1914 Australian federal election

The 1914 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 5 September 1914. The election had been called before the declaration of war in August 1914. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives and all 36 seats in the Senate were up for election, as a result of the first double dissolution being granted. The incumbent Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Joseph Cook, was defeated by the opposition Labor Party under Andrew Fisher, who returned for a third term as prime minister.

1914 Australian federal election

← 1913 5 September 1914 (1914-09-05) 1917 →

All 75 seats in the House of Representatives
38 seats were needed for a majority in the House
All 36 seats in the Senate
Registered2,811,515 Increase1.86%
Turnout1,726,906 (73.53%)[a]
(Increase0.04 pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Andrew Fisher Joseph Cook
Party Labor Liberal
Leader since 30 October 1907 20 January 1913
Leader's seat Wide Bay (Qld) Parramatta (NSW)
Last election 37 seats 38 seats
Seats won 42 seats 32 seats
Seat change Increase5 Decrease6
Popular vote 858,451 796,397
Percentage 50.89% 47.21%
Swing Increase2.42% Decrease1.73%

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

Prime Minister before election

Joseph Cook
Commonwealth Liberal

Subsequent Prime Minister

Andrew Fisher
Labor

The Cook government is one of only two non-Labor governments in Australian history that did not last longer than the Labor government it had replaced; the other was the Howard government, which was defeated in 2007.

Additionally this marks the only time that three consecutive elections resulted in a change in government. In fact, since this election there have never been two consecutive elections resulting in a change in government. It also marks the third overall time that an election resulted in a change in government.

Fisher is one of only two Opposition Leaders from the Labor party to become prime minister with previous federal ministerial experience, the other being Anthony Albanese . This election was the second time he accomplished this, the first being in 1910. [citation needed]

This election resulted in the highest ever primary vote percentage for the Labor party at 50.89% and was the first time that the Labor party achieved more than 50% of the primary vote. The only other time this happened was in 1954.

Results

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House of Representatives

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  Labour: 42 seats
  Liberal: 32 seats
  Independent: 1 seat
House of Reps 1914–17 (FPTP) — Turnout 73.53% (Non-CV) — Informal 2.32%
 
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Labor 858,451 50.89 +2.42 42 +5
  Liberal 796,397 47.21 −1.73 32 -6
  Independents 31,915 1.89 −0.70 1 +1
  Total 1,686,763     75
  Labor Win 42 +5
  Liberal 32 −6

Notes
  • Independents: George Wise (Gippsland, Vic)
  • Thirteen members were elected unopposed – seven Labor and six Liberal.
Popular vote
Labor
50.89%
Liberal
47.21%
Independent
1.89%
Parliament seats
Labor
56.00%
Liberal
42.67%
Independent
1.33%

Senate

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Senate 1914–17 (FPTP BV) — Turnout 72.64% (Non-CV) — Informal N/A
 
Party Votes % Swing Seats won Seats held Change
  Labor 6,119,018 52.15 +3.43 31 31 +2
  Liberal 5,605,305 47.77 −1.61 5 5 −2
  Independents 9,799 0.08 –0.78 0 0 0
  Total 11,734,122     36 36

Seats changing hands

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Seat Pre-1914 Swing Post-1914
Party Member Margin Margin Member Party
Corio, Vic   Liberal William Kendell 1.4 3.0 1.2 Alfred Ozanne Labor  
Gippsland, Vic   Liberal James Bennett 5.0 6.0 1.0 George Wise Independent  
Grampians, Vic   Liberal Hans Irvine 3.9 4.2 0.3 Edward Jolley Labor  
Indi, Vic   Liberal Cornelius Ahern 1.8 3.0 1.0 Parker Moloney Labor  
Riverina, NSW   Liberal Franc Falkiner 1.0 3.1 2.1 John Chanter Labor  
Werriwa, NSW   Liberal Alfred Conroy 5.9 5.9 0.0 John Lynch Labor  

Post-election pendulum

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Government seats
Australian Labor Party
Marginal
Werriwa (NSW) John Lynch ALP 00.0
Grampians (Vic) Edward Jolley ALP 00.3
Indi (Vic) Parker Moloney ALP 01.0
Corio (Vic) Alfred Ozanne ALP 01.2
Ballaarat (Vic) Charles McGrath ALP 01.2
Riverina (NSW) John Chanter ALP 02.1
Macquarie (NSW) Ernest Carr ALP 03.3
Gwydir (NSW) William Webster ALP 03.8
Grey (SA) Alexander Poynton ALP 04.0
Illawarra (NSW) George Burns ALP 04.2
Hunter (NSW) Matthew Charlton ALP 04.6
Bendigo (Vic) John Arthur ALP 05.1
Boothby (SA) George Dankel ALP 05.3
Denison (Tas) William Laird Smith ALP 05.9
Fairly safe
Bass (Tas) Jens Jensen ALP 06.0
Darwin (Tas) King O'Malley ALP 06.1
Fremantle (WA) Reginald Burchell ALP 06.3
Oxley (Qld) James Sharpe ALP 06.8
East Sydney (NSW) John West ALP 07.3
Fawkner (Vic) Joseph Hannan ALP 09.3
Safe
Brisbane (Qld) William Finlayson ALP 10.3
Darling (NSW) William Spence ALP 10.5
Dalley (NSW) Robert Howe ALP 11.3
Cook (NSW) James Catts ALP 11.7
Wide Bay (Qld) Andrew Fisher ALP 14.3 vs QFU
Maribyrnong (Vic) James Fenton ALP 14.3
Herbert (Qld) Fred Bamford ALP 14.4
Bourke (Vic) Frank Anstey ALP 15.9
Adelaide (SA) George Edwin Yates ALP 16.4
Capricornia (Qld) William Higgs ALP 17.4
South Sydney (NSW) Edward Riley ALP 18.8
Melbourne (Vic) William Maloney ALP 19.3
Very safe
Hindmarsh (SA) William Archibald ALP 24.4
West Sydney (NSW) Billy Hughes ALP 25.3
Barrier (NSW) Josiah Thomas ALP 29.7
Batman (Vic) Frank Brennan ALP unopposed
Kalgoorlie (WA) Hugh Mahon ALP unopposed
Kennedy (Qld) Charles McDonald ALP unopposed
Maranoa (Qld) Jim Page ALP unopposed
Melbourne Ports (Vic) James Mathews ALP unopposed
Newcastle (NSW) David Watkins ALP unopposed
Yarra (Vic) Frank Tudor ALP unopposed
Non-government seats
Liberal Party
Marginal
Hume (NSW) Robert Patten LIB 01.0
Calare (NSW) Henry Pigott LIB 01.2
Corangamite (Vic) Chester Manifold LIB 01.6
Lilley (Qld) Jacob Stumm LIB 02.3
Wakefield (SA) Richard Foster LIB 02.4
Flinders (Vic) William Irvine LIB 02.7
Nepean (NSW) Richard Orchard LIB 02.7
Robertson (NSW) William Fleming LIB 03.4
Lang (NSW) Elliot Johnson LIB 03.5
Wannon (Vic) Arthur Rodgers LIB 03.6
Dampier (WA) Henry Gregory LIB 03.9
Perth (WA) James Fowler LIB 05.8
Fairly safe
Wentworth (NSW) Willie Kelly LIB 06.5
New England (NSW) Percy Abbott LIB 06.7
Barker (SA) John Livingston LIB 06.7
Darling Downs (Qld) Littleton Groom LIB 06.9
Moreton (Qld) Hugh Sinclair LIB 07.3
Henty (Vic) James Boyd LIB 07.7
Echuca (Vic) Albert Palmer LIB 08.2
Balaclava (Vic) William Watt LIB 08.4
Parkes (NSW) Bruce Smith LIB 08.5
Eden-Monaro (NSW) Austin Chapman LIB 09.2
Swan (WA) John Forrest LIB 09.2
Safe
Wilmot (Tas) Llewellyn Atkinson LIB 10.9
Kooyong (Vic) Robert Best LIB 13.3 vs IND
North Sydney (NSW) Granville Ryrie LIB 17.6
Very safe
Angas (SA) Paddy Glynn LIB unopposed
Cowper (NSW) John Thomson LIB unopposed
Franklin (Tas) William McWilliams LIB unopposed
Parramatta (NSW) Joseph Cook LIB unopposed
Richmond (NSW) Walter Massy-Greene LIB unopposed
Wimmera (Vic) Sydney Sampson LIB unopposed
Independents
Gippsland (Vic) George Wise IND 01.0 vs LIB

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Turnout in contested seats

References

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