1966 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, the party of opposition in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 27 April 1966. It followed the long awaited challenge by party deputy-leader Gough Whitlam against incumbent leader Arthur Calwell. Calwell received 49 votes to Whitlam's 25 in a caucus ballot.^[1] After claiming victory Calwell then announced that if Labor was defeated at the impending 1966 federal election, he would not stand for the leadership again.^[2]

Results

The following table gives the ballot results:

Name		Votes	Percentage
	Arthur Calwell	49	66.21
	Gough Whitlam	25	33.79

References

^ "Calwell defeats leadership challenge: Pledge of unity". The Canberra Times. 28 April 1966. p. 1.
^ Hocking, Jenny (2008), Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History, The Miegunyah Press, pp. 257–258, ISBN 978-0-522-85705-4

[1] "Calwell defeats leadership challenge: Pledge of unity". The Canberra Times. 28 April 1966. p. 1.

[2] Hocking, Jenny (2008), Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History, The Miegunyah Press, pp. 257–258, ISBN 978-0-522-85705-4

[1]

[2]