Candidates of the 1931 Australian federal election
This article provides information on candidates who stood for the 1931 Australian federal election. The election was held on 19 December 1931.
In 1931, the Nationalist Party had become the United Australia Party, absorbing several Labor defectors. In New South Wales, the Labor Party split, with the Lang Labor group voting against the Labor Government. Seats held by Labor defectors are here considered to be held by the Labor Party.
By-elections, appointments and defections
By-elections and appointments
- On 14 December 1929, Charles Frost (Labor) was elected to replace William McWilliams (Independent) as the member for Franklin.
- On 31 January 1931, Charles Marr (Nationalist) was elected to replace Edward McTiernan (Labor) as the member for Parkes.
- On 7 March 1931, Eddie Ward (Labor) was elected to replace John West (Labor) as the member for East Sydney.
- On 1 April 1931, Harry Kneebone (Labor) was appointed as a South Australian Senator to replace John Chapman (Country).
- On 12 May 1931, Tom Brennan (UAP) was appointed as a Victorian Senator to replace Harold Elliott (UAP).
- On 14 October 1931, Percy Stewart (Independent), the member for Wimmera, died. No by-election was held due to the proximity of the election.
- Subsequent to the election, but prior to the new Senate taking its place:
- On 23 December 1931, Patrick Mooney (NSW Labor) was appointed as a New South Wales Senator to replace Walter Duncan (UAP).
- On 3 March 1932, Charles Grant (UAP) was appointed as a Tasmanian Senator to replace James Ogden (UAP).
Defections
- In 1930, the three MPs elected as Independent Nationalists in 1929 – Billy Hughes (North Sydney), Walter Marks (Wentworth) and George Maxwell (Fawkner) – constituted themselves as the Australian Party.
- In 1931, Labor MPs James Fenton (Maribyrnong), Moses Gabb (Angas), Allan Guy (Bass), Joseph Lyons (Wilmot), Charles McGrath (Ballaarat) and John Price (Boothby) resigned from the party in protest at the reappointment of Ted Theodore as Treasurer. They sat with the Opposition Nationalist Party and soon merged with them to become the United Australia Party. The UAP was also joined by the three Australian Party MPs, Billy Hughes (North Sydney), Walter Marks (Wentworth) and George Maxwell (Fawkner).
- In 1931, supporters of NSW Premier Jack Lang broke away from the federal Labor Party to form the Australian Labor Party (NSW). Federally, these members were Jack Beasley (West Sydney), Senator James Dunn (New South Wales), John Eldridge (Martin), Rowley James (Hunter), Bert Lazzarini (Werriwa), Senator Arthur Rae (New South Wales) and Eddie Ward (East Sydney).
Seat changes
- The member for Eden-Monaro (NSW), John Cusack (Labor), contested Cowper.
- The member for Flinders (Vic), Jack Holloway (Labor), contested Melbourne Ports.
- The member for Martin (NSW), John Eldridge (NSW Labor), contested Barton.
- New South Wales Senator Walter Duncan (UAP) resigned from the Senate to contest Warringah.
Retiring Members and Senators
Labor
- James Mathews MP (Melbourne Ports, Vic)
United Australia
- Senator Sir John Newlands (SA)
Country
- William Killen MP (Riverina, NSW)
House of Representatives
Sitting members at the time of the election are shown in bold text. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour. Where there is possible confusion, an asterisk (*) is also used.
New South Wales
Northern Territory
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Independent candidate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Territory | Labor | Harold Nelson | William Easton (Ind) John McMillan (Ind Lab) |
Queensland
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | United Australia | George Lawson | Donald Cameron (UAP) | Hugh Talty (LL) |
| Capricornia | Labor | Frank Forde | Robert Staines (CP) | |
| Darling Downs | United Australia | Arthur Morgan (UAP) | Sir Littleton Groom* (Ind) Herbert Yeates (Ind) | |
| Herbert | Labor | George Martens | Grosvenor Francis (UAP) | |
| Kennedy | Labor | Darby Riordan | Jim Clarke (UAP) | |
| Lilley | United Australia | George Mackay (UAP) | Alexander Costello (Ind Lab) Frank Mason (SC) | |
| Maranoa | Country | Myles Ferricks | James Hunter (CP) | |
| Moreton | United Australia | Josiah Francis (UAP) | ||
| Oxley | United Australia | Francis Baker | James Bayley (UAP) | Frank Pforr (LL) |
| Wide Bay | Country | Bernard Corser (CP) |
South Australia
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | EC candidate | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | Labor | George Edwin Yates | Fred Stacey | Agnes Goode (Ind) Tom Howard (LL) Crawford Vaughan (L-L) John Zwolsman (CPA) |
| Angas | Labor | David Fraser | Moses Gabb [1] | |
| Barker | Emergency | Cyril Hasse | Malcolm Cameron | Percy Spehr (Ind) |
| Boothby | Labor | Cecil Skitch | John Price | Sam Lindsay (ST) |
| Grey | Labor | Andrew Lacey | Philip McBride | Alfred Barns (Ind) James Hodgson (ST) |
| Hindmarsh | Labor | Norman Makin | Ernest Evans | Sid O'Flaherty (LL) |
| Wakefield | Emergency | Charles Hawker | Maurice Collins (Ind CP) |
Tasmania
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | UAP candidate | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | Labor | Claude Barnard | Allan Guy | Harold Solomon (Nat) |
| Darwin | United Australia | Joseph McGrath | George Bell | |
| Denison | Labor | Charles Culley | Arthur Hutchin | |
| Franklin | Labor | Charles Frost | Archibald Blacklow | Albert Beard (Ind) |
| Wilmot | Labor | George Becker | Joseph Lyons | George Pullen (Nat) |
Victoria
Western Australia
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forrest | Country | John Prowse (CP) | ||
| Fremantle | Labor | John Curtin | William Watson (UAP) | Keith Watson (Ind) |
| Kalgoorlie | Labor | Albert Green | William Pickering (CP) George Rainsford (UAP) |
|
| Perth | United Australia | John Moloney | Walter Nairn (UAP) | |
| Swan | Country | John Fraser | Henry Gregory (CP) | Carlyle Ferguson (Ind) Alfred Reynolds (Ind CP) |
Senate
Sitting Senators are shown in bold text. Tickets that elected at least one Senator are highlighted in the relevant colour. Successful candidates are identified by an asterisk (*).
New South Wales
Three seats were up for election. The United Australia Party was defending three seats. Labor Senator John Dooley and NSW Labor Senators James Dunn and Arthur Rae were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Lang Labor candidates | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Bailey Hilton Blackburn Albert Gardiner |
Charles Cox* (UAP) Walter Massy-Greene* (UAP) Charles Hardy* (CP) |
Christopher Anderson Tom Arthur Ernest Barker |
James Dooley (Ind Lab) George McDonald (Ind) Lance Sharkey (CPA) Abraham Taylor (Ind) |
Queensland
Three seats were up for election. The United Australia Party-Country Party Coalition was defending three seats. United Australia Party Senators Thomas Crawford, Harry Foll and Matthew Reid were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Gordon Brown* Joe Collings* John MacDonald* |
Walter Cooper (CP) Sir William Glasgow (UAP) William Thompson (UAP) |
Fred Paterson (CPA) |
South Australia
Three seats were up for election. The Emergency Committee of South Australia was defending three seats. Labor Senators John Daly, Bert Hoare and Mick O'Halloran were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | EC candidates | Independent candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Harry Kneebone John Verran Frederick Ward |
Oliver Badman* Jack Duncan-Hughes* Alexander McLachlan* |
Raphael Cilento Ruth Ravenscroft |
Tasmania
Three seats were up for election. The United Australia Party was defending three seats. United Australia Party Senators John Hayes, Herbert Hays and James Ogden were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | UAP candidates |
|---|---|
| Thomas Jude David O'Keefe Walter Woods |
Andrew Cooper James Counsel Bayard Edgell Syd Jackson John Millen* Herbert Payne* Benjamin Pearsall Herbert Postle Burford Sampson* |
Victoria
Three seats were up for election. The United Australia Party was defending three seats. Labor Senator John Barnes, United Australia Party Senator Harry Lawson and Country Party Senator Robert Elliott were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | UAP candidates | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Don Cameron Jim Sheehan Alf Wallis |
Tom Brennan* James Guthrie* William Plain* |
Alured Kelly (Ind Nat) William Murchison (Ind UAP) Harold Partridge (CPA) |
Western Australia
Three seats were up for election. The United Australia Party-Country Party Coalition was defending three seats. United Australia Party Senators Sir Hal Colebatch and Walter Kingsmill and Country Party Senator Bertie Johnston were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|
| George Gaunt Louis Greive Ted Needham |
William Carroll* (CP) Patrick Lynch* (UAP) Sir George Pearce* (UAP) |
Findlay MacKay (CPA) John Thomson (Ind CP) |
See also
- Australian federal election, 1931
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1929–1931
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1931–1934
- Members of the Australian Senate, 1929–1932
- Members of the Australian Senate, 1932–1935
- List of political parties in Australia
Notes
- ^ Labor-turned-independent MP Moses Gabb was endorsed in the Division of Angas by the Emergency Committee of South Australia (formed by the state UAP for this election) who did not run their own candidate in Angas. Though Gabb is counted as an Emergency Committee MP, he remained an independent and did not help form or sit with the government and as such has been removed from government tallies.