Australian federal election, 1913

Last updated
Australian federal election, 1913
Flag of Australia.svg
  1910 31 May 1913 (1913-05-31) 1914  

All 75 seats in the House of Representatives
38 seats were needed for a majority in the House
18 (of the 36) seats in the Senate

 First partySecond party
  Joseph Cook - Crown Studios 03.jpg Andrew Fisher 1912 (b&w).jpg
Leader Joseph Cook Andrew Fisher
Party Commonwealth Liberal Labor
Leader since20 January 191330 October 1907
Leader's seat Parramatta (NSW) Wide Bay (Qld.)
Last election31 seats42 seats
Seats won38 seats37 seats
Seat changeIncrease2.svg7Decrease2.svg5
Popular vote930,076921,099
Percentage48.94%48.47%
SwingIncrease2.svg3.85Decrease2.svg1.50

Prime Minister before election

Andrew Fisher
Labor

Subsequent Prime Minister

Joseph Cook
Commonwealth Liberal

Federal elections were held in Australia on 31 May 1913. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, was defeated by the opposition Commonwealth Liberal Party under Joseph Cook. The new government had a majority of just a single seat, and held a minority of seats in the Senate. It would last only 15 months, suffering defeat at the 1914 election.

Elections in Australia discussion of elections conducted in Australia

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.

Australian House of Representatives Lower house of Australia

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.

Australian Senate upper house of the Australian Parliament

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.

Contents

The 1913 election was held in conjunction with six referendum questions, none of which were carried.

Results

Labour: 37 seats
Commonwealth Liberal: 38 seats Australian House of Representatives, 1913.svg
  Labour: 37 seats
  Commonwealth Liberal: 38 seats
House of Reps 1913–14 (FPTP) — Turnout 73.49% (Non-CV) — Informal 2.83%
PartyVotes%SwingSeatsChangeNotes
  Commonwealth Liberal 930,07648.94+3.8538+7
  Labor 921,09948.471.50375
  Independents 49,1942.592.3502
 Total1,900,369  75
  Commonwealth Liberal WIN38+7
  Labor 375

Notes
Popular Vote
Commonwealth Liberal
48.94%
Labor
48.47%
Independent
2.59%
Parliament Seats
Commonwealth Liberal
50.67%
Labor
49.33%

Senate

Senate 1913–14 (FPTP BV) — Turnout 73.66% (Non-CV) — Informal N/A
PartyVotes%SwingSeats WonSeats HeldChange
  Commonwealth Liberal 2,840,42049.38+3.83777
  Labor 2,802,25948.721.581129+7
  Socialist 60,8191.06+1.06000
  Independents 48,6990.852.51000
 Total5,752,197  1836

Seats changing hands

SeatPre-1913SwingPost-1913
PartyMemberMarginMarginMemberParty
Ballaarat, Vic  Commonwealth Liberal Alfred Deakin 1.13.10.6 Charles McGrath Labor 
Bendigo, Vic  Commonwealth Liberal John Quick 1.33.62.0 John Arthur Labor 
Boothby, SA  Commonwealth Liberal David Gordon 7.110.83.0 George Dankel Labor 
Calare, NSW  Labor Thomas Brown 3.65.92.1 Henry Pigott Commonwealth Liberal 
Corangamite, Vic  Labor James Scullin 4.76.12.2 Chester Manifold Commonwealth Liberal 
Corio, Vic  Labor Alfred Ozanne 4.45.11.8 William Kendell Commonwealth Liberal 
Fremantle, WA  Commonwealth Liberal William Hedges 4.511.45.8 Reginald Burchell Labor 
Gippsland, Vic  Independent George Wise 12.112.75.0 James Bennett Commonwealth Liberal 
Hume, NSW  Independent William Lyne 16.416.20.7 Robert Patten Commonwealth Liberal 
Indi, Vic  Labor Parker Moloney 3.13.22.2 Cornelius Ahern Commonwealth Liberal 
New England, NSW  Labor Francis Foster 2.79.56.5 Percy Abbott Commonwealth Liberal 
Oxley, Qld  Commonwealth Liberal Richard Edwards 12.2N/A4.4 James Sharpe Labor 
Riverina, NSW  Labor John Chanter 7.08.61.0 Franc Falkiner Commonwealth Liberal 
Wannon, Vic  Labor John McDougall 5.07.84.2 Arthur Rodgers Commonwealth Liberal 
Werriwa, NSW  Labor Benjamin Bennett 0.86.55.9 Alfred Conroy Commonwealth Liberal 

Post-election pendulum

GOVERNMENT SEATS
Commonwealth Liberal Party
Marginal
Hume (NSW) Robert Patten LIB00.7 vs IND
Riverina (NSW) Franc Falkiner LIB01.0
Corio (Vic) William Kendell LIB01.8
Calare (NSW) Henry Pigott LIB02.1
Indi (Vic) Cornelius Ahern LIB02.2
Corangamite (Vic) Chester Manifold LIB02.2
Dampier (WA) Henry Gregory LIB02.6
Perth (WA) James Fowler LIB03.3
Wakefield (SA) Richard Foster LIB03.7
Grampians (Vic) Hans Irvine LIB03.9
Wannon (Vic) Arthur Rodgers LIB04.2
Lilley (Qld) Jacob Stumm LIB04.7
Swan (WA) John Forrest LIB04.9
Gippsland (Vic) James Bennett LIB05.0 vs IND
Robertson (NSW) William Fleming LIB05.3
Nepean (NSW) Richard Orchard LIB05.6
Franklin (Tas) William McWilliams LIB05.8
Werriwa (NSW) Alfred Conroy LIB05.9
Fairly safe
New England (NSW) Percy Abbott LIB06.5
Lang (NSW) Elliot Johnson LIB07.1
Flinders (Vic) William Irvine LIB07.8
Eden-Monaro (NSW) Austin Chapman LIB08.7
Barker (SA) John Livingston LIB09.0
Safe
Darling Downs (Qld) Littleton Groom LIB10.0
Moreton (Qld) Hugh Sinclair LIB10.7
Echuca (Vic) Albert Palmer LIB11.0
Wentworth (NSW) Willie Kelly LIB11.7
Kooyong (Vic) Robert Best LIB11.9 vs IND
Parkes (NSW) Bruce Smith LIB11.9
Wilmot (Tas) Llewellyn Atkinson LIB12.6
Balaclava (Vic) Agar Wynne LIB15.0
Henty (Vic) James Boyd LIB17.1
Parramatta (NSW) Joseph Cook LIB18.3
North Sydney (NSW) Granville Ryrie LIB19.1
Richmond (NSW) Walter Massy-Greene LIB19.9
Very safe
Wimmera (Vic) Sydney Sampson LIB21.0
Cowper (NSW) John Thomson LIB22.2
Angas (SA) Paddy Glynn LIBunopposed
NON-GOVERNMENT SEATS
Australian Labor Party
Marginal
Illawarra (NSW) George Burns ALP00.2
Ballaarat (Vic) Charles McGrath ALP00.6
Macquarie (NSW) Ernest Carr ALP01.6
Grey (SA) Alexander Poynton ALP02.0
Bendigo (Vic) John Arthur ALP02.0
Darwin (Tas) King O'Malley ALP02.1
Gwydir (NSW) William Webster ALP02.2
Bass (Tas) Jens Jensen ALP02.4
Boothby (SA) George Dankel ALP03.0
Denison (Tas) William Laird Smith ALP03.3
Fawkner (Vic) Joseph Hannan ALP03.3
Oxley (Qld) James Sharpe ALP04.4
Hunter (NSW) Matthew Charlton ALP04.5
Wide Bay (Qld) Andrew Fisher ALP05.6
Fremantle (WA) Reginald Burchell ALP05.8
Fairly safe
East Sydney (NSW) John West ALP06.1
Brisbane (Qld) William Finlayson ALP06.9
Dalley (NSW) Robert Howe ALP07.7
Herbert (Qld) Fred Bamford ALP08.0
Cook (NSW) James Catts ALP09.9
Safe
Bourke (Vic) Frank Anstey ALP10.0
Darling (NSW) William Spence ALP10.5
Maribyrnong (Vic)) James Fenton ALP10.8
Capricornia (Qld) William Higgs ALP14.1
Batman (Vic) Frank Brennan ALP14.9
Maranoa (Qld) Jim Page ALP15.0
South Sydney (NSW) Edward Riley ALP15.0
Adelaide (SA) Ernest Roberts ALP18.4
Very safe
West Sydney (NSW) Billy Hughes ALP21.3
Melbourne (Vic) William Maloney ALP21.9 vs IND
Newcastle (NSW) David Watkins ALP23.8
Kennedy (Qld) Charles McDonald ALP24.4
Yarra (Vic) Frank Tudor ALP25.0
Barrier (NSW) Josiah Thomas ALP26.8
Melbourne Ports (Vic) James Matthews ALP29.2
Hindmarsh (SA) William Archibald ALPunopposed
Kalgoorlie (WA) Charles Frazer ALPunopposed

See also

This is a list of the members of the Australian House of Representatives in the Fifth Australian Parliament, which was elected on 31 May 1913.

This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1913 to 1914. Half of its members were elected at the 13 April 1910 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1910 and finishing on 30 June 1916; the other half were elected at the 31 May 1913 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1913 and finishing on 30 June 1919. In fact their terms were terminated prematurely with the calling of the 5 September 1914 election as a double dissolution.

Notes

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    References