Candidates of the 1906 Australian federal election

This article provides information on candidates who stood for the 1906 Australian federal election. The election was held on 12 December 1906.

By-elections, appointments and defections

By-elections and appointments

• On 26 February 1904, Norman Cameron (Free Trade) was elected to replace Sir Edward Braddon (Free Trade) as the member for Wilmot.
• On 30 March 1904, William Maloney (Labour) was elected to replace Sir Malcolm McEacharn (Protectionist) as the member for Melbourne. McEacharn's election in 1903 had been declared void.
• On 18 May 1904, John Chanter (Protectionist) was elected to replace Robert Blackwood (Free Trade) as the member for Riverina. Blackwood's election in 1903 had been declared void.
• On 12 October 1906, Isaac Isaacs (Protectionist) resigned as the member for Indi. H. B. Higgins (Protectionist) resigned as the member for Northern Melbourne the following day. Due to the proximity of the election, no by-elections were held.

Defections

• In 1904, Independent MP James Wilkinson (Moreton) joined the Labour Party.
• In 1904, the Free Trade Party under its leader George Reid took office from the Watson Labour Government. Protectionists Senator James Drake (Queensland), James McCay (Corinella), Allan McLean (Gippsland) and Sir George Turner (Balaclava) accepted office under Reid and effectively ended their connection with the Protectionist Party, becoming Free Trade MPs. They were joined by Richard Edwards (Oxley), Senator Simon Fraser (Victoria), Sir Philip Fysh (Denison) and James McColl (Echuca). Around this time the Revenue Tariff Party was dissolved, and its two parliamentarians, Senator Henry Dobson (Tasmania) and William McWilliams (Franklin), also became Free Traders. Protectionists Sir John Forrest (Swan) and Sir John Quick (Bendigo) also dissolved their relationship with Deakin's party, but stopped short of joining the Free Traders. They were the beginning of what became known as the "Corner" group of independent conservative protectionists.
• In 1906, the Free Trade Party was renamed the Anti-Socialist Party.
• In 1906, the Western Australian Party was formed. Sir John Forrest (Swan), formerly a Protectionist, ran as its endorsed candidate, but in reality remained a member of the "Corner" group.
• Anti-Socialist MP Norman Cameron (Wilmot) lost pre-selection and contested the election as an Independent.
• Labour Senator Anderson Dawson (Queensland) initially announced his intention to retire at this election. He ultimately decided to contest it, but as the Labour candidates had already been selected he ran as an Independent.
• Labour MP James Ronald (Southern Melbourne), whose seat was abolished, was unsuccessful seeking pre-selection for Melbourne Ports. He contested the election as an Independent.

Redistributions and seat changes

• Redistributions of electoral boundaries occurred in New South Wales and Victoria.
  • In New South Wales, Bland was abolished, Cook and Nepean were created, and Canobolas was renamed Calare.
    • The member for Bland, Chris Watson (Labour), contested South Sydney.
    • The member for Canobolas, Thomas Brown (Labour), contested Calare.
  • In Victoria, Corinella and Moira were abolished, Maribyrnong was created, and Northern Melbourne and Southern Melbourne were renamed Batman and Fawkner respectively.
    • The member for Corinella, James McCay (Anti-Socialist), contested Corio.
    • The member for Echuca, James McColl (Anti-Socialist), contested the Senate.
    • The member for Flinders, James Gibb (Anti-Socialist), contested the New South Wales seat of Hume.
    • The member for Grampians, Thomas Skene (Anti-Socialist), contested the Senate.
    • The member for Melbourne Ports, Samuel Mauger (Protectionist), contested Maribyrnong.
    • The member for Moira, Thomas Kennedy (Protectionist), contested Echuca.
    • The member for Southern Melbourne, James Ronald (Independent), contested Melbourne Ports.

Retiring Members and Senators

Protectionist

• Sir Langdon Bonython MP (Barker, SA)
• Pharez Phillips MP (Wimmera, Vic)
• Senator James Drake (Qld)
• Senator Sir William Zeal (Vic)

Free Trade

• George Edwards MP (South Sydney, NSW)
• Sir George Turner MP (Balaclava, Vic) – elected as Protectionist
• Senator Sir Richard Baker (SA)
• Senator Alexander Matheson (WA)
• Senator Staniforth Smith (WA)

House of Representatives

Sitting members at the time of the election are shown in bold text. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour. Where there is possible confusion, an asterisk (*) is also used.

New South Wales

Electorate	Held by	Protectionist candidate	Anti-Socialist candidate	Labour candidate	Other candidates
Barrier	Labour		George Marshall	Josiah Thomas
Calare	Labour		John Fitzpatrick	Thomas Brown
Cook	Unknown		John Hindle	James Catts
Cowper	Anti-Socialist	John Thomson	Henry Lee	John O'Brien	Eugene Rudder (Ind)
Dalley	Anti-Socialist		Bill Wilks	Robert Howe
Darling	Labour		Denis Acton	William Spence
East Sydney	Anti-Socialist		George Reid	John West
Eden-Monaro	Protectionist	Austin Chapman	John Longmuir
Gwydir	Labour		Thomas Cunningham	William Webster
Hume	Protectionist	Sir William Lyne	James Gibb
Hunter	Anti-Socialist		Frank Liddell	William Kearsley
Illawarra	Anti-Socialist		George Fuller	George Holt
Lang	Anti-Socialist		Elliot Johnson	Edward Bennetts
Macquarie	Anti-Socialist		Sydney Smith	Ernest Carr
Nepean	Unknown		Eric Bowden	Charles Dyer	Thomas Taylor (Ind AS)
Newcastle	Labour		John Hawthorne	David Watkins
New England	Anti-Socialist		Edmund Lonsdale	Frank Foster
North Sydney	Anti-Socialist		Dugald Thomson
Parkes	Anti-Socialist		Bruce Smith		Hampton Slatyer (Ind AS)
Parramatta	Anti-Socialist		Joseph Cook
Richmond	Protectionist	Thomas Ewing	John Sutton
Riverina	Protectionist	John Chanter	John Jackson
Robertson	Anti-Socialist		Henry Willis	William Johnson
South Sydney	Anti-Socialist		Sir James Graham	Chris Watson
Wentworth	Anti-Socialist		Willie Kelly	William Duncan
Werriwa	Anti-Socialist		Alfred Conroy	David Hall
West Sydney	Labour		James Burns	Billy Hughes

Queensland

Electorate	Held by	Protectionist candidate	Anti-Socialist candidate	Labour candidate
Brisbane	Labour		Justin Foxton	Millice Culpin
Capricornia	Labour		Edward Archer	David Thomson
Darling Downs	Protectionist	Littleton Groom		Horace Ransome
Herbert	Labour		Walter Tunbridge	Fred Bamford
Kennedy	Labour		Frederick Johnson	Charles McDonald
Maranoa	Labour		Joseph Little	Jim Page
Moreton	Independent		Hugh Sinclair	James Wilkinson
Oxley	Protectionist		Richard Edwards	Alfred Merry
Wide Bay	Labour		Jasper Harvey	Andrew Fisher

South Australia

Electorate	Held by	Protectionist candidate	Anti-Socialist candidate	Labour candidate	Independent candidate(s)
Adelaide	Protectionist	Charles Kingston
Angas	Anti-Socialist		Paddy Glynn	Alexander Dey
Barker	Protectionist		John Livingston	Roland Campbell
Boothby	Labour			Lee Batchelor
Grey	Anti-Socialist			Alexander Poynton
Hindmarsh	Labour			James Hutchison
Wakefield	Independent			John Vaughan	Sir Frederick Holder

Tasmania

Electorate	Held by	Protectionist candidate	Anti-Socialist candidate	Labour candidate	Other candidates
Bass	Protectionist	David Storrer	William Oldham
Darwin	Labour		William Lamerton	King O'Malley	Henry Bannister (Ind AS)
Denison	Protectionist		Sir Philip Fysh	George Burns	William Brown (Ind Prot)
Franklin	Revenue Tariff		William McWilliams
Wilmot	Anti-Socialist	Charles Fenton	Llewellyn Atkinson	Thomas Wilson	Norman Cameron (Ind AS)

Victoria

Electorate	Held by	Protectionist candidate	Anti-Socialist candidate	Labour candidate	Independent candidate(s)
Balaclava	Protectionist	Edward Roberts		Alfred Hampson	Joseph Hewison (Ind AS) Agar Wynne* (Ind Prot)
Ballaarat	Protectionist	Alfred Deakin		James Scullin
Batman	Unknown	Jabez Coon		Robert Solly	Samuel Painter (Ind) Roy Vernon (Ind Prot)
Bendigo	Protectionist			Thomas Glass	Sir John Quick (Ind Prot)
Bourke	Protectionist	James Hume Cook	Joseph Molden	Randolph Bedford
Corangamite	Anti-Socialist	Desmond Dunne	Gratton Wilson	Thomas Carey
Corio	Protectionist	Richard Crouch	James McCay
Echuca	Protectionist	Thomas Kennedy	Albert Palmer
Fawkner	Unknown	John Miller		Thomas Smith	George Fairbairn (Ind Prot)
Flinders	Anti-Socialist	Arthur Nichols	William Irvine
Gippsland	Protectionist	George Wise	Allan McLean
Grampians	Anti-Socialist		Hans Irvine	Edward Grayndler
Indi	Protectionist	Thomas McInerney	Joseph Brown	Daniel Turnbull
Kooyong	Anti-Socialist	Robert Barbour	William Knox	Edward Hodges
Laanecoorie	Protectionist	Carty Salmon	Walter Grose	William Rowe
Maribyrnong	Unknown	Samuel Mauger		Clement Davidson
Melbourne	Labour			William Maloney	William Lormer (Ind Prot)
Melbourne Ports	Protectionist	Edward Watts		James Mathews	Cyril James (Ind AS) James Ronald (Ind Lab)
Mernda	Protectionist	Robert Harper	John Leckie	James Kenneally	Richard O'Neill (Ind Prot)
Wannon	Anti-Socialist		Arthur Robinson	John McDougall
Wimmera	Protectionist			Richard Taffe	Herman Brauer (Ind Prot) Max Hirsch (Ind AS) William Leslie (Ind AS) Sydney Sampson* (Ind Prot)
Yarra	Labour			Frank Tudor	George Roberts (Ind Lab) Richard Vale (Ind Prot)

Western Australia

Electorate	Held by	Labour candidate	WAP candidate
Coolgardie	Labour	Hugh Mahon	John Archibald
Fremantle	Labour	William Carpenter	William Hedges
Kalgoorlie	Labour	Charlie Frazer	William Burton
Perth	Labour	James Fowler	Edward Thurstan
Swan	Protectionist	Peter O'Loghlen	Sir John Forrest

Senate

Sitting senators are shown in bold text. Tickets that elected at least one Senator are highlighted in the relevant colour. Successful candidates are identified by an asterisk (*).

New South Wales

Three seats were up for election. The Anti-Socialist Party was defending three seats. Anti-Socialist Senators John Gray, John Neild and Edward Pulsford were not up for re-election.

Anti-Socialist candidates	Labour candidates	Socialist Labor candidates
Albert Gould* Edward Millen* James Walker*	George Clark Allan McDougall Greg McGirr	Tom Batho James Moroney John Willcox

Queensland

Three seats were up for election. The Protectionist Party had held one seat. The Labour Party was defending two seats. Labour Senators Thomas Givens, James Stewart and Harry Turley were not up for re-election.

Anti-Socialist candidates	Labour candidates	Other candidates
Thomas Chataway* Robert Sayers* Anthony St Ledger*	James Griffith William Higgs Jens Lundager	Anderson Dawson (Ind Lab)

South Australia

Three seats were up for election. The Protectionist Party was defending one seat. The Anti-Socialist Party was defending two seats. Labour Senators Robert Guthrie, Gregor McGregor and William Story were not up for re-election.

Protectionist candidates	Anti-Socialist candidates	Labour candidates
Thomas Playford	David Charleston Sir Josiah Symon* Joseph Vardon*	Reginald Blundell Dugald Crosby William Russell*

Tasmania

Three seats were up for election. The Protectionist Party was defending one seat. The Anti-Socialist Party was defending one seat. The Labour Party was defending one seat. Protectionist Senator Edward Mulcahy and Anti-Socialist Senators Henry Dobson and James Macfarlane were not up for re-election.

Protectionist candidates	Anti-Socialist candidates	Labour candidates
John Keating*	Cyril Cameron* John Clemons* Norman Ewing	James Guy David O'Keefe

Victoria

Three seats were up for election. The Protectionist Party was defending three seats. Protectionist Senator Robert Best, Labour Senator Edward Findley and Independent Senator William Trenwith were not up for re-election.

Protectionist candidates	Anti-Socialist candidates	Labour candidates
Charles Atkins Alexander Ramsay James Styles	Simon Fraser* James McColl* Thomas Skene	Stephen Barker Edward Russell* Tom Tunnecliffe

Western Australia

Three seats were up for election. The Anti-Socialist Party had held two seats. The Labour Party was defending one seat. Labour Senators John Croft, Hugh de Largie and George Henderson were not up for re-election.

Labour candidates	WAP candidates
Patrick Lynch* Ted Needham* George Pearce*	Charles Clarke Henry Mills Edward Wittenoom

See also

• 1906 Australian federal election
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1903–1906
• Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1906–1910
• Members of the Australian Senate, 1904–1906
• Members of the Australian Senate, 1907–1910
• List of political parties in Australia

References

• Adam Carr's Election Archive - House of Representatives 1906
• Adam Carr's Election Archive - Senate 1906