House Of Representatives Members – 26th Parliament 1966-1969

This is the full list of members of the House of Representatives (26th Parliament) elected on November 26, 1966.

The 1966 election was the eighth of nine consecutive victories for the coalition since 1949 and the first without its founding leader, Sir Robert Menzies.

In his first year as prime minister, Harold Holt took the coalition to its biggest electoral victory since 1944. The election was primarily a referendum on Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Conscription had emerged as a significant issue. A month before the election, the US President Lyndon Johnson visited Australia.

The election was the ALP leader Arthur Calwell’s third consecutive defeat. Gough Whitlam became the new leader in February 1967. In December 1967, Holt drowned and John Gorton became prime minister.

In a 124-seat House of Representatives, the Liberal Party won 61 seats (+9) and the Country Party 21 (+1), for a coalition total of 82 (+10). The ALP won 41 seats (-9), its losses compounding the defeat of 1963. The government secured a majority of 40 seats.

The Liberal Party won 40.14% of the primary vote (+3.05%), the Country Party 9.84% (+0.90%) and the ALP 39.98% (-5.49%). The two-party-preferred vote for the coalition was 56.90%, with the ALP on 43.10%, a swing against the ALP of 4.30%. The election qualifies as a landslide because the coalition won 66% of the seats and nearly 57% of the two-party vote. It was the first landslide since the ALP’s 1943 victory.

The Democratic Labor Party polled 7.31% of the primary vote (-0.13%), its preferences again contributing to the Coalition’s win, especially in Victoria.

There was no Senate election. Separate half-Senate elections were held in 1964, 1967 and 1970.

The member for the Australian Capital Territory was granted full voting rights in the House in 1966. Similar rights were granted to the member for the Northern Territory in 1968. These members are included in the numbers shown above.

There were six by-elections during the life of the 26th Parliament.

Following the disappearance of Harold Holt, John Gorton transferred from the Senate to Holt’s former seat of Higgins. Paul Hasluck, the Liberal Party’s member for Curtin, resigned in 1969 and was appointed Governor-General, with Victor Garland taking over his seat. Following the retirement of Hubert Opperman in Corio, the Liberal Party lost the by-election to the ALP’s Gordon Scholes.

The Country Party replaced Ian Allan in Gwydir with Ralph Hunt.

In addition to winning Corio, the ALP replaced the deceased George Gray in Capricornia with Doug Everingham. Following the resignation of Noel Beaton in Bendigo, the ALP’s David Kennedy took over the seat.

The table below shows 130 members, reflecting all who served in the parliament.

There are twelve members of the 26th Parliament still alive:

The most recent deaths of members of the 26th Parliament were:
– 2019: Dr Jim Forbes
– 2018: Don Jessop, Gordon Scholes
– 2017: Doug Everingham, Len Bosman and Ian Robinson
– 2016: Rex Patterson
– 2015: Tom Uren, Malcolm Fraser, Adrian Gibson and Andrew Jones
– 2014: Gough Whitlam
– 2013: Ian Wilson
– 2011: Ralph Hunt
– 2009: Peter Howson, Mervyn Lee

Note: Mervyn Lee, the Liberal member for Lalor (1966-69), was listed on this page for some years as a surviving member. On January 16, 2019, I was alerted to a notice of his death on December 13, 2009. The date and age indicate it was the former member for Lalor. Unfortunately, his death has never been acknowledged in the House of Representatives. Parliamentary Library documents still show him living.

The table below lists members by their party affiliation, seat, term and age.

• Links to other Parliamentary Lists