This article provides information on candidates who stood for the

1953 Australian Senate election Half-senate elections were held in Australia on 9 May 1953. 32 of the seats in the Senate were up for election. This was the first time a Senate election had been held without an accompanying election of the House of Representatives. The two elec ...

. The election was held on 9 May 1953.

By-elections, appointments and defections

By-elections and appointments

*On 7 February 1952, Joe Cooke ( Labor) was appointed a Western Australian Senator to replace Richard Nash ( Labor). *On 30 September 1952, Bill Robinson (

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

) was appointed a Western Australian Senator to replace

Edmund Piesse Edmund Stephen Roper Piesse (5 January 1900 – 25 August 1952) was an Australian politician who represented Western Australia in the Senate from 1950 until his death. He was a member of the Country Party. Piesse was born in Katanning, W ...

(

). *On 3 March 1953, John Marriott (

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

) was appointed a Tasmanian Senator to replace Jack Chamberlain (

Defections

*In 1953, Labor Senator Bill Morrow (Tasmania) was defeated for preselection. He contested the election as a member of his own party, the "Tasmanian Labor Party".

Retiring Senators

Labor

*Senator

Alex Finlay Alexander Finlay (14 November 1887 – 2 March 1963) was an Australian politician. Born in the South Yarra neighborhood of Melbourne, Victoria, he moved to Adelaide, South Australia as a child and attended school there until the age of twe ...

(SA)

Liberal

*Senator

John Tate John Tate may refer to: * John Tate (mathematician) (1925–2019), American mathematician * John Torrence Tate Sr. (1889–1950), American physicist * John Tate (Australian politician) (1895–1977) * John Tate (actor) (1915–1979), Australian act ...

(NSW)

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 three seats. The

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

was defending two seats. Senators John Armstrong (Labor), Bill Ashley (Labor),

John McCallum John McCallum (born 9 April 1950) is a Canadian politician, economist, diplomat and former university professor. A former Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP), McCallum was the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. He was asked for h ...

(Liberal),

Albert Reid Albert David Reid, MC (25 July 1886 – 22 May 1962) was an Australian politician. Born in Murrumburrah, New South Wales, he was educated at state schools before becoming a farmer and grazier at Crowther. He sat on Murrumburrah Shire Council ...

(Country) and

Bill Spooner William "Sputnik" Spooner (born August 16, 1949) is a musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter, and the founder of The Tubes, a theatrical rock band. His songwriting is known for its use of humor and satire. He has released three solo albums ...

(Liberal) were not up for re-election.

Queensland

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The

was defending three seats. Senators

Archie Benn Archibald Malcolm Benn (20 January 1897 – 3 April 1980) was an Australian politician. Born in Branxholme, Victoria, he was educated in Melbourne before moving to Queensland as a teenager where he worked as a shearer, and later as a public serv ...

(Labor), Walter Cooper (Country),

Ben Courtice Benjamin Courtice (14 February 1881 – 7 January 1972) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Queensland from 1937 to 1962. He served as Minister for Trade and Customs under Ben Chifley from 1946 to 1949. Early life Courtice ...

(Labor), Neil O'Sullivan (Liberal) and

Annabelle Rankin Dame Annabelle Jane Mary Rankin DBE (28 July 190830 August 1986) was an Australian politician and diplomat. She was the first woman from Queensland elected to parliament, the first woman federal departmental minister, and the first Australian ...

(Liberal) were not up for re-election.

South Australia

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending three seats. The Liberal Party was defending two seats. Senators

Clive Hannaford Douglas Clive Hannaford (11 January 1903 – 24 October 1967) was an Australian politician. Born in Riverton, South Australia, a son of Walter Hannaford MLC, and one of many notable descendants of Susannah Hannaford, he was educated at Rivert ...

(Liberal),

Ted Mattner Edward William Mattner, (16 September 1893 – 21 December 1977) was an Australian politician and soldier who served as a Australian Senate, Senator for South Australia from 1944 to 1946 and 1950 to 1968. He was President of the Australian Sena ...

(Liberal),

George McLeay George McLeay (6 August 1892 – 14 September 1955) was an Australian politician and senior minister in the Menzies Liberal government. Early life McLeay was born in Port Clinton, South Australia and educated at Port Clinton Public School unt ...

(Liberal),

Theo Nicholls Theophilus Martin "Theo" Nicholls (21 August 1894 – 22 July 1977) was an Australian politician. Born in Wilmington, South Australia, he received a primary education before becoming a wharf labourer. He served in the military from 1915 to 1917 ...

(Labor) and

Sid O'Flaherty Sidney Wainman O'Flaherty (2 July 1886 – 18 November 1967) was an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate for South Australia from 1944 to 1962. He had previously served as a Labor member of ...

(Labor) were not up for re-election.

Tasmania

Six seats were up for election. One of these was a short-term vacancy caused by Liberal Senator Jack Chamberlain's death; this had been filled in the interim by Liberal John Marriott. The Labor Party was defending four seats (although sitting senator Bill Morrow contested the election for the "Tasmanian Labor Party"). The Liberal Party was defending two seats. Senators

Allan Guy James Allan Guy, CBE (30 November 1890 – 16 December 1979) was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in both the Tasmanian House of Assembly and the Federal House of Representatives, before leaving to represe ...

(Liberal), Denham Henty (Liberal),

Nick McKenna Nicholas Edward McKenna (9 September 1895 – 22 April 1974) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1944 to 1968. He held ministerial office in the Chifley Government from 1946 to 1949 as Minister for Health a ...

(Labor) and

Reg Wright Sir Reginald Charles Wright (10 July 190510 March 1990) was an Australian barrister and politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1950 to 1978. He held ministerial office in the Gorton and Mc ...

(Liberal) were not up for re-election.

Victoria

Five seats were up for election. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The Liberal Party was defending three seats. Senators Don Cameron (Labor), George Rankin (

), Charles Sandford (Labor),

Jim Sheehan James Michael Sheehan (24 July 1885 – 10 April 1967) was an Australian trade unionist and politician. Born in Castlemaine, Victoria, he received a primary education before becoming a railway worker. He was an organiser with the Australian W ...

(Labor) and John Spicer (Liberal) were not up for re-election.

Western Australia

Six seats were up for election. One of these was a short-term vacancy caused by Country Party Senator

's death; this had been filled in the interim by Bill Robinson, also of the Country Party. The Labor Party was defending two seats. The

was defending four seats. Senators Agnes Robertson (Liberal),

Dorothy Tangney Dame Dorothy Margaret Tangney DBE (13 March 19073 June 1985) was an Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1943 to 1968. She was the first woman elected to ...

(Labor), Seddon Vincent (Liberal) and Don Willesee (Labor) were not up for re-election.

Summary by party

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Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

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Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

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Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been i ...

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Henry George Justice Party The Henry George Justice Party, also called the Henry George League, was a minor political party in the Australian state of Victoria during the 1950s. The party followed the tenets of Georgism, an economic philosophy and ideology espoused by Americ ...

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Democratic Party of Australia Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

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Tasmanian Labor Party The Tasmanian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as Tasmanian Labor, is the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Labor Party. It has been one of the most successful state L ...

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References

Adam Carr's Election Archive - Senate 1953
1953 elections in Australia Candidates for Australian federal elections

By-elections, appointments and defections

By-elections and appointments

Defections

Retiring Senators

Labor

Liberal

Senate

New South Wales

Queensland

South Australia

Tasmania

Victoria

Western Australia

Summary by party

See also

References