House of Representatives Members – 5th Parliament 1913-1914

This is the full list of members who served in the fifth House of Representatives from 1913 until 1914.

In a 75-member chamber, the Labor Party lost its majority at the May 31, 1913 election, bringing to an end Prime Minister Andrew Fisher’s historic second term. The ALP won 37 seats (-5) to the Liberal Party’s 38 (+7).

The Liberal Party polled 48.94% of the primary vote, an increase of 3.85%. The ALP polled 45.09%, a decrease of 1.50%.

Joseph Cook formed the first elected Commonwealth Liberal Party administration since the fusion of the Protectionists and Anti-Socialists (Free Traders) in 1909. Lacking a majority in the Senate, Cook’s government lasted just 14 months until it was defeated at a double dissolution election in 1914.

There were two by-elections in the 5th Parliament:

• Kalgoorlie – 1913 – Charles Fraser, the ALP member, died. The ALP’s Hugh Mahon was elected unopposed at the by-election. Mahon had held Coolgardie (1901-1913) but the seat was abolished in 1913 and he unsuccessfully contested Dampier at the general election.
• Adelaide – 1914 – Ernest Roberts, the sitting ALP member, died. George Yates retained the seat for the ALP.

The first table below shows the state-by-state breakdown of the election results. The second table lists the 77 members who served in the 5th House of Representatives, 75 elected at the general election in 1913, plus two who entered via by-elections.