Candidates of the 1946 Australian federal election
This article provides information on candidates who stood for the 1946 Australian federal election. The election was held on 28 September 1946.
In 1944–1945, the United Australia Party (UAP) had reconstituted itself as the Liberal Party of Australia. Former UAP seats are now designated as Liberal seats.
By-elections, appointments and defections
By-elections and appointments
- On 10 October 1944, Ted Mattner (UAP) was appointed a South Australian Senator to replace Oliver Uppill (UAP).
- On 18 August 1945, Kim Beazley (Labor) was elected to replace John Curtin (Labor) as the member for Fremantle.
- On 9 February 1946, Winton Turnbull (Country) was elected to replace Alexander Wilson (Independent) as the member for Wimmera.
- On 30 March 1946, Jo Gullett (Liberal) was elected to replace Arthur Coles (Independent) as the member for Henty.
- On 15 May 1946, Alexander Fraser (Country) was appointed a Victorian Senator to replace Richard Keane (Labor).
- On 14 August 1946, Jack Beasley (Labor), the member for West Sydney, resigned. The following day, Norman Makin (Labor), the member for Hindmarsh, also resigned. No by-elections were held due to the proximity of the election.
Defections
- In 1944, the United Australia Party was reconstituted as the Liberal Party of Australia. All former UAP members joined the new party.
Retiring Members and Senators
Labor
- George Martens MP (Herbert, Qld)
Liberal
- Sir Frederick Stewart MP (Parramatta, NSW)
- Senator Thomas Crawford (Qld)
- Senator Harry Foll (Qld)
- Senator John Hayes (Tas)
- Senator James McLachlan (SA)
Country
- Senator William Gibson (Vic)
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 | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Territory | Independent | Bob Murray | Adair Blain* (Ind) Ralph Edwards (Ind) Leigh Wallman (Ind Lab) |
Queensland
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Services candidate | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | Labor | George Lawson | Geoffrey Ward (Lib) | Gordon Olive | |
| Capricornia | Labor | Frank Forde | Charles Davidson (Lib/CP) | Andrew Taylor | |
| Darling Downs | Country | William English | Arthur Fadden (CP) | Maxwell Owen | |
| Griffith | Labor | William Conelan | William Scott (Lib) | Arthur Chresby | |
| Herbert | Labor | Bill Edmonds | Lloyd Roberts (CP) | Alexander McNamee | Jack Henry (CPA) Joseph Pollard (Ind) |
| Kennedy | Labor | Bill Riordan | Clement Cummings (CP) | ||
| Lilley | Labor | Jim Hadley | Charles Wilson (Lib) | George Mocatta | |
| Maranoa | Country | John Dufficy | Charles Adermann (CP) | John Walker | |
| Moreton | Liberal | Jack Perrett | Josiah Francis (Lib) | Charles McCormack | |
| Wide Bay | Country | George Watson | Bernard Corser (CP) | Eric Paterson | Max Julius (CPA) |
South Australia
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | Labor | Cyril Chambers | Ian Hayward | Alf Watt (CPA) |
| Barker | Liberal | Harry Krantz | Archie Cameron | David Eddy (Ind) |
| Boothby | Labor | Thomas Sheehy | Keith Wilson | |
| Grey | Labor | Edgar Russell | Oliver Badman | |
| Hindmarsh | Labor | Albert Thompson | William Palmer | Alan Finger (CPA) |
| Wakefield | Labor | Albert Smith | Philip McBride | Frank Rieck (Ind) |
Tasmania
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate | Independent candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | Labor | Claude Barnard | Harry Spotswood | John Orchard |
| Darwin | Liberal | Harold Kirkpatrick | Dame Enid Lyons | |
| Denison | Labor | Frank Gaha | Bruce Hamilton | |
| Franklin | Labor | Charles Frost | Bill Falkinder | |
| Wilmot | Liberal | Gil Duthie | Allan Guy |
Victoria
Western Australia
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forrest | Labor | Nelson Lemmon | James Cumming (Lib) Jasper Norton (CP) | |
| Fremantle | Labor | Kim Beazley | Claude Henderson (Lib) | |
| Kalgoorlie | Labor | Herbert Johnson | Seddon Vincent (Lib) | |
| Perth | Labor | Tom Burke | Jim Paton (Lib) | John Graham (SP) Kevin Healy (CPA) Robert Salter (Ind) |
| Swan | Labor | Don Mountjoy | Len Hamilton (CP) | Bill Grayden (Ind) |
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 Labor Party was defending three seats. Labor Senators Stan Amour, John Armstrong and Donald Grant were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | PPP candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Alexander Alexander |
Queensland
Three seats were up for election. The Liberal-Country Coalition was defending three seats. Labor Senators Gordon Brown, Joe Collings and Ben Courtice were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Services candidates |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
South Australia
Three seats were up for election. The Liberal Party was defending three seats. Labor Senators Alex Finlay, Theo Nicholls and Sid O'Flaherty were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates |
|---|---|
|
Tasmania
Three seats were up for election. The Liberal Party was defending three seats. Labor Senators Bill Aylett, Charles Lamp and Nick McKenna were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
|---|---|---|
|
Neil Burbury |
Victoria
Four seats were up for election. One of these was a short-term vacancy caused by Labor Senator Richard Keane's death; this had been filled in the interim by the Country Party's Alexander Fraser. The Liberal-Country Coalition was defending three seats. The Labor Party was defending one seat. Labor Senators Don Cameron and Jim Sheehan were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates |
|---|---|
Western Australia
Three seats were up for election. The Liberal Party was defending two seats. The Labor Party was defending one seat. Labor Senators Robert Clothier, James Fraser and Richard Nash were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
|---|---|---|
|
Claude Swaine |
Summary by party
Beside each party is the candidates put forward by that party in the House of Representatives for each state, as well as an indication of whether the party contested Senate elections in each state.
| Party | NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | |
| Australian Labor Party | 28 | * | 19 | * | 10 | * | 5 | * | 6 | * | 5 | * | 73 | 6 |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 24 | * | 17 | * | 5 | * | 4 | * | 6 | * | 5 | * | 61 | 6 |
| Australian Country Party | 11 | * | 5 | * | 5 | * | 2 | * | 23 | 4 | ||||
| Services Party of Australia | 6 | 2 | 10 | * | 1 | 19 | 1 | |||||||
| Communist Party of Australia | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 14 | ||||||||
| Lang Labor | 10 | 10 | ||||||||||||
| Protestant People's Party | 5 | * | 5 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Douglas Credit Party | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Independent and other | 12 | * | 5 | 1 | 2 | * | 2 | 1 | * | 23 | 3 | |||