Members of the Australian Senate, 1947–1950

Senate composition at 1 July 1947
Government (33) - (14 seat majority)
  Labor (33)

Opposition (3)
  Liberal (2)
  Country Party (1)
 
Senate composition at 22 February 1950
Government (36) - (5 seat majority)
  Labor (36)

Opposition (24)
  Liberal (19)
  Country Party (5)
 

This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1 July 1947 to 30 June 1950.[1] Half of its members were elected at the 21 August 1943 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1944 and finishing on 30 June 1947; the other half were elected at the 28 September 1946 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1947 and finishing on 30 June 1953.

All senators elected at the 1943 election and 15 of the 18 elected (representing all states except Queensland) represented the Australian Labor Party, leading to the strongest single party domination in any Australian Senate. The plurality-at-large voting system used before the 1949 election meant that the winning party (or coalition) ticket usually took all seats in each state.

The Senate was expanded from 36 to 60 seats as a result of legislation passed in 1948.[2] 1949 was the first senate election conducted with a single transferable vote under a proportional voting system. As before, the Senators were elected in state-wide or territory-wide districts.

The new senators took their seats on 22 February 1950. The membership of the newly expanded Senate broke down as follows:

  • 12 of its members (2 for each state) had terms starting on 22 February 1950 (the day the term of the House of Representatives began) and due to finish on 30 June 1953.
  • 12 of its members (2 for each state) had terms starting on 22 February 1950 (the day the term of the House of Representatives began) and due to finish on 30 June 1956.

While the introduction of new senators decreased the Labor dominance of the senate, Labor retained a Senate majority.

Senator Party State Term ending Years in office
Stan Amour   Labor New South Wales 1950 1938–1965
John Armstrong   Labor New South Wales 1950 1938–1962
James Arnold   Labor New South Wales 1953 1941–1965
Bill Ashley   Labor New South Wales 1953 1938–1962
Bill Aylett   Labor Tasmania 1950 1938–1965
Fred Beerworth   Labor South Australia 1953 1946–1951
Gordon Brown [a]   Labor Queensland 1950 1932–1965
Don Cameron   Labor Victoria 1950 1938–1962
Robert Clothier   Labor Western Australia 1950 1943–1968
George Cole   Labor Tasmania 1953 [b] 1950–1965
Joe Collings [a]   Labor Queensland 1950 1932–1950
Joe Cooke   Labor Western Australia 1953 1947–1951, 1952–1965
Walter Cooper   Country Queensland 1953 1928–1932, 1935–1968
Ben Courtice   Labor Queensland 1950 1937–1962
Jack Critchley   Labor South Australia 1953 1947–1959
Jack Devlin   Labor Victoria 1950 1946–1957
Alex Finlay   Labor South Australia 1950 1944–1953
James Fraser   Labor Western Australia 1950 1938–1959
John Gorton   Liberal Victoria 1956 [b] 1950–1968
Donald Grant   Labor New South Wales 1950 1944–1959
Allan Guy   Liberal Tasmania 1956 [b] 1950–1956
Clive Hannaford   Liberal South Australia 1953 [b] 1950–1967
John Harris   Labor Western Australia 1953 1947–1951, 1953–1959
Bert Hendrickson   Labor Victoria 1953 1947–1971
Fred Katz   Labor Victoria 1953 1947–1951
Roy Kendall   Liberal Queensland 1956 [b] 1950–1965
Charles Lamp   Labor Tasmania 1950 1938–1950
William Large   Labor New South Wales 1953 1941–1951
Ted Maher   Country Queensland 1956 [b] 1950–1965
Ted Mattner   Liberal South Australia 1956 [b] 1944–1946, 1950–1968
John McCallum   Liberal New South Wales 1956 [b] 1950–1962
Nick McKenna   Labor Tasmania 1950 1944–1968
George McLeay   Liberal South Australia 1956 [b] 1935–1947, 1950–1955
Bill Morrow   Labor Tasmania 1953 1947–1953
Reg Murray   Labor Tasmania 1953 1947–1951
Richard Nash   Labor Western Australia 1950 1943–1951
Theo Nicholls   Labor South Australia 1950 1944–1968
Justin O'Byrne   Labor Tasmania 1953 1947–1981
Sid O'Flaherty   Labor South Australia 1950 1944–1962
Neil O'Sullivan   Liberal Queensland 1953 1947–1962
Edmund Piesse   Country Western Australia 1956 [b] 1950–1952
Dame Annabelle Rankin   Liberal Queensland 1953 1947–1971
George Rankin   Country Victoria 1956 [b] 1950–1956
Albert Reid   Country New South Wales 1956 [b] 1950–1962
Agnes Robertson   Liberal Western Australia 1956 [b] 1950–1962
John Ryan   Labor South Australia 1953 [b] 1950–1959
Charles Sandford   Labor Victoria 1953 1947–1956, 1957–1966
Malcolm Scott   Liberal Western Australia 1953 [b] 1950–1971
Jim Sheehan   Labor Victoria 1950 1938–1940, 1944–1962
Wilfrid Simmonds   Liberal Queensland 1953 [b] 1950–1951
John Spicer   Liberal Victoria 1956 [b] 1940–1944, 1950–1956
Bill Spooner   Liberal New South Wales 1956 [b] 1950–1965
Dame Dorothy Tangney   Labor Western Australia 1953 1943–1968
John Tate   Liberal New South Wales 1953 [b] 1950–1953
Frederick Ward   Labor South Australia 1953 1947–1951
Dame Ivy Wedgwood   Liberal Victoria 1953 [b] 1950–1971
Don Willesee   Labor Western Australia 1953 [b] 1950–1975
Ian Wood   Liberal Queensland 1956 [b] 1950–1978
Robert Wordsworth   Liberal Tasmania 1953 [b] 1950–1959
Reg Wright   Liberal Tasmania 1956 [b] 1950–1978

Notes

  1. ^ a b Father of the Senate
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Term commenced on 22 February 1950, with expansion of Parliament.

References

  1. ^ "The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate 1947". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  2. ^ Representation Act 1948 (Cth).