1913 Australian federal election

Australian federal election, 1913

31 May 1913 (1913-05-31)
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
First party Second party   Leader Joseph Cook Andrew Fisher Party Commonwealth Liberal Labor Leader since 20 January 1913 30 October 1907 Leader's seat Parramatta (NSW) Wide Bay (Qld.) Last election 31 seats 42 seats Seats won 38 seats 37 seats Seat change 7 5 Popular vote 930,076 921,099 Percentage 48.94% 48.47% Swing 3.85 1.50
Prime Minister before election Andrew Fisher Labor Subsequent Prime Minister Joseph Cook Commonwealth Liberal

Federal elections were held in Australia on 31 May 1913. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, was defeated by the opposition Commonwealth Liberal Party under Joseph Cook. The new government had a majority of just a single seat, and held a minority of seats in the Senate. It would last only 15 months, suffering defeat at the 1914 election.

The 1913 election was held in conjunction with six referendum questions, none of which were carried. According to David Day, Andrew Fisher's biographer, "it was probably the timing of the referenda that was most responsible for the disappointing election result" for the Labor Party.

Results

See also: Results of the Australian federal election, 1913 (House of Representatives)

  Labour: 37 seats

  Commonwealth Liberal: 38 seats

House of Reps 1913–14 (FPTP) — Turnout 73.49% (Non-CV) — Informal 2.83%

Party		Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Commonwealth Liberal	930,076	48.94	+3.85	38	+7
	Labor	921,099	48.47	−1.50	37	−5
	Independents	49,194	2.59	−2.35	0	−2
	Total	1,900,369			75
	Commonwealth Liberal	WIN			38	+7
	Labor				37	−5

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Notes

• Three members were elected unopposed – one Commonwealth Liberal and two Labor.

Popular Vote Commonwealth Liberal   48.94% Labor   48.47% Independent   2.59%

Parliament Seats Commonwealth Liberal   50.67% Labor   49.33%

Senate

Senate 1913–14 (FPTP BV) — Turnout 73.66% (Non-CV) — Informal N/A

Party		Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held	Change
	Commonwealth Liberal	946,807	49.38	+3.83	7	7	−7
	Labor	934,176	48.72	−1.58	11	29	+7
	Socialist	20,183	1.05	+1.05	0	0	0
	Independents	16,233	0.85	−2.51	0	0	0
	Total	1,917,399			18	36

Seats changing hands

Seat	Pre-1913				Swing	Post-1913
	Party		Member	Margin		Margin	Member	Party
Ballaarat, Vic		Liberal	Alfred Deakin	1.1	3.1	0.6	Charles McGrath	Labor
Bendigo, Vic		Liberal	John Quick	1.3	3.6	2.0	John Arthur	Labor
Boothby, SA		Liberal	David Gordon	7.1	10.8	3.0	George Dankel	Labor
Calare, NSW		Labor	Thomas Brown	3.6	5.9	2.1	Henry Pigott	Liberal
Corangamite, Vic		Labor	James Scullin	4.7	6.1	2.2	Chester Manifold	Liberal
Corio, Vic		Labor	Alfred Ozanne	4.4	5.1	1.8	William Kendell	Liberal
Fremantle, WA		Liberal	William Hedges	4.5	11.4	5.8	Reginald Burchell	Labor
Gippsland, Vic		Independent	George Wise	12.1	12.7	5.0	James Bennett	Liberal
Hume, NSW		Independent	William Lyne	16.4	16.2	0.7	Robert Patten	Liberal
Indi, Vic		Labor	Parker Moloney	3.1	3.2	2.2	Cornelius Ahern	Liberal
New England, NSW		Labor	Francis Foster	2.7	9.5	6.5	Percy Abbott	Liberal
Oxley, Qld		Liberal	Richard Edwards	12.2	N/A	4.4	James Sharpe	Labor
Riverina, NSW		Labor	John Chanter	7.0	8.6	1.0	Franc Falkiner	Liberal
Wannon, Vic		Labor	John McDougall	5.0	7.8	4.2	Arthur Rodgers	Liberal
Werriwa, NSW		Labor	Benjamin Bennett	0.8	6.5	5.9	Alfred Conroy	Liberal

• Members in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

See also

• Candidates of the Australian federal election, 1913
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1913–1914
• Members of the Australian Senate, 1913–1914

References

• University of WA election results in Australia since 1890