This article provides information on candidates who stood for the 1949 Australian federal election. The election was held on 10 December 1949.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate were expanded at this election. All seats are designated as held by the party that held the notional majority after the redistribution.
By-elections, appointments and defections
Defections
In 1949, Labor MP Max Falstein (Watson) lost endorsement for the election. He was expelled from the Labor Party and sat as an Independent. At the previous election, Charles Davidson had been jointly endorsed by the Liberal and Country parties to contest the seat of Capricornia, and had caucused with the Liberals in parliament. In 1949, he was endorsed instead by the Country Party to contest the new seat of Dawson, and subsequently sat as a Country Party member.
Redistributions and seat changes
Due to the expansion of the House, redistributions of electoral boundaries occurred in all states. In New South Wales, nineteen new seats were created: the notionally Labor seats of Banks, Cunningham, Evans, Grayndler, Kingsford-Smith, Lawson, Lowe, Mitchell, Paterson, Phillip, Shortland and St George; the notionally Liberal seats of Bennelong, Bradfield, Macarthur and Mackellar; the notionally Country seats of Farrer and Lyne; and the notionally Lang Labor seat of Blaxland. The Liberal-held seat of North Sydney and the Lang Labor-held seat of Reid became notionally Labor. The member for Martin, Fred Daly (Labor), contested Grayndler. The member for North Sydney, Billy Hughes (Liberal), contested Bradfield. The member for Reid, Jack Lang (Lang Labor), contested Blaxland. The member for West Sydney, William O'Connor (Labor), contested Martin. In Victoria, the Independent-held seat Bourke was renamed Burke, and became notionally Labor. Thirteen new seats were created: the notionally Labor seats of Darebin, Gellibrand, Hoddle, Lalor and Wills; the notionally Liberal seats of Chisholm, Higgins, Higinbotham, Isaacs and La Trobe; and the notionally Country seats of Mallee, McMillan and Murray. The Liberal-held seat of Fawkner and the Country-held seat of Bendigo became notionally Labor. The member for Ballaarat, Reg Pollard (Labor), contested Lalor. The member for Bendigo, George Rankin (Country), contested the Senate. The member for Bourke, Doris Blackburn (Independent Labor), contested Wills. The member for Fawkner, Harold Holt (Liberal), contested Higgins. The member for Indi, John McEwen (Country, contested Murray. The member for Wimmera, Winton Turnbull (Country), contested Mallee. In Queensland, eight new seats were created: the notionally Labor seats of Bowman, Dawson and Leichhardt; the notionally Liberal seats of McPherson, Oxley, Petrie and Ryan; and the notionally Country seat of Fisher. The Labor-held seats of Griffith and Lilley became notionally Liberal. The member for Capricornia, Charles Davidson (Country), contested Dawson. The member for Darling Downs, Arthur Fadden (Country), contested McPherson, as part of a Coalition agreement that allocated Darling Downs to the Liberal Party. The member for Maranoa, Charles Adermann (Country), contested Fisher. In Western Australia, three new seats were created: the notionally Labor seat of Curtin; and the notionally Country seats of Canning and Moore. The Country-held seat of Swan became notionally Labor. The member for Swan, Len Hamilton (Country), contested Canning. In South Australia, four new seats were created: the notionally Labor seats of Kingston, Port Adelaide and Sturt; and the notionally Liberal seat of Angas. The Labor-held seat of Boothby became notionally Liberal. The member for Boothby, Thomas Sheehy (Labor), contested Kingston. The member for Hindmarsh, Albert Thompson (Labor), contested Port Adelaide. There were minimal changes in Tasmania. A new seat was created for the Australian Capital Territory.
Retiring Members and Senators
Labor
Frank Brennan (Batman, Vic) Frank Gaha MP (Denison, Tas) James Scullin MP (Yarra, Vic) Senator Joe Collings (Qld)
Liberal
William Hutchinson MP (Deakin, Vic)
Country
Joe Abbott MP (New England, NSW)
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.