Members of the Australian Senate, 1944–1947

This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1944 to 1947.^[1] Half of its members were elected at the 21 September 1940 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1941 and finishing on 30 June 1947; the other half were elected at the 21 August 1943 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1944 and finishing on 30 June 1950. 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]

Senate composition at 1 July 1944
Government (22) - (3 seat majority)
  Labor (22) ^[i]

Opposition (14)
  United Australia Party (12) ^[ii]
  Country Party (2)
 
Changes in composition

1. Labor Senator Richard Keane died in April 1946 and was replaced by Country Party member Alexander Fraser. The seat returned to Labor at the September 1946 election, when Fraser was defeated by Labor candidate Jack Devlin.
2. At the September 1946 election UAP Senator Ted Mattner was defeated for a casual vacancy by Labor candidate Fred Beerworth.

On 21 February 1945, Robert Menzies announced that the parliamentary United Australia Party had been dissolved and replaced by the newly established Liberal Party.^[3]

Senator	Party		State	Term ending	Years in office
Stan Amour		Labor	New South Wales	1950	1938–1965
John Armstrong		Labor	New South Wales	1950	1938–1962
James Arnold		Labor	New South Wales	1947	1941–1965
Bill Ashley		Labor	New South Wales	1947	1938–1962
Bill Aylett		Labor	Tasmania	1950	1938–1965
Fred Beerworth [a]		Labor	South Australia	1947	1946–1951
Charles Brand		United Australia/Liberal	Victoria	1947	1935–1947
Gordon Brown		Labor	Queensland	1950	1932–1965
Don Cameron		Labor	Victoria	1950	1938–1962
Robert Clothier		Labor	Western Australia	1950	1943–1968
Herbert Collett		United Australia/Liberal	Western Australia	1947	1933–1947
Joe Collings		Labor	Queensland	1950	1932–1950
Walter Cooper		Country	Queensland	1947	1928–1932, 1935–1968
Ben Courtice		Labor	Queensland	1950	1937–1962
Thomas Crawford [b]		United Australia/Liberal	Queensland	1947	1917–1947
Jack Devlin [c]		Labor	Victoria	1950	1946–1957
Alex Finlay		Labor	South Australia	1950	1944–1953
Harry Foll		United Australia/Liberal	Queensland	1947	1917–1947
Alexander Fraser [c]		Country	Victoria	1946 [d]	1946
James Fraser		Labor	Western Australia	1950	1938–1959
William Gibson		Country	Victoria	1947	1935–1947
Donald Grant		Labor	New South Wales	1950	1944–1959
John Hayes		United Australia/Liberal	Tasmania	1947	1923–1947
Herbert Hays		United Australia/Liberal	Tasmania	1947	1923–1947
Richard Keane [c]		Labor	Victoria	1950	1938–1946
Charles Lamp		Labor	Tasmania	1950	1938–1950
William Large		Labor	New South Wales	1947	1941–1951
John Leckie		United Australia/Liberal	Victoria	1947	1935–1947
Allan MacDonald		United Australia/Liberal	Western Australia	1947	1935–1947
Ted Mattner [a]		United Australia/Liberal	South Australia	1946 [d]	1944–1946, 1950–1968
Nick McKenna		Labor	Tasmania	1950	1944–1968
James McLachlan		United Australia/Liberal	South Australia	1947	1935–1947
George McLeay		United Australia/Liberal	South Australia	1947	1935–1947, 1950–1955
Richard Nash		Labor	Western Australia	1950	1943–1951
Theo Nicholls		Labor	South Australia	1950	1944–1968
Sid O'Flaherty		Labor	South Australia	1950	1944–1962
Burford Sampson		United Australia/Liberal	Tasmania	1947	1925–1938, 1941–1947
Jim Sheehan		Labor	Victoria	1950	1938–1940, 1944–1962
Dorothy Tangney		Labor	Western Australia	1947	1943–1968
Oliver Uppill [a]		United Australia	South Australia	1947	1935–1944

Notes

1. UAP Senator Oliver Uppill resigned on 16 September 1944; UAP member Ted Mattner was appointed to replace him on 10 October, with his term expiring at the 28 September 1946 election, when he was defeated by Labor candidate Fred Beerworth for the vacancy expiring on 30 June 1947.
2. Father of the Senate
3. Labor Senator Richard Keane died on 26 April 1946; Country Party member Alexander Fraser was appointed to replace him on 15 May, with his term expiring at the 28 September 1946 election, when he was defeated by Labor candidate Jack Devlin for the vacancy expiring on 30 June 1950.
4. 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]

References

1. "The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate 1944". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
2. Evans, H. "Filling Casual Vacancies before 1977" (PDF). The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate, Volume 3. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
3. LIBERAL PARTY ANNOUNCED IN PARLIAMENT, The Canberra Times, 22 February 1945.

• Journals of the Senate. Parliament of Australia. 1947.
• "Members of the Senate since 1901". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2008.