Members of the Australian Senate, 1907–1910
This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1907 to 1910.[1] Half of its members were elected at the 16 December 1903 election and had terms starting on 1 January 1904 and finishing on 30 June 1910; the other half were elected at the 12 December 1906 election and had terms starting on 1 January 1907 and finishing on 30 June 1913. They had an extended term as a result of the 1906 referendum, which changed Senate terms to finish on 30 June, rather than 31 December.[2]
Composition 1907-1909
Government (18) - (1 seat minority)
Protectionist (3)
Labour (15)
Opposition (17)
Anti-Socialist (17)
Crossbench (1)
Independent (1)
Composition 1909-1910
Government (19) - (1 seat majority)
Liberal (19)
Opposition (15)
Labour (15)
Crossbench (2)
Independent (2)
In May 1909 the Anti-Socialist Party (previously Free Trade) and most of the Protectionist Party merged to become the Commonwealth Liberal Party.[lower-alpha 5]
Notes
- The election of Anti-Socialist senator Joseph Vardon was declared void on 31 May 1907;[6]
- On 11 July 1907 Labour member James O'Loghlin was appointed to the casual vacancy to replace Joseph Vardon and would only have held office until the earlier of the next election for the House of Representatives or the Senate.[3]
- On 20 December 1907 O'Loghlin's appointment was declared void.[4]
- A special election was held on 15 February 1908, when Vardon defeated O'Loghlin for the seat.[7]
- Changes to the Senate in chronological order were Vardon's election declared void,[lower-alpha 1] O'Loughlin's was appointed,[lower-alpha 2] O'Loughlin's appointment declared void,[lower-alpha 3] and Vardon was elected.[lower-alpha 4]
- William Trenwith, was a former trade union official and leader of the Victorian Labour Party who was an independent because of his refusal to pledge to vote as directed by the Labour Party.[5]
References
- "The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate 1907". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
- Constitution Alteration (Senate Elections) 1906 (Cth).
- Evans, H. "Filling Casual Vacancies before 1977" (PDF). Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
- Vardon v O'Loghlin [1907] HCA 69, (1907) 5 CLR 201.
- Scates, B. "Trenwith, William Arthur (Billy) (1846–1925)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- Blundell v Vardon [1907] HCA 75, (1907) 4 CLR 1463.
- "The Senate Election". Evening Journal (Adelaide). South Australia. 16 March 1908. p. 1 – via National Library of Australia.
Bibliography
- Journals of the Senate. Parliament of Australia. 1907.
- "Members of the Senate since 1901". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2008.