EveryElectionResult.com

Election results, country by country.

Ballaarat — Australian Federal Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Ballaarat was won by James Short (Liberal) at the 1975 federal election, with a margin of 6,864 votes over David Williams after preferences. This page covers every federal election in Ballaarat from 1901 to 1975.

Australia uses instant-runoff (preferential) voting: voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no one has a majority of first-preference votes, the lowest-placed candidate is eliminated and their votes redistributed to voters' next preference, repeating until one candidate has a majority. The "Winner" and "Margin" below reflect the final result after preferences (equivalent to the AEC's own two-candidate-preferred figure) — not simply whoever led on first preferences, which can occasionally be a different candidate.

Full Election History (After Preferences), 1901–1975

Election Winner Party Final Votes Final Share Runner-up Margin
1901 Alfred Deakin Prot 4,655 74.5% Richard Vale (Independent) 3,061 (49.0 pts)
1903 Alfred Deakin Prot -1 100.0% None (None) -1 (100.0 pts)
1906 Alfred Deakin Prot 12,331 66.2% James Scullin (Labor) 6,026 (32.3 pts)
1910 Alfred Deakin Liberal 10,179 51.1% David Russell (Labor) 443 (2.2 pts)
1913 Charles Mcgrath Labor 16,417 50.6% Hugh Mckay (Liberal) 368 (1.1 pts)
1914 Charles Mcgrath Labor 16,734 51.2% Francis Coldham (Liberal) 771 (2.4 pts)
1917 Charles Mcgrath Labor -1 100.0% None (None) -1 (100.0 pts)
1919 Edwin Kerby National 13,569 50.0% Charles Mcgrath (Labor) 1 (0.0 pts)
1922 Charles Mcgrath Labor 14,200 58.4% Francis Coldham (National) 4,102 (16.9 pts)
1925 Charles Mcgrath Labor 19,121 51.3% Thomas Ryan (National) 974 (2.6 pts)
1928 Charles Mcgrath Labor 19,528 52.6% Matthew Baird (National) 1,912 (5.1 pts)
1929 Charles Mcgrath Labor 21,760 57.4% Frederic Edmunds (National) 5,631 (14.9 pts)
1931 Charles Mcgrath United Australia Party 24,859 63.3% James Miller (Labor) 10,441 (26.6 pts)
1934 Archibald Fisken United Australia Party 21,746 53.9% William Mcadam (Labor) 3,159 (7.8 pts)
1937 Reginald Pollard Labor 24,784 50.6% Stanley Walker (United Australia Party) 598 (1.2 pts)
1940 Reginald Pollard Labor 23,917 50.3% Edward Montgomery (United Australia Party) 281 (0.6 pts)
1943 Reginald Pollard Labor 26,428 57.2% William Roff (United Australia Party) 6,678 (14.5 pts)
1946 Reginald Pollard Labor 25,827 53.1% Arnold Caddy (Liberal) 3,015 (6.2 pts)
1949 Alan Pittard Liberal 19,851 50.4% Raymond Hyatt (Labor) 329 (0.8 pts)
1951 Robert Joshua Labor 20,482 51.2% Alan Pittard (Liberal) 965 (2.4 pts)
1954 Robert Joshua Labor 20,997 52.6% Allen Driscoll (Liberal) 2,097 (5.3 pts)
1955 Dudley Erwin Liberal 23,852 57.9% Austin Dowling (Labor) 6,498 (15.8 pts)
1958 Dudley Erwin Liberal 23,167 55.4% Donald Drummond (Labor) 4,544 (10.9 pts)
1961 Dudley Erwin Liberal 25,240 59.9% Aubrey Keane (Labor) 8,320 (19.7 pts)
1963 Dudley Erwin Liberal 26,764 62.2% Alan Williams (Labor) 10,497 (24.4 pts)
1966 Dudley Erwin Liberal 27,491 63.8% David Pollock (Labor) 11,923 (27.7 pts)
1969 Dudley Erwin Liberal 27,999 59.0% David Pollock (Labor) 8,559 (18.0 pts)
1972 Dudley Erwin Liberal 26,719 53.5% David Williams (Labor) 3,481 (7.0 pts)
1974 Dudley Erwin Liberal 30,721 54.8% David Williams (Labor) 5,390 (9.6 pts)
1975 James Short Liberal 29,708 56.5% David Williams (Labor) 6,864 (13.1 pts)

First-Preference Result by Election

Every candidate's first-preference votes, before any preference redistribution.

1901

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Alfred DeakinProt4,65574.5%
Richard ValeIndependent1,59425.5%

1903

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Alfred DeakinProt-1100.0%

1906

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Alfred DeakinProt12,33166.2%
James ScullinLabor6,30533.8%

1910

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Alfred DeakinLiberal10,17951.1%
David RussellLabor9,73648.9%

1913

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Charles McgrathLabor16,41750.6%
Hugh MckayLiberal16,04949.4%

1914

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Charles McgrathLabor16,73451.2%
Francis ColdhamLiberal15,96348.8%

1917

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Charles McgrathLabor-1100.0%

1919

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edwin KerbyNational13,56950.0%
Charles McgrathLabor13,56850.0%

1922

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Charles McgrathLabor14,20050.4%
Francis ColdhamNational10,09835.8%
Sydney KingLiberal3,87813.8%

1925

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Charles McgrathLabor19,12151.3%
Thomas RyanNational18,14748.7%

1928

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Charles McgrathLabor19,52852.6%
Matthew BairdNational17,61647.4%

1929

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Charles McgrathLabor21,76057.4%
Frederic EdmundsNational16,12942.6%

1931

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Charles McgrathUnited Australia Party19,26049.0%
James MillerLabor13,40934.1%
Henry BromfieldCountry Party6,60816.8%

1934

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
William McadamLabor17,72543.9%
Archibald FiskenUnited Australia Party11,85629.4%
Frederic EdmundsIndependent10,75226.7%

1937

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald PollardLabor24,78450.6%
Stanley WalkerUnited Australia Party24,18649.4%

1940

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald PollardLabor22,71547.8%
Edward MontgomeryUnited Australia Party19,08940.1%
Alex RussellIndependent5,74912.1%

1943

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald PollardLabor26,42854.5%
William RoffUnited Australia Party19,75040.7%
Gordon IrishIndependent2,3334.8%

1946

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald PollardLabor25,82753.1%
Arnold CaddyLiberal22,81246.9%

1949

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Alan PittardLiberal19,85150.4%
Raymond HyattLabor19,52249.6%

1951

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Robert JoshuaLabor20,48251.2%
Alan PittardLiberal19,51748.8%

1954

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Robert JoshuaLabor20,99752.6%
Allen DriscollLiberal18,90047.4%

1955

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Dudley ErwinLiberal15,76338.3%
Austin DowlingLabor15,68638.1%
Robert JoshuaLabor (Anti-Communist)9,75723.7%

1958

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Donald DrummondLabor17,90342.8%
Dudley ErwinLiberal16,68339.9%
Robert JoshuaDemocratic Labor Party7,20417.2%

1961

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Dudley ErwinLiberal18,37943.6%
Aubrey KeaneLabor16,22438.5%
Robert JoshuaDemocratic Labor Party7,55717.9%

1963

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Dudley ErwinLiberal20,76448.3%
Alan WilliamsLabor15,84636.8%
Robert JoshuaDemocratic Labor Party6,42114.9%

1966

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Dudley ErwinLiberal21,28849.4%
David PollockLabor15,04234.9%
Robert JoshuaDemocratic Labor Party6,72915.6%

1969

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Dudley ErwinLiberal20,88144.0%
David PollockLabor18,63439.3%
Robert JoshuaDemocratic Labor Party6,44413.6%
Graeme BondIndependent1,1732.5%
David SwinnertonIndependent2150.5%
Hendrik PrinsIndependent920.2%

1972

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
David WilliamsLabor22,80045.6%
Dudley ErwinLiberal20,86041.8%
Anthony BalkinDemocratic Labor Party6,29712.6%

1974

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Dudley ErwinLiberal25,73645.9%
David WilliamsLabor24,51743.7%
Bryan HanrahanDemocratic Labor Party4,2257.5%
Pamela CliffordAP1,5742.8%

1975

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
James ShortLiberal29,70850.9%
David WilliamsLabor22,84439.1%
Bryan HanrahanDemocratic Labor Party4,2197.2%
Glendon LudbrookIndependent1,6252.8%

Margin Over Time

Final (after-preferences) winning margin, percentage points, coloured by the winning party.

1901: Prot margin 49.0 pts 1903: Prot margin 100.0 pts 1906: Prot margin 32.3 pts 1910: Liberal margin 2.2 pts 1913: Labor margin 1.1 pts 1914: Labor margin 2.4 pts 1917: Labor margin 100.0 pts 1919: National margin 0.0 pts 1922: Labor margin 16.9 pts 1925: Labor margin 2.6 pts 1928: Labor margin 5.1 pts 1929: Labor margin 14.9 pts 1931: United Australia Party margin 26.6 pts 1934: United Australia Party margin 7.8 pts 1937: Labor margin 1.2 pts 1940: Labor margin 0.6 pts 1943: Labor margin 14.5 pts 1946: Labor margin 6.2 pts 1949: Liberal margin 0.8 pts 1951: Labor margin 2.4 pts 1954: Labor margin 5.3 pts 1955: Liberal margin 15.8 pts 1958: Liberal margin 10.9 pts 1961: Liberal margin 19.7 pts 1963: Liberal margin 24.4 pts 1966: Liberal margin 27.7 pts 1969: Liberal margin 18.0 pts 1972: Liberal margin 7.0 pts 1974: Liberal margin 9.6 pts 1975: Liberal margin 13.1 pts 1901 1903 1906 1910 1913 1914 1917 1919 1922 1925 1928 1929 1931 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1951 1954 1955 1958 1961 1963 1966 1969 1972 1974 1975

Trend

Ballaarat has been contested at 30 federal elections on record since 1901. Winning parties over that span: Prot, Liberal, Labor, National, United Australia Party.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Ballaarat in the 1975 federal election?

James Short (Liberal) won Ballaarat in 1975 after preferences, with 29,708 votes (56.5%) to David Williams's 22,844.

Which parties have won Ballaarat since 1901?

Since 1901, Ballaarat has been won by: Labor, Liberal, National, Prot, United Australia Party.

What was the closest result in Ballaarat?

The closest result on record for Ballaarat was 1919, when Edwin Kerby (National) beat Charles Mcgrath by 1 votes (0.0 percentage points) after preferences.

Related Pages