House Of Representatives Members – 18th Parliament 1946-1949

This is the full list of members who served in the Eighteenth House of Representatives from 1946 until 1949.

Prime Minister Ben Chifley’s Labor government had been in office since 1941, initially under the leadership of John Curtin. Chifley led the government to its second substantial victory at the elections of September 28, 1946. In a 74-member House, the ALP won 43 seats (-6). The Liberal Party (formerly the United Australia Party) won 17 seats (+3), whilst the Country Party won 11 seats (+2). There were two independents, plus a member with limited voting rights from the Northern Territory.

The ALP polled 49.71% (-0.22%) of the primary vote. The Liberal Party polled 28.58% (+12.53%). The Country Party secured 10.70% (+3.73%). Independent candidates polled 1.83% (-10.33%).

On a two-party-preferred basis, the ALP polled 54.10% (-4.10%) to the UAP’s 45.90%.

Whilst the Labor government lost six seats, it still won 57.3% of all the seats in the House. It governed with an overall majority of eleven. It was to be the last victory for the ALP until 1972. Concerns over the government’s handling of post-war conditions, the failed attempt to nationalise the banks and industrial disputation contributed to the government’s defeat in 1949.

The former NSW Premier, Jack Lang, won election to the NSW seat of Reid at the 1946 election. He was aged 69. The other Lang Labor representatives remained with the ALP. Lang was defeated in 1949 and died in 1975 at the age of 98.

Dame Enid Lyons, the widow of former prime minister Joe Lyons, was re-elected to the second of three terms as the Liberal member for Denison, in Tasmania.

Doris Blackburn, the widow of Maurice Blackburn, the former member for the Victorian seat of Bourke (1934-1943), won Bourke as an independent Labour candidate, defeating the sitting ALP member, Bill Bryson. In turn, she was defeated by Bryson in 1949, when they both contested the new seat of Wills. Bryson would go on to be expelled from the ALP in the Split of 1955.

There were no by-elections during the Eighteenth Parliament.

The first table shows the state-by-state breakdown of the House following the 1946 election.

The second table lists the 75 members who served in the 18th House of Representatives. *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.