Detailed information on the surviving members of the House of Representatives since 1949 is now available on this site. They include the members’ seats, parties, terms, dates of birth, ages and deaths.
All members of parliament who served in the first 18 parliaments from 1901 until the end of 1949 are now deceased.
There are two surviving members of the 19th Parliament that was elected on December 10, 1949. Both “forty-niners” are in their late 90s. One, Henry Pearce, will turn 100 in September this year.
Just four members of the House during the 1950s are still living.
For the entire Menzies era (1949-1972), there are 29 surviving members. All but four of them served together in the 27th Parliament between 1969 and 1972.
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.
- Living Former House Members – 1949-1972
- The Whitlam Era: Living Former House Members – 1972-1974
- Living Former Senators – 1949-1972
| House of Representatives – Members Still Living Since 1949 (Listed by Parliament No. and Years) |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Years | Size | Members Still Living |
% | Oldest Surviving Member |
ALP | Lib | CP/ Nat |
Oth |
| Henry Pearce (99) | |||||||||
| Henry Pearce (99) | |||||||||
| Henry Pearce (99) | |||||||||
| Henry Pearce (99) | |||||||||
| Henry Pearce (99) | |||||||||
| Jim Forbes (93) | |||||||||
| Wylie Gibbs (94) | |||||||||
| Mervyn Lee (96) | |||||||||
| Doug Everingham (93) | |||||||||
| Doug Everingham (93) | |||||||||
| Doug Everingham (93) | |||||||||
| Clarrie Millar (91) | |||||||||
| Doug Everingham (93) | |||||||||
| Doug Everingham (93) | |||||||||
| Doug Everingham (93) | |||||||||
| Clarrie Millar (91) | |||||||||
| Clarrie Millar (91) | |||||||||
| Steele Hall (88) | |||||||||
| Steele Hall (88) | |||||||||
| Ian Sinclair (87) | |||||||||
| Garry Nehl (83) | |||||||||
| Frank Mossfield (81) | |||||||||
| Wilson Tuckey (81) | |||||||||
| Wilson Tuckey (81) | |||||||||
| Bronywyn Bishop (74) | |||||||||
| Bronwyn Bishop (74) | |||||||||
| Warren Snowdon (67) | |||||||||
The early election took place just 18 months after the ALP’s historic 1972 victory. It occurred after Whitlam’s abortive attempt to secure an additional Senate vacancy by appointing DLP Senator Vince Gair as Ambassador to Ireland. The coalition threatened to block Supply, so Whitlam opted for a double dissolution.