Candidates of the 1955 Australian federal election
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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.
- 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.
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
Northern Territory
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Territory | Labor | Jock Nelson |
Queensland
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Donald Skelton |
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| |
| PEP candidates | Ungrouped candidates | |||
|
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 | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||||||||