House Of Representatives Members – 15th Parliament 1937-1940

This is the full list of members who served in the Fifteenth House of Representatives from 1937 until 1940.

The United Australia Party government led by Prime Minister Joe Lyons won its third term at the October 23, 1937 election. In a 74-member House, the UAP won 27 seats (-5) and its coalition partner, the Country Party, won 16 seats (+1). The Australian Labor Party won 29 seats (+11). The nine seats won by the NSW Lang Labor group in 1934 became ALP seats, after a reconciliation between the two factions. There were two independents, plus a member with limited voting rights from the Northern Territory.

The UAP-Country Party coalition governed with 43 seats, an overall majority of 8. The UAP polled 33.71% of the primary vote, down 0.73%. The ALP polled 43.17% (+16.36%). The Country Party secured 15.55% (+2.93%).

On a two-party-preferred basis, the UAP polled 50.60% (-2.90%) to the ALP’s 49.40%.

Prime Minister Joe Lyons died on April 7, 1939. For three weeks, the Country Party leader Earle Page was prime minister, until the UAP elected Robert Menzies as its leader. Menzies became prime minister on April 26, 1939.

Three UAP Cabinet ministers, all Victorians, were amongst ten people killed in the Canberra air disaster on August 13, 1940. They were: Geoffrey Street (Corangamite-Vic), Minister for the Army and Repatriation; James Fairbairn (Flinders-Vic), Minister for Air and Civil Aviation; and Sir Henry Gullett (Henty-Vic), Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister in charge of Scientific and Industrial Research. Rather than hold by-elections, Menzies opted to call a general election on September 21, 1940, thus bringing the Fifteenth Parliament to an end.

There were four by-elections in the Fifteenth Parliament, including in Prime Minister Joe Lyons’ seat. The ALP won all of the by-elections and took three seats from the UAP.

• 1938: Wakefield (NSW) – Charles Hawker (UAP) died in an aircraft crash; replaced by Sydney McHugh (ALP).
• 1939: Griffith (Qld) – Francis Baker (ALP) died; replaced by William Conelan (ALP).
• 1939: Wilmot (Tas) – Joe Lyons (UAP) died; replaced by Lancelot Spurr (ALP).
• 1940: Corio (Vic) – Richard Casey (UAP) resigned; replaced by John Dedman (ALP).

The first table shows the state-by-state breakdown of the House following the 1937 election.

The second table lists the 79 members who served in the 15th House of Representatives, 75 elected in 1937 and four who entered via by-elections. *The Northern Territory member (Adair Blain-Ind) had voting rights only for matters affecting the territory and is therefore excluded from the calculations of party strength in the House.