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Who’s Left: Surviving Members Of Every House Of Representatives Since 1949

Statistics on the surviving members of the House of Representatives since 1949 are shown below. There are links to detailed information on each parliament since 1949.

All members who served in the first 18 parliaments from 1901 until the end of 1949 are now deceased.

Official records show two surviving members of the 19th Parliament that was elected on December 10, 1949. Both “forty-niners” are Liberals: Henry George Pearce (Capricornia-Qld), [showcurrentage month=”9″ day=”17″ year=”1917″ template=”1″], and Bill Grayden (Swan-WA), [showcurrentage month=”8″ day=”5″ year=”1920″ template=”1″]. However, it is not known if Pearce is actually still living. I am advised that his whereabouts cannot be established and he is likely deceased.

Two, and possibly three, members of the House during the 1950s are still living: Grayden, Pearce and Doug Anthony.

For the entire Menzies era (1949-1972), there are 22 surviving members. All but three of them (Pearce, Grayden, Gibbs) served together in the 27th Parliament between 1969 and 1972.

Currently, if he is still living, Henry George Pearce is the oldest surviving member of all five parliaments between 1949 and 1961: the 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd.

Tony Street is the oldest surviving member of the six parliaments between 1974 and 1984: the 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd and 33rd.

Steele Hall is the oldest surviving member of the four parliaments between 1984 and 1996: the 34th, 35th, 36th and 37th.

This page was last updated on January 23, 2021. It takes account of the most recent deaths:

  • Jan 17, 2021: Jon Sullivan, ALP (Longman-Qld), 70
  • Sep 12, 2020: John Fahey, ALP (Macarthur-NSW), 75
  • Aug 22, 2020: Edward “Ted” Grace, ALP (Fowler-NSW), 89
  • Jun 24, 2020: Roger Johnston, Liberal (Hotham-Vic), 90
  • May 24, 2020: Bruce Reid, Liberal (Bendigo-Vic), 84
  • Apr 27, 2020: Ian Causley, Nationals (Page-NSW), 79
  • Mar 06, 2020: Silvia Smith, ALP (Bass-Tas), 80
  • Nov 19, 2019: John Abel, Liberal (Evans-NSW), 80
  • Nov 17, 2019: Ben Humphreys, ALP (Griffith-Qld), 85
  • Aug 30, 2019: Elaine Darling, ALP (Lilley-Qld), 83
  • Aug 22, 2019: Tim Fischer, Nationals (Farrer-NSW), 73
  • Aug 10, 2019: Dr Jim Forbes, Liberal (Barker-SA), 95. At his death, Forbes was oldest former member of three parliaments: the 24th (1961-63), 28th (1972-74) and 29th (1974-75).
  • May 16, 2019: Bob Hawke, ALP (Wills-Vic), 89
  • Mar 31, 2019: Peter Coleman, Liberal (Wentworth-NSW), 90
  • Jan 01, 2019: Paul Neville, Nationals (Hinkler-Qld), 78
  • Dec 09, 2018: Gordon Scholes, ALP (Corio-Vic), 87
  • Nov 06, 2018: Ted Mack, Independent (North Sydney-NSW), 84
  • Sep 12, 2018: Barry Cunningham, ALP (McMillan-Vic), 78
  • Jun 02, 2018: Joe Berinson, ALP (Perth-WA), 86
  • May 21, 2018: Don Jessop, Liberal (Grey-SA and Senate-SA), 90.
  • Jan 02, 2018: Bryan Conquest, National Country (Hinkler-Qld), 87
  • Dec 18, 2017: Barry Cohen, ALP (Robertson-NSW), 82.
  • Nov 28, 2017: Clarrie Millar, National Country (Wide Bay-Qld), 92. At his death, Millar was the oldest former member of the six parliaments between 1975 and 1990: the 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th and 35th parliaments.
  • Nov 16, 2017: Wal Fife, Liberal (Farrer-NSW), 88
  • Aug 31, 2017: John Bourchier, Liberal (Bendigo-Vic), 87
  • Aug 24, 2017: Doug Everingham, ALP (Capricornia-Qld), 94. At his death, Everingham was the oldest former member of the 27th, 28th, 29th, 31st, 32nd and 33rd parliaments.
  • Jun 21, 2017: Con Sciacca, ALP (Bowman-Qld), 70
  • Mar 23, 2017: Ian Robinson, Country (Cowper/Page-NSW), 91
  • Jan 03, 2017: Russ Gorman, ALP (Greenway-NSW), 90

The table below provides a summary of how many members have served in the 19th to 45th parliaments. It shows how many are still living and what parties they belong to. There are links to more detailed information on each parliament since 1972.

Note: The data is structured around the parliaments since 1949. The numbers cannot be aggregated. Most surviving members served in more than one parliament.

Disclaimer: I am confident that the data shown here is correct. However, I rely on media reports and announcements in parliament for information on deaths of former members. I sincerely hope I haven’t killed or resurrected anyone. I am happy to receive corrections from readers.

House of Representatives – Members Still Living Since 1949
(Listed by Parliament No. and Years)
No. Years Total Members
Still
Living
% ALP Lib CP/
Nat
Oth Oldest Surviving
Member
19th
1949-1951
121
2 (1?)
1.65
2
Henry George Pearce ([showcurrentage month=”9″ day=”17″ year=”1917″ template=”1″])
William Grayden ([showcurrentage month=”8″ day=”5″ year=”1920″ template=”1″])?
20th
1951-1954
131
2 (1?)
1.52
2
Henry George Pearce ([showcurrentage month=”9″ day=”17″ year=”1917″ template=”1″])
William Grayden ([showcurrentage month=”8″ day=”5″ year=”1920″ template=”1″])?
21st
1954-1955
122
1 (0?)
0.81
1
Henry George Pearce ([showcurrentage month=”9″ day=”17″ year=”1917″ template=”1″])?
22nd
1955-1958
127
2 (1?)
1.57
1
1
Henry George Pearce ([showcurrentage month=”9″ day=”17″ year=”1917″ template=”1″])
Doug Anthony ([showcurrentage month=”12″ day=”31″ year=”1929″ template=”1″])?
23rd
1958-1961
128
2 (1?)
1.56
1
1
Henry George Pearce ([showcurrentage month=”9″ day=”17″ year=”1917″ template=”1″])
Doug Anthony ([showcurrentage month=”12″ day=”31″ year=”1929″ template=”1″])?
24th
1961-1963
125
4
3.20
2
2
Peter Nixon ([showcurrentage month=”3″ day=”22″ year=”1928″ template=”1″])
25th
1963-1966
129
8
6.20
2
3
3
Wylie Gibbs ([showcurrentage month=”7″ day=”26″ year=”1922″ template=”1″])
26th
1966-1969
130
12
9.23
3
6
3
Wylie Gibbs ([showcurrentage month=”7″ day=”26″ year=”1922″ template=”1″])
27th
1969-1972
128
19
14.84
7
8
4
Tom Hughes ([showcurrentage month=”11″ day=”26″ year=”1923″ template=”1″])
28th
1972-1974
126
27
21.42
13
8
6
Tony Street ([showcurrentage month=”2″ day=”8″ year=”1926″ template=”1″])
29th
1974-1975
128
37
28.90
14
15
8
Tony Street ([showcurrentage month=”2″ day=”8″ year=”1926″ template=”1″])
30th
1975-1977
128
51
39.84
8
33
10
Tony Street ([showcurrentage month=”2″ day=”8″ year=”1926″ template=”1″])
31st
1977-1980
126
58
46.03
14
35
9
Tony Street ([showcurrentage month=”2″ day=”8″ year=”1926″ template=”1″])
32nd
1980-1983
131
70
53.43
26
32
12
Tony Street ([showcurrentage month=”2″ day=”8″ year=”1926″ template=”1″])
33rd
1983-1984
131
80
61.06
50
19
11
Tony Street ([showcurrentage month=”2″ day=”8″ year=”1926″ template=”1″])
34th
1984-1987
149
99
66.44
57
29
13
Steele Hall ([showcurrentage month=”11″ day=”30″ year=”1928″ template=”1″])
35th
1987-1990
153
110
71.89
65
32
13
Steele Hall ([showcurrentage month=”11″ day=”30″ year=”1928″ template=”1″])
36th
1990-1993
150
121
80.66
66
42
12
1
Steele Hall ([showcurrentage month=”11″ day=”30″ year=”1928″ template=”1″])
37th
1993-1996
155
128
82.58
70
43
14
1
Steele Hall ([showcurrentage month=”11″ day=”30″ year=”1928″ template=”1″])
38th
1996-1998
150
133
88.66
48
67
15
3
Ian Sinclair ([showcurrentage month=”6″ day=”10″ year=”1929″ template=”1″])
39th
1998-2001
152
140
92.10
67
60
13
Garry Nehl ([showcurrentage month=”2″ day=”19″ year=”1934″ template=”1″])
40th
2001-2004
151
143
94.70
64
65
11
3
Frank Mossfield ([showcurrentage month=”6″ day=”4″ year=”1935″ template=”1″])
41st
2004-2007
151
145
96.68
61
72
10
2
Wilson Tuckey ([showcurrentage month=”7″ day=”10″ year=”1935″ template=”1″])
42nd
2007-2010
155
151
97.41
82
56
10
3
Wilson Tuckey ([showcurrentage month=”7″ day=”10″ year=”1935″ template=”1″])
43rd
2010-2013
150
147
98.00
72
59
11
5
Bronwyn Bishop ([showcurrentage month=”10″ day=”19″ year=”1942″ template=”1″])
44th
2013-2016
153
152
99.34
56
76
15
5
Bronwyn Bishop ([showcurrentage month=”10″ day=”19″ year=”1942″ template=”1″])
45th
2016-2019
153
153
100
71
60
16
6
Bob Katter ([showcurrentage month=”5″ day=”22″ year=”1945″ template=”1″])
46th
2019-
152
152
100
69
61
16
6
Bob Katter ([showcurrentage month=”5″ day=”22″ year=”1945″ template=”1″])

 

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