This article provides information on candidates who stood for the 1961 Australian federal election. The election was held on 9 December 1961.
By-elections, appointments and defections
By-elections and appointments
- On 9 April 1960, John Jess (Liberal) was elected to replace Richard Casey (Liberal) as the member for La Trobe.
- On 9 April 1960, Bert James (Labor) was elected to replace H. V. Evatt (Labor) as the member for Hunter.
- On 16 July 1960, Noel Beaton (Labor) was elected to replace Percy Clarey (Labor) as the member for Bendigo.
- On 16 July 1960, Ray Whittorn (Liberal) was elected to replace Percy Joske (Liberal) as the member for Balaclava.
- On 5 November 1960, John England (Country) was elected to replace John Howse (Liberal) as the member for Calare.
- On 10 December 1960, Don Chipp (Liberal) was elected to replace Frank Timson (Liberal) as the member for Higinbotham.
- On 28 September 1961, Gordon Davidson (Liberal) was appointed a South Australian Senator to replace Rex Pearson (Liberal).
- Subsequent to the election, but prior to the new Senate taking its place:
- On 8 February 1962, Gordon Davidson (Liberal) was appointed a South Australian Senator to replace Nancy Buttfield (Liberal). Davidson had been appointed to the Senate in 1961 but had not contested the 1961 election. Buttfield, a sitting Senator, had been elected to the place originally won by Rex Pearson in 1961, but resigned it in order to take up the long-term vacancy. Davidson's appointment expired on 30 June 1963.
Retiring Members and Senators
Labor
- George Lawson MP (Brisbane, Qld)
- Senator John Armstrong (NSW)
- Senator Don Cameron (Vic)
- Senator Ben Courtice (Qld)
- Senator Sid O'Flaherty (SA)
- Senator Jim Sheehan (Vic)
Liberal
- Francis Bland MP (Warringah, NSW)
- Senator John McCallum (NSW)
- Senator Sir Neil O'Sullivan (Qld)
- Senator Robert Wardlaw (Tas)
Country
- George Bowden MP (Gippsland, Vic)
- Len Hamilton MP (Canning, WA)
- Senator Albert Reid (NSW)
- Senator Agnes Robertson (WA)
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.
Australian Capital Territory
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | Labor | Jim Fraser | Geoffrey Small |
New South Wales
Northern Territory
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Independent candidate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Territory | Labor | Jock Nelson | Harold Brennan |
Queensland
South Australia
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate | DLP candidate | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | Labor | Joe Sexton | John Rundle | Ursula Cook | |
| Angas | Liberal | Arnold Busbridge | Alick Downer | John Balogh | |
| Barker | Liberal | Norman Alcock | Jim Forbes | Charles Coffey | John Gartner (Ind) |
| Bonython | Labor | Norman Makin | Margaret McLachlan | Edward Timlin | Thomas Ellis (Ind) Alan Miller (CPA) |
| Boothby | Liberal | Ronald Basten | John McLeay | Ted Farrell | |
| Grey | Labor | Edgar Russell | Arthur Dodgson | Richard Mills | |
| Hindmarsh | Labor | Clyde Cameron | Karl-Juergen Liebetrau | Cyril Holasek | |
| Kingston | Labor | Pat Galvin | John McCoy | Brian Crowe | |
| Port Adelaide | Labor | Albert Thompson | Kimball Kelly | George Basisovs | Peter Symon (CPA) |
| Sturt | Liberal | Arthur Penn | Keith Wilson | Walter Doran | |
| Wakefield | Liberal | Collin Wood | Bert Kelly | John McMahon |
Tasmania
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Liberal candidate | DLP candidate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | Labor | Lance Barnard | Fred Marriott | Francis Boland |
| Braddon | Labor | Ron Davies | William Young | Frances Lane |
| Denison | Liberal | Eric Howroyd | Athol Townley | Harold Senior |
| Franklin | Liberal | William Wilkinson | Bill Falkinder | St Clair Courtney |
| Wilmot | Labor | Gil Duthie | Royston Ringrose Richard Thomas | Alastair Davidson |
Victoria
Western Australia
| Electorate | Held by | Labor candidate | Coalition candidate | DLP candidate | Other candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canning | Country | Charles Edwards | John Hallett (CP) Neil McNeill* (Lib) | Stanley Meredith | |
| Curtin | Liberal | George Piesley | Paul Hasluck (Lib) | Wilfred Bodeker | |
| Forrest | Liberal | Ernest Stapleton | Gordon Freeth (Lib) | ||
| Fremantle | Labor | Kim Beazley | John Waghorne (Lib) | Joan Williams (CPA) | |
| Kalgoorlie | Liberal | Fred Collard | Peter Browne (Lib) | George Jensen | Harold Illingworth (Ind) |
| Moore | Country | Wilbur Bennett | Hugh Halbert (Lib) Hugh Leslie* (CP) | John Crisafulli | |
| Perth | Liberal | Laurie Wilkinson | Fred Chaney (Lib) | Julius Re | |
| Stirling | Liberal | Harry Webb | Doug Cash (Lib) | Adrian Briffa | Jack Marks (CPA) |
| Swan | Liberal | Ted Johnson | Richard Cleaver (Lib) | Terence Merchant |
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
Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending one seat. The Liberal-Country Coalition was defending four seats. Senators Stan Amour (Labor), Ken Anderson (Liberal), James Arnold (Labor), Sir Alister McMullin (Liberal) and James Ormonde (Labor) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | DLP candidates | Communist candidates | Social Credit candidates | Pensioners candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Republican candidates | Group C candidates | Ungrouped candidates | |||
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Herbert Daley |
Queensland
Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal-Country Coalition was defending three seats. Senators Gordon Brown (Labor), Felix Dittmer (Labor), Roy Kendall (Liberal), Ted Maher (Country) and Ian Wood (Liberal) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | QLP candidates | Communist candidates | Group D candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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James Dwyer |
South Australia
Six seats were up for election. One of these was a short-term vacancy caused by Liberal Senator Rex Pearson's death; this had been filled in the interim by Liberal Gordon Davidson. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending four seats. Senators Arnold Drury (Labor), Keith Laught (Liberal), Clem Ridley (Labor) and Jim Toohey (Labor) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | DLP candidates | Communist candidates |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Tasmania
Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending three seats. Senators Bill Aylett (Labor), George Cole (Democratic Labor), Elliot Lillico (Liberal), John Marriott (Liberal) and Justin O'Byrne (Labor) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | DLP candidates | Communist candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Victoria
Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. The Liberal-Country Coalition was defending one seat. The Democratic Labor Party was defending one seat. Senators John Gorton (Liberal), George Hannan (Liberal), Bert Hendrickson (Labor), Pat Kennelly (Labor) and Ivy Wedgwood (Liberal) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Coalition candidates | DLP candidates | Communist candidates | Republican candidates | Centre candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Ungrouped candidates | |||||
|
John Dunstan |
Western Australia
Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats. The Country Party was defending one seat. Senators George Branson (Liberal), Harry Cant (Labor), Joe Cooke (Labor), Tom Drake-Brockman (Country) and Malcolm Scott (Liberal) were not up for re-election.
| Labor candidates | Liberal candidates | Country candidates | DLP candidates | Communist candidates | Ungrouped candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
Stephen Kellow |
Summary by party
Beside each party is the number of seats contested 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 | ACT | NT | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | S | HR | HR | HR | S | |
| Australian Labor Party | 46 | * | 33 | * | 18 | * | 9 | * | 11 | * | 5 | * | 1 | 1 | 124 | 6 |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 36 | * | 30 | * | 11 | * | 9 | * | 11 | * | 6 | * | 1 | 105 | 6 | |
| Australian Country Party | 10 | * | 6 | * | 7 | * | 2 | * | 25 | 4 | ||||||
| Democratic Labor Party | 40 | * | 33 | * | 7 | * | 11 | * | 5 | * | 96 | 5 | ||||
| Communist Party of Australia | 10 | * | 4 | * | 3 | * | 2 | * | 2 | * | * | 21 | 6 | |||
| Queensland Labor Party | 18 | * | 18 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Commonwealth Centre Party | 4 | * | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Australian Republican Party | 1 | * | 2 | * | 3 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Social Credit Party | * | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Pensioner Party of Australia | * | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Independent and other | 8 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 20 | |||||||||