1928 Australian Senate election

1928 Australian Senate election

←  1925 17 November 1928 1931 →
19 of the 36 seats in the Senate 19 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader George Pearce Ted Needham Party Nationalist/Country coalition Labor Leader's seat Western Australia Western Australia Seats before 28 8 Seats won 12 7 Seats after 29 7 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 1,466,323 1,422,418 Percentage 50.46 48.95 Swing 4.35 3.93

The 1928 Australian Senate election was held on 17 November 1928 to elect 19 of the 36 senators in the Australian Senate as part of the 1928 federal election. Each state elected three senators to serve a six-year term beginning on 1 July 1929, except for Queensland, who elected an extra senator to fill a casual vacancy. ^[1]

The Nationalist–Country Coalition won 12 of the 19 contested seats. This increased the Coalition's seat total to 29. Meanwhile, Labor retained 7 out of their 8 contested seats, decreasing their total by one.

Australia

1928 Australian federal election: Senate, National ^{[1] [2]}

Party			Votes	%	±	Seats
						Seats won	Not up	New total	Seat change
		Nationalist	1,141,405	39.28	−6.07	10	14	24
		Country	324,918	11.18	+1.73	2	3	5	1
	Nationalist/Country Coalition		1,466,323	50.46	–4.35	12	17	29	1
	Labor		1,422,418	48.95	+3.93	7	0	7	1
	Independents		17,092	0.59	+0.42	0	0	0
Total			2,905,833	100.00	–	19	17	36	–
Invalid/blank votes			318,667	9.88	+2.92	–	–	–	–
Turnout			3,224,500	93.61	+2.30	–	–	–	–
Registered voters			3,444,766	–	–	–	–	–	–

New South Wales

1928 Australian federal election: Senate, New South Wales [2] [3] [4] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Labor 1. John Dooley (elected 1) 2. James Dunn (elected 2) 3. Arthur Rae (elected 3) 604,272 53.23 +6.68 Nationalist/Country Coalition 1. Richard Orchard (Nat) 2. Percy Abbott (CP) (defeated) 3. Josiah Thomas (Nat) (defeated) 530,926 46.77 −6.68 Total formal votes 1,135,198 91.19 −2.38 Informal votes 109,720 8.81 +2.38 Turnout 1,244,918 93.21 +2.90

# Senator Party 1 John Dooley   Labor 2 James Dunn   Labor 3 Arthur Rae   Labor

Victoria

1928 Australian federal election: Senate, Victoria [2] [5] [6] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Nationalist/Country Coalition 1. Harry Lawson (Nat) (elected 2) 2. Robert Elliott (CP) (elected 3) 430,935 50.22 −4.30 Labor 1. John Barnes (re-elected 1) 2. Edward Findley (defeated) 3. Albert Blakey 427,079 49.78 +4.30 Total formal votes 858,014 89.99 −2.38 Informal votes 95,463 10.01 +2.38 Turnout 953,477 94.74 +1.76

# Senator Party 1 John Barnes   Labor 2 Harry Lawson   Nationalist 3 Robert Elliott   Country

Queensland

Following the death of Nationalist senator Thomas Givens in June 1928, Labor member John MacDonald was appointed by the Parliament of Queensland to fill the casual vacancy. ^{[7] [8]} As a result, Queensland elected four senators, with the fourth senator elected sitting the remainder of Givens' term ending on 30 June 1932. ^[9]

1928 Australian federal election: Senate, Queensland [2] [9] [10] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Nationalist/Country Coalition 1. Thomas Crawford (Nat) (re-elected 1) 2. Walter Cooper (CP) (elected 4) 3. Matthew Reid (Nat) (re-elected 3) 4. Harry Foll (Nat) (re-elected 2) 238,293 60.04 +2.75 Labor 1. Robert Horn 2. George Lawson 3. John MacDonald (defeated) 4. John Valentine 147,351 37.13 −5.58 Independent Harald Jensen 11,226 2.83 +2.83 Total formal votes 396,870 91.17 −2.45 Informal votes 38,428 8.83 +2.45 Turnout 435,298 93.53 +2.76

# Senator Party 1 Thomas Crawford   Nationalist 2 Harry Foll   Nationalist 3 Matthew Reid   Nationalist 4 Walter Cooper   Country

Western Australia

1928 Australian federal election: Senate, Western Australia [2] [11] [12] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Nationalist/Country Coalition 1. Hal Colebatch (Nat) (elected 1) 2. Bertie Johnston (CP) (elected 2) 3. Walter Kingsmill (Nat) (re-elected 3) 85,171 52.93 −4.51 Labor 1. Ted Needham (defeated) 2. Ernest Barker 3. Charles Graham (defeated) 75,735 47.07 +7.50 Total formal votes 160,906 87.70 −4.91 Informal votes 22,569 12.30 +4.91 Turnout 183,475 90.32 +0.60

# Senator Party 1 Hal Colebatch   Nationalist 2 Bertie Johnston   Country 3 Walter Kingsmill   Nationalist

South Australia

1928 Australian federal election: Senate, South Australia [2] [13] [14] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Labor 1. John Daly (elected 1) 2. Bert Hoare (re-elected 2) 3. Mick O'Halloran (elected 3) 134,731 50.77 +5.71 Nationalist 1. John Verran (defeated) 2. Edward Lucas 3. Albert Robinson (defeated) 107,635 40.56 −9.94 Country Ernest Rowe 17,154 6.46 +6.46 Independent Raphael Cilento 5,866 2.21 +2.21 Total formal votes 265,386 88.12 −5.93 Informal votes 35,793 11.88 +5.93 Turnout 301,179 94.24 +1.42

# Senator Party 1 John Daly   Labor 2 Bert Hoare   Labor 3 Mick O'Halloran   Labor

Tasmania

1928 Australian federal election: Senate, Tasmania [2] [15] [16] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Nationalist 1. James Ogden (re-elected 1) 2. John Hayes (re-elected 2) 3. Herbert Hays (re-elected 3) 4. Andrew Lawson 56,209 62.83 +4.65 Labor 1. William Sheridan 2. Henry Lane 33,250 37.17 −4.65 Total formal votes 89,459 84.27 −4.46 Informal votes 16,694 15.73 +4.46 Turnout 106,153 92.72 +3.98

# Senator Party 1 James Ogden   Nationalist 2 John Hayes   Nationalist 3 Herbert Hays   Nationalist

See also

• Candidates of the 1928 Australian federal election
• 1928 Australian House of Representatives election
• Members of the Australian Senate, 1929–1932

References

1. Carr, Adam. "1928 Senate". Psephos. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
2. Barber, Stephen; Johnson, Sue (17 July 2014). "Federal election results 1901–2014" (PDF). Parliamentary Library. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
3. Carr, Adam. "1928 Senate NSW". Psephos. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
4. "1928 Senators elected NSW". Parliamentary Handbook. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
5. Carr, Adam. "1928 Senate VIC". Psephos. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
6. "1928 Senators elected VIC". Parliamentary Handbook. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
7. Carr, Adam. "The Australian Election Archive Index of Senate appointments 1901-2003". Psephos. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
8. Sullivan, Rodney (2004). "MacDonald, John Valentine (1880–1937)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
9. Carr, Adam. "1928 Senate QLD". Psephos. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
10. "1928 Senators elected QLD". Parliamentary Handbook. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
11. Carr, Adam. "1928 Senate WA". Psephos. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
12. "1928 Senators elected WA". Parliamentary Handbook. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
13. Carr, Adam. "1928 Senate SA". Psephos. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
14. "1928 Senators elected SA". Parliamentary Handbook. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
15. Carr, Adam. "1928 Senate TAS". Psephos. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
16. "1928 Senators elected TAS". Parliamentary Handbook. Retrieved 1 June 2025.