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Australian Political Records
Rob Lundie and Martin Lumb
Politics and Public Administration Group
12 May 1998 (Revised 7 September 1998)
This Note is designed to answer those frequently asked questions about
who was the first, youngest, oldest, most often, etc. in Australian federal
politics. The information is current as at 11 May 1998 and has been compiled
from such sources as the Parliamentary Handbook, Hansard,
the Australian Dictionary of Biography and state Parliamentary
Handbooks.
First Governor-General
Rt Hon. John Adrian Louis Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun who served from
1 January 1901 to 9 January 1903.
First Australian-Born Governor-General
Rt Hon. Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs who served from 22 January 1931
to 23 January 1936.
Parliament First Opened
In Melbourne on 9 May 1901. It moved to the provisional Parliament House
in Canberra on 9 May 1927 and then to the present Parliament House on
9 May 1988.
Youngest Person in the House of Representatives
Edwin Corboy (ALP, Swan, WA) was elected at a by-election on 26 October
1918 aged 22 years 2 months and served until defeated at the next election
on 13 December 1919. The youngest person elected to any Australian
Parliament was William Neilsen (ALP, Franklin) who was elected to the
Tasmanian Legislative Assembly on 23 November 1946 aged 21 years
2 months and served until his resignation on 1 December 1977.
Youngest Person in the Senate
Senator Bill O'Chee (National, Qld) was appointed under section
15 of the Constitution on 8 May 1990 aged 24 years 10 months. The youngest
person actually elected was Senator Natasha Stott Despoja (AD,
SA) on 2 March 1996 aged 26 years 5 months, even though she was similarly
appointed on 29 November 1995.
Oldest Person First Elected to the House of Representatives
Edward Braddon (Free Trade, Tasmania and later Wilmot, Tas) was elected
at the age of 71 years 9 months and served from 29 March 1901 until his
death on 2 February 1904.
Oldest Person Appointed to the Senate
Senator Cleaver Bunton (IND., NSW) was appointed under section 15 of
the Constitution aged 72 years 9 months and served from 27 February 1975
to 11 November 1975.
First Woman Political Candidate
Catherine Helen Spence in 1897 when she ran for the National Australasian
Convention. She came 22nd out of 33 candidates and was not elected.
Women First Eligible to Vote and Sit in the Commonwealth Parliament
Women in SA and WA had been granted the right to vote before Federation
and so were eligible to vote in the first Commonwealth election on 29-30
March 1901. All women (except Aboriginal women) became eligible to vote
through the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 which came into effect
on 12 June 1902. Thus, the first election at which they could vote and
stand for the Commonwealth Parliament was that of 16 December 1903.
First Woman Candidate for the House of Representatives
Selina Anderson (Protectionist) for Dalley, NSW, at the 16 December 1903
election. Selina Anderson was also a candidate under her maiden name of
Siggins for the Country Party in the seat of Calare at the 16 December
1922 election.
First Women Elected to Parliament
Enid Lyons (UAP and later LP, Darwin, Tas) was elected to the House of
Representatives on 21 August 1943 and retired 19 March 1951.
On the same date Senator Dorothy Tangney (ALP, WA) was elected to
the Senate and she served to 19 March 1951 and then from 28 April 1951
to 30 June 1968. The first woman elected to any Australian Parliament
was Edith Cowan (Nationalist, West Perth) who was elected to the WA Legislative
Assembly on 12 March 1921 and served until 22 March 1924.
First and Only Aboriginal Appointed and Elected to Parliament
Senator Neville Bonner (LP and later IND, Qld) was appointed on 11 June
1971 under section 15 of the Constitution and returned at the next election
on 2 December 1972. He served until 4 February 1983.
Oldest Member of Parliament
William Morris Hughes entered Parliament aged 38 on 29 March 1901 and
died aged 90 on 28 October 1952 whilst still a member. He represented
a number of electorates and was a member of various parties.
Longest Serving Member of Parliament
William Morris Hughes served for 51 years 7 months from 29 March 1901
until his death 28 October 1952.
Shortest Serving Member of Parliament
Charles Howroyd (Nationalist, Darwin, Tas) died on 10 May 1917 five days
after being elected on 5 May 1917. He never sat in Parliament.
First Prime Minister
Edmund Barton (Protectionist, Hunter, NSW) served from 1 January 1901
to 4 September 1903.
Youngest Person to Become Prime Minister
John Watson (ALP, Bland, NSW) became Prime Minister aged 37 and served
from 27 April 1904 to 17 August 1904.
Oldest Person to Become Prime Minister
John McEwen (Country Party, Murray, Vic) became Prime Minister aged 67
years 8 months after Harold Holt's death and served from 19 December
1967 to 10 January 1968 when Senator John Gorton (LP, Vic) was elected
as Leader by the Liberal Party. He was the first and only Senator to become
Prime Minister.
Longest Serving Prime Minister
Robert Menzies (LP, Kooyong, Vic) was Prime Minister for 16 years 1 month
8 days continuously from 19 December 1949 to 26 January 1966. He
was also Prime Minister for 2 years 4 months 4 days from 26 April
1939 to 29 August 1941.
Shortest Serving Prime Minister
Frank Forde (ALP, Capricornia, Qld) was Prime Minister for 8 days from
6 July 1945 to 13 July 1945 having been commissioned by the Governor-General
upon the death of John Curtin. He then lost the leadership ballot to Ben
Chifley.
Oldest Serving Prime Minister
Robert Menzies (LP, Vic) was 71 years 1 month when he resigned on 17
December 1966, having been in Parliament since 15 September 1934.
First Prime Minister to Die in Office
Joseph Lyons (UAP, Wilmot, Tas), Prime Minister from 6 January 1932,
died on 7 April 1939.
First Woman Member of the Ministry
Enid Lyons, Vice-President of the Executive Council was appointed on
19 December 1949 and served until 7 March 1951. The first woman with
a portfolio was Senator Annabelle Rankin (LP, Qld), Minister for Housing
in the Holt Government from 26 January 1966 to 22 March 1971. The first
woman member of Cabinet was Senator Margaret Guilfoyle (LP, Vic), Minister
for Social Security in the Fraser Government from 22 December 1975 to
3 November 1980, who was appointed to Cabinet on 8 July 1976.
First Minister to Resign Because of a Disagreement with Cabinet
Charles Kingston (Protectionist, Adelaide, SA) resigned from the Barton
Ministry as Minister for Trade and Customs on 24 July 1903 over disagreement
in Cabinet about whether the proposed Conciliation and Arbitration Bill
1903 should cover seaman on all ships engaged in Australian coastal trade.
Government with the Largest Majority
The Fraser Liberal Party/National Country Party Coalition Government
had a majority of 55 after the 1975 election having won 91 seats to 36
ALP.
Government with the Smallest Majority
The Cook Liberal Party Government had a one seat majority (38-37) after
the 1913 election. The Menzies UAP/Country Party Coalition retained Government
after the 1940 election with 37 seats to 36 (ALP-32 and Non-Communist
Labor-4) with one Independent. The Menzies Liberal Party/Country Party
Coalition retained Government after the 1961 election, because although
it had won the same number of seats (62) as the ALP, the ALP numbers included
two Territory members (ACT and NT) who did not have full voting rights
and therefore did not affect the outcome of divisions. They could only
vote on bills affecting the territories.
First Member Suspended from the House of Representatives
James Catts (ALP, Cook, NSW) was suspended on 18 August 1910 for referring
to a statement by Elliott Johnson (LP, Lang, NSW) as 'a dirty, skunky
thing to say' and for going over to the other side of the House and saying
'you dirty skunks'.
First Senator Suspended from the Senate
Senator Arthur Rae (ALP, NSW) was suspended on 1 November 1912 for describing
a statement attributed to him by Senator Edward Millen (Anti-Socialist,
NSW) as 'a deliberate falsehood' and then failing to withdraw it. He was
suspended for the remainder of the day's sitting.
Member Suspended from the House of Representatives Most Often
Wilson Tuckey (LP, O'Connor, WA) has been suspended 18 times including
once for 7 days; and 6 times for an hour under Standing Order 304A ('sin
bin') which came into force on 21 February 1994. This standing order allows
the Speaker to suspend members for one hour for disorderly conduct without
a division being required. Wilson Tuckey was also the first person to
be suspended under this standing order on 24 February 1994, 3 days
after it came into effect.
Senator Suspended from the Senate Most Often
Senator James Keeffe (ALP, Qld) was suspended 6 times during his term
from 1 July 1965 to 4 February 1983.
Speaker Who Has Suspended the Most Members
Robert Halverson, Speaker from 30 April 1996 to 3 March 1998, suspended
Members 51 times including 42 under Standing Order 304A.
President Who Has Suspended the Most Senators
Alister McMullin, President from 8 September 1953 to 30 June 1971,
and Condor Laucke, President from 17 February 1976 to 30 June 1981, both
suspended senators on 6 occasions.
Longest Debate on a Bill
The Native Title Bill 1993 was passed on 21 December 1993 after a Senate
debate lasting 51 hours 49 minutes.
First Private Members' Bill Passed into Law
The Life Assurance Companies Bill 1904 was initiated by Littleton Groom
(Protectionist, Darling Downs, Qld) and passed into law in 1905 as Act
No.12 of 1905.
First Broadcast of the Proceedings of Parliament
Radio broadcasts began on 10 July 1946. Senate proceedings have been
regularly televised from August 1990 and House proceedings from February
1991.
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