Australian federal election, 1906

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Australian federal election, 1906
1903 ←
12 December 1906 (1906-12-12) → 1910

All 75 seats in the Australian House of Representatives
and 18 (of the 36) seats in the Australian Senate
  First party Second party Third party
  Georgereid.jpg ChrisWatsonSepia.jpg AlfredDeakin.jpeg
Leader George Reid Chris Watson Alfred Deakin
Party Anti-Socialist Labour Protectionist
Leader since 8 May 1901 (1901-05-08) 8 May 1901 (1901-05-08) 24 September 1903 (1903-09-24)
Leader's seat East Sydney South Sydney Ballaarat
Last election 24 seats 23 seats 26 seats
Seats won 26 seats 26 seats 21 seats
Seat change Increase2 Increase3 Decrease5
Popular vote 363,257 348,711 156,425
Percentage 38.17% 36.64% 16.44%
Swing Increase3.80 Increase5.69 Decrease13.26

Prime Minister before election

Alfred Deakin

Resulting Prime Minister

Alfred Deakin

Federal elections were held in Australia on 12 December 1906. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Protectionist Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Alfred Deakin defeated the opposition Anti-Socialist Party led by George Reid.

It was the third federal election in Australia following the adoption of the federal government. The election was largely important as it would demonstrate which of the parties (if any) could hold together a stable government after the unstable second term of the previous one, which saw four different governments in power. It would also see if both of the Anti-Socialist parties could survive the implementation of protectionist policies which differentiated the two. This was also the first election where all seats for the House of Representatives were voted for via a First-past-the-post system (at previous elections some states voted as one electorate, using a bloc vote), and the first time that Tasmania was divided into separate electorates. The election result was the continuation of a Protectionist government led by Deakin and supported by Labour, which remained in power largely due to the unwillingness of the Anti-Socialist Party to support a vote of no confidence against it.

There were three main political parties contending for seats, each of which were present at the previous two elections. The Free Trade Party had changed its name under George Reid to the Anti-Socialist Party, in an attempt to differentiate it further from its left-wing rival, the Labor Party and to make its stance clearer to conservative voters. The third party standing for election was the Protectionist Party. However, since its primary platform of government tariffs had been dealt with by previous governments, the Party had become somewhat redundant. Those who remained were largely supporting the Party's leader, Alfred Deakin, rather than its policies. Of the three, the Labour Party, led by Chris Watson, now had the most realistic chance of becoming the dominant party after their gains in the 1903 election and after their leading status in the four minor states they were looking to make the same type of gains in Victoria and New South Wales.

The first federal referendum in Australia's history was held in conjunction with the election. The proposed alteration to the Constitution, to change the start date of Senators' terms from 1 January to 1 July, passed in all states and was carried.


House of Reps 1906–10 (FPTP) — Turnout 51.48% (Non-CV) — Informal 3.73%
  Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Anti-Socialist Party 363,257 38.17 +3.80 26 +2 (3 elected
  Federal Labour Party 348,711 36.64 +5.69 26 +3 (3 elected
  Protectionist Party 156,425 16.44 -13.26 16 -10 (1 elected
  Ind Protectionist 46,074 4.84 * 5 +5
  Western Australian Party 22,154 2.33 * 1 +1
  Independents/Other 15,067 1.58 −2.91 1 0
  Total 951,688     75
  Labour/Protectionist WIN 42 −7
  Anti-Socialist Party 26 +2

Independent: Frederick Holder (Wakefield, SA)

Senate 1906–10 (FPTP BV) — Turnout 50.21% (Non-CV) — Informal N/A
  Party Votes % Swing Seats Won Seats Held Change
  Anti-Socialist Party 1,384,662 46.53 +12.20 11 14 +2
  Federal Labour Party 1,152,517 38.73 +8.98 5 15 +1
  Protectionist Party 369,308 12.41 −5.12 2 6 −2
  Independents 26,771 0.90 −11.84 0 1 0
  Other 42,292 1.42 +1.42 0 0 −1
  Total 2,975,550     18 36

Independent: William Trenwith (Vic)

Seats changing hands[edit]

Seat Pre-1906 Swing Post-1906
Party Member Margin Margin Member Party
Balaclava, Vic   Protectionist George Turner 100.0 41.8 4.0 Agar Wynne Independent  
Barker, SA   Protectionist Langdon Bonython 100.0 58.1 8.1 John Livingston Anti-Socialist  
Batman, Vic new division 1.7 Jabez Coon Protectionist  
Bendigo, Vic   Protectionist John Quick 1.1 51.7 1.7 John Quick Independent  
Brisbane, Qld   Labour Millice Culpin 2.1 13.4 11.3 Justin Foxton Anti-Socialist  
Capricornia, Qld   Labour David Thomson 9.6 15.2 5.6 Edward Archer Anti-Socialist  
Cowper, NSW   Anti-Socialist Henry Lee 13.0 13.9 0.9 John Thomson Protectionist  
Denison, Tas   Protectionist Philip Fysh 0.2 15.1 10.5 Philip Fysh Anti-Socialist  
Fawkner, Vic new division 13.9 George Fairbairn Independent  
Franklin, Tas   Revenue Tariff William McWilliams 4.6 100.0 100.0 William McWilliams Anti-Socialist  
Fremantle, WA   Labour William Carpenter 11.3 12.2 0.9 William Hedges Western Australian  
Grey, SA   Anti-Socialist Alexander Poynton 100.0 100.0 100.0 Alexander Poynton Labour  
Indi, Vic   Protectionist Isaac Isaacs 100.0 44.4 2.7 Joseph Brown Anti-Socialist  
Macquarie, NSW   Anti-Socialist Sydney Smith 4.0 51.3 1.3 Ernest Carr Labour  
Maribyrnong, Vic new division 6.9 Samuel Mauger Protectionist  
Melbourne Ports, Vic   Protectionist Samuel Mauger 6.8 9.4 2.6 James Mathews Labour  
Indi, Vic   Independent James Wilkinson 5.8 18.3 12.5 Hugh Sinclair Anti-Socialist  
New England, NSW   Anti-Socialist Edmund Lonsdale 1.9 51.8 1.8 Francis Foster Labour  
Oxley, Qld   Protectionist Richard Edwards 2.3 14.3 16.6 Richard Edwards Anti-Socialist  
South Sydney, NSW   Anti-Socialist George Edwards 6.0 12.4 6.4 Chris Watson Labour  
Wannon, Vic   Anti-Socialist Arthur Robinson 2.9 5.7 2.8 John McDougall Labour  
Werriwa, NSW   Anti-Socialist Alfred Conroy 18.7 20.5 1.8 David Hall Labour  
Wimmera, Vic   Protectionist Pharez Phillips 0.1 14.6 14.2 Sydney Sampson Independent  
  • Members in italics did not contest their seat at this election.

Post-election pendulum[edit]

Protectionist/Labour Coalition
Gippsland (Vic) George Wise PROT 00.3 vs AS
Calare (NSW) Thomas Brown LAB 00.7 vs AS
Cowper (NSW) John Thomson PROT 00.9 vs AS
Macquarie (NSW) Ernest Carr LAB 01.3 vs AS
Batman (Vic) Jabez Coon PROT 01.7 vs LAB
New England (NSW) Francis Foster LAB 01.8 vs AS
Werriwa (NSW) David Hall LAB 01.8 vs AS
Melbourne Ports (Vic) James Mathews LAB 02.6 vs PROT
Laanecoorie (Vic) Carty Salmon PROT 02.7 vs LAB
Perth (WA) James Fowler LAB 02.7 vs WAP
Wannon (Vic) John McDougall LAB 02.8 vs AS
Herbert (Qld) Fred Bamford LAB 02.9 vs AS
Cook (NSW) James Catts LAB 03.0 vs AS
Gwydir (NSW) William Webster LAB 03.3 vs AS
Riverina (NSW) John Chanter PROT 04.1 vs AS
Wide Bay (Qld) Andrew Fisher LAB 04.5 vs AS
Mernda (Vic) Robert Harper PROT 04.7 vs LAB
Corio (Vic) Richard Crouch PROT 05.0 vs AS
West Sydney (NSW) Billy Hughes LAB 05.5 vs AS
Fairly safe
South Sydney (NSW) Chris Watson LAB 06.4 vs AS
Bourke (Vic) James Hume Cook PROT 06.7 vs LAB
Maribyrnong (Vic) Samuel Mauger PROT 06.9 vs LAB
Kennedy (Qld) Charles McDonald LAB 07.8 vs AS
Darling (NSW) William Spence LAB 07.9 vs AS
Darwin (Tas) King O'Malley LAB 09.5 vs AS
Yarra (Vic) Frank Tudor LAB 09.6 vs IND
Melbourne (Vic) William Maloney LAB 10.4 vs AS
Hume (NSW) William Lyne PROT 11.7 vs AS
Bass (Tas) David Storrer PROT 12.3 vs AS
Darling Downs (Qld) Littleton Groom PROT 15.1 vs LAB
Ballaarat (Vic) Alfred Deakin PROT 16.2 vs LAB
Newcastle (NSW) David Watkins LAB 17.2 vs PAS
Eden-Monaro (NSW) Austin Chapman PROT 17.8 vs AS
Maranoa (Qld) Jim Page LAB 18.8 vs AS
Very safe
Coolgardie (WA) Hugh Mahon LAB 23.1 vs WAP
Barrier (NSW) Josiah Thomas LAB 24.5 vs AS
Richmond (NSW) Thomas Ewing PROT 26.4 vs AS
Kalgoorlie (WA) Charles Frazer LAB 29.0 vs WAP
Adelaide (SA) Charles Kingston PROT unopposed
Boothby (SA) Lee Batchelor LAB unopposed
Grey (SA) Alexander Poynton LAB unopposed
Hindmarsh (SA) James Hutchison LAB unopposed
Anti-Socialist Party
Echuca (Vic) Albert Palmer AS 00.0 vs PROT
Hunter (NSW) Frank Liddell AS 00.8 vs LAB
Flinders (Vic) William Irvine AS 01.5 vs PROT
Dalley (NSW) William Wilks AS 02.7 vs LAB
Indi (Vic) Joseph Brown AS 02.7 vs LAB
Wilmot (Tas) Llewellyn Atkinson AS 04.2 vs LAB
East Sydney (NSW) George Reid AS 04.9 vs LAB
Capricornia (Qld) Edward Archer AS 05.6 vs LAB
Grampians (Vic) Hans Irvine AS 05.8 vs LAB
Fairly safe
Corangamite (Vic) Gratton Wilson AS 06.6 vs PROT
Robertson (NSW) Henry Willis AS 07.0 vs LAB
Barker (SA) John Livingston AS 08.1 vs LAB
Denison (Tas) Philip Fysh AS 10.5 vs LAB
Brisbane (Qld) Justin Foxton AS 11.3 vs LAB
Kooyong (Vic) William Knox AS 12.0 vs PROT
Moreton (Qld) Hugh Sinclair AS 12.5 vs LAB
Nepean (NSW) Eric Bowden AS 13.3 vs LAB
Angas (SA) Paddy Glynn AS 13.6 vs LAB
Illawarra (NSW) George Fuller AS 13.8 vs LAB
Oxley (Qld) Richard Edwards AS 13.8 vs LAB
Very safe
Lang (NSW) Elliot Johnson AS 20.4 vs LAB
Wentworth (NSW) Willie Kelly AS 23.2 vs LAB
Parkes (NSW) Bruce Smith AS 28.2 vs IND
Franklin (Tas) William McWilliams AS unopposed
North Sydney (NSW) Dugald Thomson AS unopposed
Parramatta (NSW) Joseph Cook AS unopposed
Fremantle (WA) William Hedges WAP 00.9 vs LAB
Bendigo (Vic) John Quick IND PROT 01.7 vs LAB
Balaclava (Vic) Agar Wynne IND PROT 04.0 vs IND
Wakefield (SA) Frederick Holder SPEAKER 13.8 vs LAB
Fawkner (Vic) George Fairbairn IND PROT 13.9 vs LAB
Wimmera (Vic) Sydney Sampson IND PROT 14.2 vs LAB
Swan (WA) John Forrest IND PROT 16.2 vs LAB

See also[edit]