Australian federal election, 1914

Last updated
Australian federal election, 1914
Flag of Australia.svg
  1913 5 September 1914 (1914-09-05) 1917  

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

 First partySecond party
  Andrew Fisher 1912 (b&w).jpg Joseph Cook - Crown Studios 03.jpg
Leader Andrew Fisher Joseph Cook
Party Labor Commonwealth Liberal
Leader since30 October 190720 January 1913
Leader's seat Wide Bay (Qld.) Parramatta (NSW)
Last election37 seats38 seats
Seats won42 seats32 seats
Seat changeIncrease2.svg5Decrease2.svg6
Popular vote858,451796,397
Percentage50.89%47.21%
SwingIncrease2.svg2.42Decrease2.svg1.73

Prime Minister before election

Joseph Cook
Commonwealth Liberal

Subsequent Prime Minister

Andrew Fisher
Labor

Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 September 1914. The election had been called before the declaration of war in August 1914. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and all 36 seats in the Senate were up for election, as a result of the first double dissolution being granted. The incumbent Commonwealth Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Joseph Cook, was defeated by the opposition Labor Party under Andrew Fisher. Fisher returned for a third term as prime minister.

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

Until the defeat of the Howard Government in 2007, the Cook Government was the only non-Labor Government in Australian history that did not last longer than the Labor government it had replaced.

Howard Government

The Howard Government refers to the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government commenced following victory over the Keating Government at the 1996 federal election. It concluded with its defeat at the 2007 federal election by the Australian Labor Party, whose leader Kevin Rudd then formed the First Rudd Government. It was the second-longest government under a single Prime Minister, with the longest having been the second Menzies Government (1949–1966).

Results

House of Representatives

Labour: 42 seats
Commonwealth Liberal: 32 seats
Independent: 1 seat Australian House of Representatives, 1914.svg
  Labour: 42 seats
  Commonwealth Liberal: 32 seats
  Independent: 1 seat
House of Reps 1914–17 (FPTP) — Turnout 73.53% (Non-CV) — Informal 2.32%
PartyVotes%SwingSeatsChangeNotes
  Labor 858,45150.89+2.4242+5
  Commonwealth Liberal 796,39747.211.7332-6
  Independents 31,9151.890.701+1
 Total1,686,763  75
  Labor WIN42+5
  Commonwealth Liberal 326

Notes
George Wise (Australian politician) Australian politician and solicitor

George Henry Wise was an Australian politician and solicitor.

Division of Gippsland Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Gippsland is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 65 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the Gippsland region of eastern Victoria, which in turn is named for Sir George Gipps, Governor of New South Wales 1838–46. It includes the towns of Bairnsdale, Morwell, Sale and Traralgon.

Popular Vote
Labor
50.89%
Commonwealth Liberal
47.21%
Independent
1.89%
Parliament Seats
Labor
56.00%
Commonwealth Liberal
42.67%
Independent
1.33%

Senate

Senate 1914–17 (FPTP BV) — Turnout 72.64% (Non-CV) — Informal N/A
PartyVotes%SwingSeats WonSeats HeldChange
  Labor 6,119,01852.15+3.433131+2
  Commonwealth Liberal 5,605,30547.771.61552
  Independents 9,7990.08–0.78000
 Total11,734,122  3636

Seats changing hands

SeatPre-1914SwingPost-1914
PartyMemberMarginMarginMemberParty
Corio, Vic  Commonwealth Liberal William Kendell 1.43.01.2 Alfred Ozanne Labor 
Gippsland, Vic  Commonwealth Liberal James Bennett 5.06.01.0 George Wise Independent 
Grampians, Vic  Commonwealth Liberal Hans Irvine 3.94.20.3 Edward Jolley Labor 
Indi, Vic  Commonwealth Liberal Cornelius Ahern 1.83.01.0 Parker Moloney Labor 
Riverina, NSW  Commonwealth Liberal Franc Falkiner 1.03.12.1 John Chanter Labor 
Werriwa, NSW  Commonwealth Liberal Alfred Conroy 5.95.90.0 John Lynch Labor 

Post-election pendulum

GOVERNMENT SEATS
Australian Labor Party
Marginal
Werriwa (NSW) John Lynch ALP00.0
Grampians (Vic) Edward Jolley ALP00.3
Indi (Vic) Parker Moloney ALP01.0
Corio (Vic) Alfred Ozanne ALP01.2
Ballaarat (Vic) Charles McGrath ALP01.2
Riverina (NSW) John Chanter ALP02.1
Macquarie (NSW) Ernest Carr ALP03.3
Gwydir (NSW) William Webster ALP03.8
Grey (SA) Alexander Poynton ALP04.0
Illawarra (NSW) George Burns ALP04.2
Hunter (NSW) Matthew Charlton ALP04.6
Bendigo (Vic) John Arthur ALP05.1
Boothby (SA) George Dankel ALP05.3
Denison (Tas) William Laird Smith ALP05.9
Fairly safe
Bass (Tas) Jens Jensen ALP06.0
Darwin (Tas) King O'Malley ALP06.1
Fremantle (WA) Reginald Burchell ALP06.3
Oxley (Qld) James Sharpe ALP06.8
East Sydney (NSW) John West ALP07.3
Fawkner (Vic) Joseph Hannan ALP09.3
Safe
Brisbane (Qld) William Finlayson ALP10.3
Darling (NSW) William Spence ALP10.5
Dalley (NSW) Robert Howe ALP11.3
Cook (NSW) James Catts ALP11.7
Wide Bay (Qld) Andrew Fisher ALP14.3 vs QFU
Maribyrnong (Vic) James Fenton ALP14.3
Herbert (Qld) Fred Bamford ALP14.4
Bourke (Vic) Frank Anstey ALP15.9
Adelaide (SA) George Edwin Yates ALP16.4
Capricornia (Qld) William Higgs ALP17.4
South Sydney (NSW) Edward Riley ALP18.8
Melbourne (Vic) William Maloney ALP19.3
Very safe
Hindmarsh (SA) William Archibald ALP24.4
West Sydney (NSW) Billy Hughes ALP25.3
Barrier (NSW) Josiah Thomas ALP29.7
Batman (Vic) Frank Brennan ALPunopposed
Kalgoorlie (WA) Hugh Mahon ALPunopposed
Kennedy (Qld) Charles McDonald ALPunopposed
Maranoa (Qld) Jim Page ALPunopposed
Melbourne Ports (Vic) James Mathews ALPunopposed
Newcastle (NSW) David Watkins ALPunopposed
Yarra (Vic) Frank Tudor ALPunopposed
NON-GOVERNMENT SEATS
Commonwealth Liberal Party
Marginal
Hume (NSW) Robert Patten LIB01.0
Calare (NSW) Henry Pigott LIB01.2
Corangamite (Vic) Chester Manifold LIB01.6
Lilley (Qld) Jacob Stumm LIB02.3
Wakefield (SA) Richard Foster LIB02.4
Flinders (Vic) William Irvine LIB02.7
Nepean (NSW) Richard Orchard LIB02.7
Robertson (NSW) William Fleming LIB03.4
Lang (NSW) Elliot Johnson LIB03.5
Wannon (Vic) Arthur Rodgers LIB03.6
Dampier (WA) Henry Gregory LIB03.9
Perth (WA) James Fowler LIB05.8
Fairly safe
Wentworth (NSW) Willie Kelly LIB06.5
New England (NSW) Percy Abbott LIB06.7
Barker (SA) John Livingston LIB06.7
Darling Downs (Qld) Littleton Groom LIB06.9
Moreton (Qld) Hugh Sinclair LIB07.3
Henty (Vic) James Boyd LIB07.7
Echuca (Vic) Albert Palmer LIB08.2
Balaclava (Vic) William Watt LIB08.4
Parkes (NSW) Bruce Smith LIB08.5
Eden-Monaro (NSW) Austin Chapman LIB09.2
Swan (WA) John Forrest LIB09.2
Safe
Wilmot (Tas) Llewellyn Atkinson LIB10.9
Kooyong (Vic) Robert Best LIB13.3 vs IND
North Sydney (NSW) Granville Ryrie LIB17.6
Very safe
Angas (SA) Paddy Glynn LIBunopposed
Cowper (NSW) John Thomson LIBunopposed
Franklin (Tas) William McWilliams LIBunopposed
Parramatta (NSW) Joseph Cook LIBunopposed
Richmond (NSW) Walter Massy-Greene LIBunopposed
Wimmera (Vic) Sydney Sampson LIBunopposed
Independents
Gippsland (Vic) George Wise IND01.0 vs LIB

See also

This is a list of the members of the Australian House of Representatives in the Sixth Australian Parliament, which was elected at the 1914 election on 5 September 1914.

This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1914 to 1917. The 5 September 1914 election was a double dissolution called by Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Cook in an attempt to gain control of the Senate. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Commonwealth Liberal Party was defeated by the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Andrew Fisher, who announced with the outbreak of World War I during the campaign that under a Labor Government, Australia would "stand beside the mother country to help and defend her to the last man and the last shilling."

Notes

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    References