Australian federal election, 1901

All you want to know about Australian federal election, 1901

For members, see Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1901-1903 and Members of the Australian Senate, 1901-1903

Group photograph of all Federal Labour Party MPs elected at the inaugural 1901 election, including Chris Watson, Andrew Fisher, Billy Hughes, and Frank Tudor.

Edmund Barton is seated second from the left, surrounded by the Federal Executive Council, comprising his Cabinet ministers and the Governor-General, Lord Tennyson. Standing at the rear, left to right are James Drake, Senator Richard O'Connor, Sir Philip Fysh, Charles Kingston, and Sir John Forrest. Seated at the front, left to right are Sir William Lyne, Edmund Barton, Lord Tennyson, Alfred Deakin, and Sir George Turner.

The results showed the strong regional basis that has always characterised Australian politics. The Free Traders won most of the seats in New South Wales, apart from the border areas where the Protectionists were strong. The Protectionists won most of the seats in their stronghold, Victoria. Labour won some inner urban seats but most of their members represented pastoral and mining areas. In the smaller states many members had no fixed party loyalty and saw themselves as representing the interests of their states. Seven Prime Ministers of Australia (Barton, Deakin, Watson, Reid, Fisher, Joseph Cook and Hughes) were elected at this election, as were a number of influential former state Premiers (Sir John Forrest, Lyne, George Turner, Anderson Dawson, Philip Fysh and Charles Kingston among them).

With no past to live down, Barton's Protectionist ministry had all the advantages of incumbency with none of the problems, which meant that a Protectionist victory was almost a certainty. Barton and his ministry were returned, although they had to rely on Labour support to pass legislation. Although the Protectionists remained in government, however, many observers saw the result as a moral victory for Free Trade (who won more seats than the Protectionists in the three smallest states of South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia). Labour also performed better than expected, particularly after the post-election recruitment of O'Malley. In the federal Parliament, where Labor was the smallest of the three parties, but held the balance of power, Chris Watson pursued the same policy as Labor had done in the colonial parliaments. He kept the Protectionist governments of Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin in office, in exchange for legislative concessions including the immensely popular White Australia policy. Such was the overwhelming support for a White Australia by the electorate and the three political parties that the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 was the first piece of legislation passed by the nascent parliament.

The average national voting turnout was 60% of enrolled voters, with the Division of Newcastle gaining the best result of 97% while the Division of Fremantle recorded the lowest turnout (30%).

Of the two elected independents, both were from Queensland. James Wilkinson, elected to the seat of Moreton, was a former member of the Labour Party, and rejoined the party in 1903. Alexander Paterson, representing Capricornia, had no political affiliation, but retired in 1903.

References

^ ^a ^b McGinn, W.G. (1989). George Reid. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. ISBN 0-522-84373-5.
^ Rutledge, M. (1988) Smith, Arthur Bruce (1851 - 1937), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, Carlton.
^ Simms (ed.), M. (2001). 1901: The forgotten election. University of Queensland Press, Brisbane. ISBN 0-7022-3302-1.

State and federal election results in Australia since 1890
McMullin, R. (1991). The Light on the Hill; the Australian Labor Party 1891-1991. Oxford University Press, South Melbourne. ISBN 0-19-554966-X.
Reynolds, J. (1999). Edmund Barton. Bookman Press, Sydney. ISBN 1-86395-377-9.

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