Members of the Australian Senate, 1956–1959

Senate composition at 1 July 1956
Government (30) - (1 seat minority)[i]
  Liberal (24)
  Country Party (6) [ii]

Opposition (28)
  Labor (28) [i] [iii]

Crossbench (2)
  ALP (Anti-Communist)/DLP (2) [iv]
 
Changes in composition

  1. ^ a b At the November 1958 election Labor senator James Ormonde was elected to a full term seat, from 1 July 1959 to 30 June 1965 and Country Party candidate Colin McKellar was elected to fill the casual vacancy ending on 30 June 1962, giving the government a majority in the Senate.
  2. ^ At the November 1958 election Country Party Senator Tom Drake-Brockman was elected to a full term from 1 July 1959 to 30 June 1965 and Liberal candidate George Branson was elected to fill the balance of the casual vacancy ending on 30 June 1959.
  3. ^ Condon Byrne split from the Labor Party in 1957, joining the Queensland Labor Party.
  4. ^ The Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) changed its name to the Democratic Labour Party in 1957.

This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1956 to 1959.[1] Half of its members were elected at the 9 May 1953 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1953 and finishing on 30 June 1959; the other half were elected at the 10 December 1955 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1956 and finishing on 30 June 1962. The process for filling casual vacancies was complex. While senators were elected for a six-year term, people appointed to a casual vacancy only held office until the earlier of the next election for the House of Representatives or the Senate.[2]

Senator Party State Term ending Years in office
Stan Amour   Labor New South Wales 1959 1938–1965
Ken Anderson   Liberal New South Wales 1959 1953–1975
John Armstrong   Labor New South Wales 1962 1938–1962
James Arnold   Labor New South Wales 1959 1941–1965
Bill Ashley [a]   Labor New South Wales 1962 1938–1958
Bill Aylett   Labor Tasmania 1959 1938–1965
Archie Benn   Labor Queensland 1962 1950–1968
George Branson [b]   Liberal Western Australia 1959 1958–1971
Gordon Brown [c]   Labor Queensland 1959 1932–1965
Nancy Buttfield   Liberal South Australia 1962 1955–1965, 1968–1974
Condon Byrne   Labor/Queensland Labor [d] Queensland 1959 1951–1959, 1968–1974
Don Cameron   Labor Victoria 1962 1938–1962
George Cole   Labor (A-C)/Democratic Labor [e] Tasmania 1959 1950–1965
Joe Cooke   Labor Western Australia 1959 1947–1951, 1952–1965
Walter Cooper   Country Queensland 1962 1928–1932, 1935–1968
Ben Courtice   Labor Queensland 1962 1937–1962
Jack Critchley   Labor South Australia 1959 1947–1959
Jack Devlin [f]   Labor Victoria 1959 1946–1957
Tom Drake-Brockman [b]   Country Western Australia 1958 [g] 1958, 1959–1978
James Fraser   Labor Western Australia 1959 1938–1959
John Gorton   Liberal Victoria 1959 1950–1968
Donald Grant   Labor New South Wales 1959 1944–1959
Clive Hannaford   Liberal South Australia 1962 1950–1967
George Hannan [h]   Liberal Victoria 1958 [g] 1956–1965, 1970–1974
John Harris   Labor Western Australia 1959 1947–1951, 1953–1959
Bert Hendrickson   Labor Victoria 1959 1947–1971
Denham Henty   Liberal Tasmania 1962 1950–1968
Roy Kendall   Liberal Queensland 1959 1950–1965
Pat Kennelly   Labor Victoria 1959 1953–1971
Keith Laught   Liberal South Australia 1959 1951–1969
Ted Maher   Country Queensland 1959 1950–1965
John Marriott   Liberal Tasmania 1959 1953–1975
Ted Mattner   Liberal South Australia 1962 1944–1946, 1950–1968
John McCallum   Liberal New South Wales 1962 1950–1962
Colin McKellar [a]   Country New South Wales 1962 1958–1970
Nick McKenna   Labor Tasmania 1962 1944–1968
Frank McManus   Labor (A-C)/Democratic Labor [e] Victoria 1962 1956–1962, 1965–1974
Alister McMullin   Liberal New South Wales 1959 1951–1971
Theo Nicholls   Labor South Australia 1962 1944–1968
Justin O'Byrne   Labor Tasmania 1959 1947–1981
Sid O'Flaherty   Labor South Australia 1962 1944–1962
James Ormonde [a]   Labor New South Wales 1958 [g] 1958, 1959–1970
Neil O'Sullivan   Liberal Queensland 1962 1947–1962
Shane Paltridge   Liberal Western Australia 1962 1951–1966
Rex Pearson   Liberal South Australia 1959 1951–1961
Bob Poke   Labor Tasmania 1962 1956–1974
Dame Annabelle Rankin   Liberal Queensland 1962 1947–1971
Albert Reid   Country New South Wales 1962 1950–1962
Agnes Robertson   Country Western Australia 1962 1950–1962
John Ryan   Labor South Australia 1959 1950–1959
Charles Sandford [f]   Labor Victoria 1958,[g] 1962 1947–1956, 1957–1966
Malcolm Scott   Liberal Western Australia 1959 1950–1971
Harrie Seward [b]   Country Western Australia 1959 1951–1958
Jim Sheehan   Labor Victoria 1962 1938–1940, 1944–1962
John Spicer [h]   Liberal Victoria 1962 1940–1944, 1950–1956
Bill Spooner   Liberal New South Wales 1962 1950–1965
Dame Dorothy Tangney   Labor Western Australia 1962 1943–1968
Jim Toohey   Labor South Australia 1959 1953–1971
Seddon Vincent   Liberal Western Australia 1962 1950–1964
Harrie Wade   Country Victoria 1962 1956–1964
Robert Wardlaw   Liberal Tasmania 1962 1953–1962
Dame Ivy Wedgwood   Liberal Victoria 1959 1950–1971
Don Willesee   Labor Western Australia 1962 1950–1975
Ian Wood   Liberal Queensland 1959 1950–1978
Robert Wordsworth   Liberal Tasmania 1959 1950–1959
Reg Wright   Liberal Tasmania 1962 1950–1978

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Labor Senator Bill Ashley died on 27 June 1958; Labor member James Ormonde was appointed to fill the ensuing vacancy on 30 July, expiring at the November 1958 election. At the 1958 election, Ormonde was elected to a full term seat, from 1 July 1959 to 30 June 1965 and Country Party candidate Colin McKellar was elected to fill the casual vacancy ending on 30 June 1962.
  2. ^ a b c Country Party Senator Harrie Seward died on 23 July 1958; Country Party member Tom Drake-Brockman was appointed to fill the ensuing vacancy on 12 August, expiring at the November 1958 election. Liberal candidate George Branson was elected to fill the balance of the casual vacancy ending on 30 June 1959. Drake-Brockman was elected to a full term from 1 July 1959 to 30 June 1965.
  3. ^ Father of the Senate
  4. ^ Condon Byrne split from the Labor Party in 1957, joining the Queensland Labor Party.
  5. ^ a b The Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) changed its name to the Democratic Labour Party in 1957.
  6. ^ a b Labor Senator Jack Devlin died on 26 May 1957; former Labor Senator Charles Sandford was appointed to fill the ensuing vacancy on 6 June, expiring at the November 1958 election, when he was elected to fill the balance of the vacancy ending on 30 June 1962.
  7. ^ a b c d Appointed to a casual vacancy and only held office until the earlier of the next election for the House of Representatives or the Senate.[2]
  8. ^ a b Liberal Senator John Spicer resigned on 13 August 1956 to be appointed to the Commonwealth Industrial Court; Liberal member George Hannan was appointed to fill the ensuing vacancy on 28 August, expiring at the November 1958 election, when he was elected to fill the balance of the vacancy ending on 30 June 1962.

References

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  1. ^ "The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate 1956". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b Evans, H. "Filling Casual Vacancies before 1977" (PDF). The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate, Volume 3. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 24 February 2017.