ID 0255
Commonwealth Parliament, House of Representatives election
Election of 29 March 1901
General election for the House of Representatives
Commonwealth of Australia
Date of election
29 March 1901
Government in office and parliamentary support before and after the election
Government in office at election
Prime Minister in office at date of election. (check notes to see if change of Prime Minister since previous election)
Prime Minister's party affiliation
Protectionist Party
House of Representatives support for government at election
Minority
If coalition, coalition partner(s)
Government in office after election
Prime Minister in office after election.
Prime Minister's party affiliation
Protectionist Party
House of Representatives support for government after election
Minority
If coalition, coalition partner(s)
Enrolment and voting
Total number of voters on the roll
987,754
Number of House of Representatives seats
75
Number of uncontested seats
6
If uncontested seats, number of voters on the roll in uncontested seats
80,096
Number of voters on the roll in contested seats
907,658
Total ballots cast (may differ from number of votes in multiple voting systems)
514,440
Turnout (rate of voting in contested seats)
56.68%
Total valid votes
505,972
Rate of informal (invalid) voting
1.65%
Informal (invalid) ballots in multiple voting system
Not applicable
Electoral system
Varied by state for first election: see entries for each state
House of Representatives votes and seats won, national summary
Election held on 29 March 1901
Criteria for the inclusion of parties in this table are set out in the Glossary under 'listed party'
| Party Name | First preference vote n | First preference vote share % | Change from previous election % | Seats won n | Uncontested seats held n | Seat share % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protectionist Party | 185,943 | 36.75 | * | 31 | 6 | 41.33 |
| Free Trade Party | 151,960 | 30.03 | * | 28 | 0 | 37.33 |
| Australian Labor Party | 79,736 | 15.76 | * | 14 | 0 | 18.67 |
| Independents | 8,384 | 1.66 | * | 2 | 0 | 2.67 |
| Votes for other than listed parties | 79,949 | 15.80 | 0.00 | |||
| Totals | 505,972 | 100.00 | 75 | 6 | 100.00 |
Next election in this series | Display Chart
* Party did not contest previous election or did not meet criteria for listing, or contested previous election under a different party name.
Notes
Election date: some polls were held on 30 March 1901.
Government at election: Barton was commissioned by the Governor General to form the first ministry on 1 January 1901. It included representatives from all states.
Sources
Colin A Hughes and B D Graham, A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1890-1964, (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1968, SBN 708102700).