labor | ||
| Kennedy, Qld Division of Kennedy The Division of Kennedy is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. The division is notable for its size, relative to other electoral divisions... |
Nationalist | Grosvenor Francis Grosvenor Francis Grosvenor Arundell Francis was an Australian politician. He was the Nationalist Party member for the House of Representatives seat of Kennedy from the 1925 election until his defeat by Darby Riordan at the 1929 election.... |
2.4 | 5.5 | 3.1 | Darby Riordan Darby Riordan David "Darby" Riordan was an Australian politician. He was the Australian Labor Party member for the House of Representatives seat of Kennedy from his defeat of Grosvenor Francis at the 1929 election until his death. He was succeeded by his nephew, Bill Riordan... |
Labor | ||
| Martin, NSW Division of Martin The Division of Martin was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was located in the inner western suburbs of Sydney, and initially included the suburbs of Concord and Mortlake, although by the time it was abolished in 1955, it had moved to cover Abbotsford, Balmain... |
Nationalist | Frederick Pratten Frederick Pratten Frederick Graham Pratten was an Australian politician. Born in Sydney, he attended North Sydney Grammar School and the University of Sydney, and served in World War I 1917-18. He then became the managing director of the family companies... |
6.9 | 13.3 | 6.4 | John Eldridge John Eldridge John Eldridge , Australian politician, was the Member for the Division of Martin in the Australian House of Representatives from 12 October 1929 to 19 December 1931.... |
Labor | ||
| North Sydney, NSW Division of North Sydney The Division of North Sydney is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division is named after the North Sydney area where it is located. It was proclaimed in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election... |
Nationalist | Billy Hughes Billy Hughes William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923.... |
N/A | 32.3 | 16.1 | Billy Hughes Billy Hughes William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923.... |
Independent Nationalist | ||
| Parkes, NSW Division of Parkes (1901-69) The Division of Parkes was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was located in the south-west of Sydney, and originally included the suburbs of Canterbury, Burwood and Ashfield... |
Nationalist | Charles Marr | 7.4 | 15.2 | 7.8 | Edward McTiernan Edward McTiernan Sir Edward Aloysius McTiernan, KBE , was an Australian jurist, lawyer and politician. He served as an Australian Labor Party member of both the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and federal House of Representatives before being appointed to the High Court of Australia in 1930... |
Labor | ||
| Parramatta, NSW Division of Parramatta The Division of Parramatta is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the locality of Parramatta. The name Parramatta has been sourced to an Aboriginal... |
Nationalist | Eric Bowden Eric Bowden Eric Kendall Bowden was an Australian solicitor and politician.-Early life:The second son of John and Sarah Bowden, he was born in Parramatta, New South Wales, where his family had resided for four generations... |
10.1 | 13.4 | 3.3 | Albert Rowe Albert Rowe Albert Edward Rowe was an Australian politician. He won the seat of Parramatta for the Australian Labor Party in 1929, but was defeated by Frederick Stewart in 1931.-References:... |
Labor | ||
| Wakefield, SA Division of Wakefield The Division of Wakefield is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of South Australia. It is located north of Adelaide, incorporating the outer northern suburbs of Salisbury and Elizabeth, and extending north as far as Clare. It covers the east coast of the Gulf St Vincent north of... |
Country | Maurice Collins Maurice Collins Maurice Collins was an Australian politician. Born in Mount Bryan, South Australia, he was educated in that state before becoming a grazier, landowner and sheep breeder. He was involved in local politics, sitting on Terowie Shire Council and Burra Council... |
9.6 | 16.5 | 6.9 | Charles Hawker Charles Hawker Charles Allan Seymour Hawker was an Australian politician.Hawker was born near Clare, South Australia and educated at Geelong Grammar School, Hawker and Trinity College, Cambridge, earning Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in 1919 and 1922 respectively. While at Cambridge he enlisted in the... |
Nationalist | ||
| Wannon, Vic Division of Wannon The Division of Wannon is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the south-west of the state, and encompasses most of the Western Region of the state. It adjoins the South Australian border in the west, and the Bass Strait coast in the south. The Division... |
Nationalist | Arthur Rodgers Arthur Rodgers Arthur Stanislaus Rodgers was an Australian politician.Rodgers was born in Geelong, Victoria and educated at Xavier College, Melbourne in 1889 and 1890. He took up farming in 1894 near Horsham and later also worked part in a stock and station agency... |
2.8 | 4.8 | 2.0 | John McNeill | Labor | ||
| Wentworth, NSW Division of Wentworth The Division of Wentworth is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was proclaimed in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. The Division is named after William Charles Wentworth , a noted Australian explorer and statesman... |
Nationalist | Walter Marks Walter Marks Walter Moffitt Marks was an Australian lawyer, yachtsman and politician.Marks was born in Culwulla House, Jamberoo, New South Wales and educated at Sydney Grammar School. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1902. In September 1901 he married Florence Sandford... |
11.5 | 19.8 | 8.3 | Walter Marks Walter Marks Walter Moffitt Marks was an Australian lawyer, yachtsman and politician.Marks was born in Culwulla House, Jamberoo, New South Wales and educated at Sydney Grammar School. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1902. In September 1901 he married Florence Sandford... |
Independent Nationalist | ||
| Wilmot, Tas Division of Wilmot The Division of Wilmot was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Tasmania. It was located in central Tasmania, and was named after Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, the sixth Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania... |
Nationalist | Llewellyn Atkinson | 4.6 | N/A | 2.9 | Joseph Lyons Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931... |
Labor | ||
See also
- Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1929Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1929This article provides information on candidates who stood for the 1929 Australian federal election. The election was held on 12 October 1929. There was no election for the Senate.-By-elections and appointments:...
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1929-1931