Members of the Australian Senate, 1950–1951

This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1 July 1950 to 28 April 1951.^[1] The Senate was expanded from 36 to 60 seats as a result of legislation passed in 1948, which came into effect on 22 February 1950.^[2] The membership of the newly expanded Senate broke down as follows:

• 18 of its members (3 for each state) were elected at the 28 September 1946 election, the last election under the plurality-at-large voting system where the Australian Labor Party had won 15 of the 18 seats. These senators had terms starting on 1 July 1947 and due to finish on 30 June 1953.
• 42 of its members (7 for each state) were elected at the 10 December 1949 election, which was the first election conducted with a single transferable vote under a proportional voting system. The senators were divided into two classes:
  • 30 of its members (5 for each state) had terms starting on 1 July 1950 and due to finish on 30 June 1956. The 18 senators elected in the 21 August 1943 election served until their terms ended on 30 June 1950.
  • 12 of its members (2 for each state) had terms starting on 22 February 1950 (the day the term of the House of Representatives began) and due to finish on 30 June 1953.

Senate composition at 1 July 1950
Government (26) - (5 seat minority)
  Liberal (21)
  Country Party (5)

Opposition (34)
  Labor (34)
 

Labor retained a Senate majority at the election. The Senate was dissolved for the 1951 election, which was a double dissolution. Labor has not held a Senate majority since.

Senator	Party		State	Term ending	Years in office
Stan Amour		Labor	New South Wales	1953	1938–1965
John Armstrong		Labor	New South Wales	1956	1938–1962
James Arnold		Labor	New South Wales	1953	1941–1965
Bill Ashley		Labor	New South Wales	1953	1938–1962
Bill Aylett		Labor	Tasmania	1956	1938–1965
Fred Beerworth		Labor	South Australia	1953	1946–1951
Archie Benn		Labor	Queensland	1956	1950–1968
Gordon Brown [lower-alpha 1]		Labor	Queensland	1953	1932–1965
Don Cameron		Labor	Victoria	1956	1938–1962
George Cole		Labor	Tasmania	1953 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1965
Joe Cooke		Labor	Western Australia	1953	1947–1951, 1952–1965
Walter Cooper		Country	Queensland	1953	1928–1932, 1935–1968
Ben Courtice		Labor	Queensland	1956	1937–1962
Jack Critchley		Labor	South Australia	1953	1947–1959
Jack Devlin		Labor	Victoria	1956	1946–1957
Alex Finlay		Labor	South Australia	1956	1944–1953
James Fraser		Labor	Western Australia	1956	1938–1959
John Gorton		Liberal	Victoria	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1968
Donald Grant		Labor	New South Wales	1956	1944–1959
Allan Guy		Liberal	Tasmania	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1956
Clive Hannaford		Liberal	South Australia	1953 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1967
John Harris		Labor	Western Australia	1953	1947–1951, 1953–1959
Bert Hendrickson		Labor	Victoria	1953	1947–1971
Denham Henty		Liberal	Tasmania	1956	1950–1968
Fred Katz		Labor	Victoria	1953	1947–1951
Roy Kendall		Liberal	Queensland	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1965
William Large		Labor	New South Wales	1953	1941–1951
Ted Maher		Country	Queensland	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1965
Ted Mattner		Liberal	South Australia	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1944–1946, 1950–1968
John McCallum		Liberal	New South Wales	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1962
Nick McKenna		Labor	Tasmania	1956	1944–1968
George McLeay		Liberal	South Australia	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1935–1947, 1950–1955
Bill Morrow		Labor	Tasmania	1953	1947–1953
Reg Murray		Labor	Tasmania	1953	1947–1951
Richard Nash		Labor	Western Australia	1956	1943–1951
Theo Nicholls		Labor	South Australia	1956	1944–1968
Justin O'Byrne		Labor	Tasmania	1953	1946–1981
Sid O'Flaherty		Labor	South Australia	1956	1944–1962
Neil O'Sullivan		Liberal	Queensland	1953	1947–1962
Edmund Piesse		Country	Western Australia	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1952
Dame Annabelle Rankin		Liberal	Queensland	1953	1947–1971
George Rankin		Country	Victoria	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1956
Albert Reid		Country	New South Wales	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1962
Agnes Robertson		Liberal	Western Australia	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1962
John Ryan		Labor	South Australia	1953 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1959
Charles Sandford		Labor	Victoria	1953	1947–1956, 1957–1966
Malcolm Scott		Liberal	Western Australia	1953 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1971
Jim Sheehan		Labor	Victoria	1953	1938–1940, 1944–1962
Wilfrid Simmonds		Liberal	Queensland	1953 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1951
John Spicer		Liberal	Victoria	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1940–1944, 1950–1956
Bill Spooner		Liberal	New South Wales	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1965
Dame Dorothy Tangney		Labor	Western Australia	1953	1943–1968
John Tate		Liberal	New South Wales	1953 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1953
Seddon Vincent		Liberal	Western Australia	1956	1950–1964
Frederick Ward		Labor	South Australia	1953	1947–1951
Dame Ivy Wedgwood		Liberal	Victoria	1953 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1971
Don Willesee		Labor	Western Australia	1953 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1975
Ian Wood		Liberal	Queensland	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1978
Robert Wordsworth		Liberal	Tasmania	1953 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1959
Reg Wright		Liberal	Tasmania	1956 [lower-alpha 2]	1950–1978

Notes

1. Father of the Senate
2. Term commenced on 22 February 1950, with expansion of Parliament.

References

1. "The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate 1950". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
2. Representation Act 1948 (Cth).

• Journals of the Senate. Parliament of Australia. 1951.
• "Members of the Senate since 1901". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2008.