1910 Australian federal election

The 1910 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 13 April 1910. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party (formed by the fusion of the Protectionist Party and the Anti-Socialist Party in 1909) led by Prime Minister Alfred Deakin was defeated by the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) led by Andrew Fisher.

1910 Australian federal election

← 1906 13 April 1910 (1910-04-13) 1913 →

All 75 seats in the House of Representatives
38 seats were needed for a majority in the House
18 (of the 36) seats in the Senate
Registered2,267,482 Increase7.49%
Turnout1,349,626 (59.52%)[a]
(Increase12.04 pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Andrew Fisher Alfred Deakin
Party Labour Liberal
Leader since 30 October 1907 26 May 1909
Leader's seat Wide Bay (Qld.) Ballaarat (Vic.)
Last election 26 seats New party
Seats before 27 seats 42 seats
Seats won 42 seats 31 seats
Seat change Increase15 Decrease11
Popular vote 649,538 591,248
Percentage 49.12% 44.71%
Swing Increase13.33% Decrease8.01

Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.

Prime Minister before election

Alfred Deakin
Liberal

Subsequent Prime Minister

Andrew Fisher
Labour

The election represented a number of landmarks: it was Australia's first elected federal majority government; Australia's first elected Senate majority; the world's first labour party majority government at a national level; after the 1904 Chris Watson minority and Fisher's former minority government the world's third labour party government at a national level; the first time it controlled both houses of a bicameral legislature; and the first time that a prime minister, in this case Deakin, was defeated at an election. It also remains the only election in Australia's federal history to have occurred following expiration of a full three-year parliamentary term by the "effluxion of time".[1] This was the first time the Labor Party won a federal election.

Two referendums to approve proposed amendments to the Constitution were held on the same day. The State Debts referendum was carried, but the Surplus Revenue referendum was not carried.

Future Prime Minister James Scullin and future opposition leader Matthew Charlton both entered parliament at this election. Scullin lost his seat at the subsequent 1913 election and did not re-enter parliament until 1922.

Background

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After the 1906 election, the House of Representatives first met on 20 February 1907. Prime Minister Alfred Deakin allowed the parliament to run to its maximum permissible length under section 28 of the constitution (three years). Its final meeting ended on 8 December 1909, and it was then prorogued until 19 February 1910 at which point it expired by "effluxion of time". This remains the only occasion to date where the House has been allowed to expire, rather than being dissolved earlier by the Governor-General. The writs for the election were issued on 28 February, producing the longest gap between federal elections in Australian history.[2]

Results

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House of Representatives

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  Labor: 42 seats
   Liberal: 31 seats
  Independent: 2 seats
House of Reps 1910–13 (FPTP) — Turnout 62.80% (Non-CV) — Informal 2.00%
 
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Labor 649,538 49.12 +12.48 42  16
  Liberal 591,248 44.71 −8.01 31  11
  Socialist Labor 628 0.05 +0.05 0  
  Young Australia 590 0.04 +0.04 0  
  Independent 80,478 6.09 −2.22 2  3
  Total 1,322,482     75
  Labor Win 42 +16
  Liberal 31 +31

Notes
Popular vote
Labor
49.12%
Liberal
44.71%
Independent/Other
6.17%
Parliament seats
Labor
56.00%
Liberal
41.33%
Independent
2.67%

Senate

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Senate 1910–13 (FPTP BV) — Turnout 62.16% (Non-CV) — Informal N/A
 
Party Votes % Swing Seats won Seats held Change
  Labor 2,021,090 50.30 +11.57 18 22 +7
  Liberal 1,830,353 45.55 N/A 0 14 -6
  Independents 134,976 3.36 +2.46 0 0 −1
  Other 31,700 0.79 0 0 0
  Total 4,018,119     18 36

Seats changing hands

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Seat Pre-1910 Swing Post-1910
Party Member Margin Margin Member Party
Bass, Tas   Liberal David Storrer 12.3 56.8 6.8 Jens Jensen Labor  
Batman, Vic   Liberal Jabez Coon 1.3 15.3 13.6 Henry Beard Labor  
Bendigo, Vic   Independent John Quick 1.7 0.4 1.3 John Quick Liberal  
Bourke, Vic   Liberal James Hume Cook 2.2 15.3 8.6 Frank Anstey Labor  
Brisbane, Qld   Liberal Justin Foxton 11.3 12.5 1.2 William Finlayson Labor  
Capricornia, Qld   Liberal Edward Archer 5.6 12.4 6.8 William Higgs Labor  
Corangamite, Vic   Liberal Gratton Wilson 24.7 29.4 4.7 James Scullin Labor  
Corio, Vic   Liberal Richard Crouch 100.0 54.4 4.4 Alfred Ozanne Labor  
Dalley, NSW   Liberal William Wilks 2.7 9.3 6.6 Robert Howe Labor  
Denison, Tas   Liberal Philip Fysh 6.5 18.6 8.1 William Laird Smith Labor  
East Sydney, NSW   Liberal George Reid 4.9 12.0 7.1 John West Labor  
Gippsland, Vic   Liberal George Wise 100.0 62.1 12.1 George Wise Independent  
Hume, NSW   Liberal William Lyne 100.0 66.4 16.4 William Lyne Independent  
Hunter, NSW   Liberal Frank Liddell 0.8 11.7 0.9 Matthew Charlton Labor  
Indi, Vic   Liberal Joseph Brown 11.0 14.1 3.1 Parker Moloney Labor  
Maribyrnong, Vic   Liberal Samuel Mauger 6.9 17.7 10.8 James Fenton Labor  
Nepean, NSW   Liberal Eric Bowden 10.6 14.8 1.5 George Cann Labor  
Perth, WA   Labor James Fowler 2.7 13.4 10.7 James Fowler Liberal  
Riverina, NSW   Liberal John Chanter 100.0 57.0 7.0 John Chanter Labor  
Robertson, NSW   Liberal Henry Willis 7.0 7.9 0.9 William Johnson Labor  
  • Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.
  • Electorates listed as previously won by a margin of 100% were contested in 1906 as Anti-Socialists v Protectionists (Echuca and Hume) or by two Protectionists (Corio and Gippsland): these parties merged to form the Commonwealth Liberal Party on 26 May 1909.

Post-election pendulum

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Government seats
Australian Labor Party
Marginal
Robertson (NSW) William Johnson ALP 00.9
Brisbane (Qld) William Finlayson ALP 01.2
Nepean (NSW) George Cann ALP 01.5
New England (NSW) Frank Foster ALP 02.7
Indi (Vic) Parker Moloney ALP 03.1
Calare (NSW) Thomas Brown ALP 03.6
Wide Bay (Qld) Andrew Fisher ALP 04.1
Corio (Vic) Alfred Ozanne ALP 04.4
Werriwa (NSW) David Hall ALP 04.6
Corangamite (Vic) James Scullin ALP 04.7
Wannon (Vic) John McDougall ALP 05.0
Fairly safe
Macquarie (NSW) Ernest Carr ALP 06.5
Dalley (NSW) Robert Howe ALP 06.6
Capricornia (Qld) William Higgs ALP 06.8
Bass (Tas) Jens Jensen ALP 06.8 vs IND
East Sydney (NSW) John West ALP 07.1
Denison (Tas) William Laird Smith ALP 08.1
Riverina (NSW) John Chanter ALP 08.5
Bourke (Vic) Frank Anstey ALP 08.6
Gwydir (NSW) William Webster ALP 09.6
Safe
Maribyrnong (Vic) James Fenton ALP 10.8
Hunter (NSW) Matthew Charlton ALP 10.9
Herbert (Qld) Fred Bamford ALP 11.0
Adelaide (SA) Ernest Roberts ALP 13.3
Darwin (Tas) King O'Malley ALP 13.3
Batman (Vic) Henry Beard ALP 13.6
Boothby (SA) Lee Batchelor ALP 13.8 vs IND
Cook (NSW) James Catts ALP 14.1
Darling (NSW) William Spence ALP 14.7
Kennedy (Qld) Charles McDonald ALP 14.8
Melbourne (Vic) William Maloney ALP 17.0
Melbourne Ports (Vic) James Mathews ALP 19.6
Very safe
Maranoa (Qld) Jim Page ALP 21.0
West Sydney (NSW) Billy Hughes ALP 21.5
South Sydney (NSW) Edward Riley ALP 24.1
Coolgardie (WA) Hugh Mahon ALP 25.4
Yarra (Vic) Frank Tudor ALP 26.1
Newcastle (NSW) David Watkins ALP 26.7
Kalgoorlie (WA) Charlie Frazer ALP 31.4
Barrier (NSW) Josiah Thomas ALP 35.8
Grey (SA) Alexander Poynton ALP unopposed
Hindmarsh (SA) William Archibald ALP unopposed
Non-government seats
Liberal Party
Marginal
Echuca (Vic) Albert Palmer LIB 00.4 vs IND
Grampians (Vic) Hans Irvine LIB 00.4
Laanecoorie (Vic) Carty Salmon LIB 00.8
Wakefield (SA) Richard Foster LIB 00.8
Lang (NSW) Elliot Johnson LIB 01.0
Ballaarat (Vic) Alfred Deakin LIB 01.1
Bendigo (Vic) John Quick LIB 01.3
Mernda (Vic) Robert Harper LIB 01.8
Illawarra (NSW) George Fuller LIB 02.0
Franklin (Tas) William McWilliams LIB 03.4
Richmond (NSW) Walter Massy-Greene LIB 04.2 vs IND
Fremantle (WA) William Hedges LIB 04.5
Parkes (NSW) Bruce Smith LIB 05.1
Fairly safe
Kooyong (Vic) William Knox LIB 06.3 vs IND
Wilmot (Tas) Llewellyn Atkinson LIB 06.6
Flinders (Vic) William Irvine LIB 08.1
Fawkner (Vic) George Fairbairn LIB 08.9
Barker (SA) John Livingston LIB 09.5
Safe
Swan (WA) John Forrest LIB 10.2
Perth (WA) James Fowler LIB 10.7
Wentworth (NSW) Willie Kelly LIB 11.0
Moreton (Qld) Hugh Sinclair LIB 11.1
Balaclava (Vic) Agar Wynne LIB 12.0
Oxley (Qld) Richard Edwards LIB 12.2 vs IND
North Sydney (NSW) George Edwards LIB 15.8
Wimmera (Vic) Sydney Sampson LIB 16.0
Parramatta (NSW) Joseph Cook LIB 18.0
Cowper (NSW) John Thomson LIB 19.5
Darling Downs (Qld) Littleton Groom LIB 19.9
Very safe
Angas (SA) Paddy Glynn LIB unopposed
Eden-Monaro (NSW) Austin Chapman LIB unopposed
Independents
Gippsland (Vic) George Wise IND 12.1 vs LIB
Hume (NSW) William Lyne IND 16.4 vs LIB

See also

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Notes

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Notes

  1. ^ Turnout in contested seats was 62.80%.

Citations

  1. ^ Dissolution
  2. ^ "A Parliament". House of Representatives Practice (7th ed.). Parliament of Australia. 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2020.

References

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