Australian federal election, 1937

Australian federal election, 1937
All 74 seats of the House of Representatives ; 38 seats were needed for a majority in the House ; 19 (of the 36) seats of the Senate
Prime Minister before election; Joseph Lyons ; UAP/Country coalition	Subsequent Prime Minister; Joseph Lyons ; UAP/Country coalition

Last updated March 12, 2019

Federal elections were held in Australia on 23 October 1937. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent UAP–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, defeated the opposition Labor Party under John Curtin.

Elections in Australia take place periodically to elect the legislature of the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as for each Australian state and territory. Elections in all jurisdictions follow similar principles, though there are minor variations between them. The elections for the Australian Parliament are held under the federal electoral system, which is uniform throughout the country, and the elections for state and territory Parliaments are held under the electoral system of each state and territory.

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia.

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. There are a total of 76 Senators: 12 are elected from each of the six states regardless of population and 2 from each of the two autonomous internal territories. Senators are popularly elected under the single transferable vote system of proportional representation.

The election is notable in that the Country Party achieved its highest-ever primary vote in the lower house, thereby winning nearly a quarter of all lower-house seats. At the 1934 election nine seats in New South Wales had been won by Lang Labor. Following the reunion of the two Labor parties in February 1936, these were held by their members as ALP seats at the 1937 election. With the party's wins in Ballaarat and Gwydir (initially at a by-election on 8 March 1937), the ALP had a net gain of 11 seats compared with the previous election.

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and rural voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a federal level. It would later briefly adopt the name National Country Party in 1975, before adopting its current name in 1982.

New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Tasman Sea to the east. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In March 2018, the population of New South Wales was over 7.9 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.1 million, live in the Greater Sydney area. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.

This was the first federal election that future Prime Ministers Harold Holt and Arthur Fadden contested as members of parliament, having entered parliament at the 1935 Fawkner by-election and 1936 Darling Downs by-election respectively.

Harold Edward Holt,, was an Australian politician who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1966 until his presumed drowning death in 1967. He was the leader of the Liberal Party during that time.

Arthur Fadden Australian politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia

Sir Arthur William Fadden, was an Australian politician who served as Prime Minister of Australia from 29 August to 7 October 1941. He was the leader of the Country Party from 1940 to 1958.

Results

House of Representatives

House of Reps (IRV) — 1937–40—Turnout 96.13% (CV) — Informal 2.59%
Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	UAP–Country coalition		1.774,805	49.26	–1.01	43	–4
		United Australia	1,214,526	33.71	+0.73	28	0
		Country	560,279	15.55	+2.93	15	+1
	Labor		1,555,737	43.17	+16.36	29	+11
	Social Credit		79,432	2.20	−2.49	0	0
	Communist		17,153	0.48	+0.48	0	0
	Independents		176,214	4.89	+2.38	2	+2
	Total		3,603,223			74
Two-party-preferred (estimated)
	UAP–Country coalition		WIN	50.60	−2.90	43	+1
	Labor			49.40	+2.90	29	+11

Notes

Four members were elected unopposed, all from the Labor Party.
Independents: Alexander Wilson (Wimmera, Vic) and Percy Spender (Warringah, NSW).
The member for Northern Territory, Adair Blain (Independent), had voting rights only for issues relating to the Territory, and so is not included in the table.

Alexander Wilson was an Australian wheat farmer and federal politician who played a key role in the downfall of the Fadden Government in 1941.

The Division of Wimmera was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It was named after the Wimmera region in which it was located. It originally encompassed the towns of Mildura, Swan Hill and Warracknabeal, but by the time it was abolished in 1977, it had drifted south and grown smaller to only include Ararat, Horsham and Maryborough. The Division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 75 divisions to be contested at the first Federal election. It was abolished at the redistribution of 31 October 1977.

Sir Percy Claude Spender, was an Australian politician, diplomat and judge. He served in the House of Representatives from 1937 to 1951, including as a cabinet minister under Robert Menzies and Arthur Fadden. He was later Ambassador to the United States (1951–1958) and a member of the International Court of Justice (1958–1967), including as president of the court from 1964 to 1967.

Popular Vote

Labor			43.17%
United Australia			33.17%
Country			15.55%
Independent			5.56%
Social Credit			2.20%
Communist			0.48%

Two Party Preferred Vote

Coalition			50.60%
Labor			49.40%

Parliament Seats

Coalition			58.11%
Labor			38.19%
Independent			2.70%

Senate

Senate (P BV) — 1937–40—Turnout 94.75% (CV) — Informal 9.56%
		Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held	Change
Labor		1,699,172	48.48	+20.40	16	16	+13
UAP–Country coalition		1,636,889	46.71	–6.51	3	20	–13
	UAP–Country joint ticket	1,005,247	28.68	+10.44	0	N/A	N/A
	United Australia	565,161	16.13	−4.54	3	16	−10
	Country	66,481	1.90	−12.41	0	4	−3
Social Credit		49,801	1.42	−1.36	0	0	0
Independent		118,768	3.39	+2.93	0	0	0
Total		3,504,630			19	36

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1937				Swing	Post-1937
Seat	Party		Member	Margin	Swing	Margin	Member	Party
Ballaarat, Vic		United Australia	Archibald Fisken	3.9	3.5	0.6	Reg Pollard	Labor
Bendigo, Vic		United Australia	Eric Harrison	N/A	0.3	6.9	George Rankin	Country
Grey, SA		United Australia	Philip McBride	N/A	2.9	7.1	Oliver Badman	Country
Warringah, NSW		United Australia	Archdale Parkhill	N/A	29.4	1.9	Percy Spender	Independent UAP
Wimmera, Vic		Country	Hugh McClelland	N/A	2.9	1.9	Alexander Wilson	Independent

Members in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

Notes

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References

University of WA election results in Australia since 1890
Two-party-preferred vote since 1937

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