EveryElectionResult.com

Election results, country by country.

Darling downs — Australian Federal Election Results

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

Darling downs was won by Tom Mcveigh (National) at the 1983 federal election, with a margin of 20,103 votes over Ronald Cullin after preferences. This page covers every federal election in Darling downs from 1901 to 1983.

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), 1901–1983

Election Winner Party Final Votes Final Share Runner-up Margin
1901 William Groom Independent 4,685 78.5% Horace Ransome (Independent) 3,402 (57.0 pts)
1903 Littleton Groom NLU -1 100.0% None (None) -1 (100.0 pts)
1906 Littleton Groom Prot 7,440 65.1% Horace Ransome (Labor) 3,449 (30.2 pts)
1910 Littleton Groom Liberal 13,010 69.9% Morris Harland (Labor) 7,401 (39.7 pts)
1913 Littleton Groom Liberal 15,648 60.0% Barnett Allen (Labor) 5,197 (19.9 pts)
1914 Littleton Groom Liberal 15,148 56.9% Paul Bauers (Labor) 3,653 (13.7 pts)
1917 Littleton Groom National 17,815 56.1% John Wilson (Labor) 3,878 (12.2 pts)
1919 Littleton Groom National 17,974 57.7% Michael Alke (Labor) 4,794 (15.4 pts)
1922 Littleton Groom National 19,592 58.6% James Macdougall (Labor) 5,735 (17.1 pts)
1925 Littleton Groom National 23,648 63.1% Duncan Mcinnes (Labor) 9,845 (26.3 pts)
1928 Littleton Groom National -1 100.0% None (None) -1 (100.0 pts)
1929 Arthur Morgan National 23,873 57.9% Evan Llewellyn (Labor) 6,480 (15.7 pts)
1931 Littleton Groom Independent 23,597 60.8% Arthur Morgan (United Australia Party) 8,385 (21.6 pts)
1934 Littleton Groom United Australia Party 29,428 60.8% Michael Alke (Labor) 10,488 (21.7 pts)
1937 Arthur Fadden Country Party 30,747 64.0% Leslie Bailey (Labor) 13,483 (28.1 pts)
1940 Arthur Fadden Country Party 29,365 57.9% Leslie Bailey (Labor) 8,049 (15.9 pts)
1943 Arthur Fadden Country Party 28,232 52.5% Leslie Bailey (Labor) 2,701 (5.0 pts)
1946 Arthur Fadden Country Party 31,550 63.8% William English (Labor) 13,648 (27.6 pts)
1949 Reginald Swartz Liberal 21,261 65.3% James Kane (Labor) 9,980 (30.7 pts)
1951 Reginald Swartz Liberal -1 100.0% None (None) -1 (100.0 pts)
1954 Reginald Swartz Liberal 24,801 65.0% William Watson (Labor) 11,470 (30.1 pts)
1955 Reginald Swartz Liberal -1 100.0% None (None) -1 (100.0 pts)
1958 Reginald Swartz Liberal 22,469 62.3% John Mccafferty (Labor) 8,846 (24.5 pts)
1961 Reginald Swartz Liberal 20,971 55.0% John Mccafferty (Labor) 3,818 (10.0 pts)
1963 Reginald Swartz Liberal 26,072 64.4% Cyril Mitchell (Labor) 11,654 (28.8 pts)
1966 Reginald Swartz Liberal 26,585 66.5% Desmond Hare (Labor) 13,172 (32.9 pts)
1969 Reginald Swartz Liberal 29,715 63.9% Eugene Salas (Labor) 12,930 (27.8 pts)
1972 Tom Mcveigh Country Party 31,875 61.3% James Thomas (Labor) 11,753 (22.6 pts)
1974 Tom Mcveigh Country Party 38,078 65.7% Ronald Madden (Labor) 18,218 (31.4 pts)
1975 Tom Mcveigh National Country Party 42,133 69.4% Peter Wood (Labor) 23,543 (38.8 pts)
1977 Thomas Mcveigh National Country Party 42,630 69.7% Robert Lingard (Labor) 24,125 (39.5 pts)
1980 Tom Mcveigh National Country Party 41,011 67.9% Janet Hunt (Labor) 21,632 (35.8 pts)
1983 Tom Mcveigh National 42,627 65.4% Ronald Cullin (Labor) 20,103 (30.9 pts)

First-Preference Result by Election

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

1901

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
William GroomIndependent4,68578.5%
Horace RansomeIndependent1,28321.5%

1903

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomNLU-1100.0%

1906

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomProt7,44065.1%
Horace RansomeLabor3,99134.9%

1910

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomLiberal13,01069.9%
Morris HarlandLabor5,60930.1%

1913

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomLiberal15,64860.0%
Barnett AllenLabor10,45140.0%

1914

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomLiberal15,14856.9%
Paul BauersLabor11,49543.1%

1917

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomNational17,81556.1%
John WilsonLabor13,93743.9%

1919

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomNational17,97457.7%
Michael AlkeLabor13,18042.3%

1922

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomNational19,59258.6%
James MacdougallLabor13,85741.4%

1925

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomNational23,64863.1%
Duncan McinnesLabor13,80336.9%

1928

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomNational-1100.0%

1929

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Arthur MorganNational19,23846.6%
Evan LlewellynLabor12,73830.9%
Littleton GroomIndependent9,29022.5%

1931

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomIndependent23,59754.7%
Arthur MorganUnited Australia Party15,21235.2%
Herbert YeatesIndependent4,36510.1%

1934

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Littleton GroomUnited Australia Party29,42860.8%
Michael AlkeLabor18,94039.2%

1937

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Arthur FaddenCountry Party30,74760.7%
Leslie BaileyLabor17,26434.1%
Arthur RushtonSC2,6175.2%

1940

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Arthur FaddenCountry Party29,36557.9%
Leslie BaileyLabor21,31642.1%

1943

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Arthur FaddenCountry Party26,12348.6%
Leslie BaileyLabor23,25343.3%
Raymond MullalyIndependent3,3986.3%
Hugh PhairOPA9891.8%

1946

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Arthur FaddenCountry Party31,55059.9%
William EnglishLabor17,90234.0%
Maxwell OwenIndependent3,2096.1%

1949

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald SwartzLiberal21,26158.9%
James KaneLabor11,28131.2%
Charles FarquharsonIndependent3,0418.4%
Raymond MullalyCommunist Party of Australia2810.8%
Charles LacazeIndependent2600.7%

1951

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald SwartzLiberal-1100.0%

1954

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald SwartzLiberal24,80165.0%
William WatsonLabor13,33135.0%

1955

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald SwartzLiberal-1100.0%

1958

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald SwartzLiberal22,46956.5%
John MccaffertyLabor13,62334.3%
Margaret WalshQueensland Labor Party3,6809.3%

1961

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald SwartzLiberal20,97151.0%
John MccaffertyLabor17,15341.7%
Margaret WalshQueensland Labor Party3,0257.4%

1963

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald SwartzLiberal26,07261.2%
Cyril MitchellLabor14,41833.9%
Kenneth RawleDemocratic Labor Party2,0784.9%

1966

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald SwartzLiberal26,58560.5%
Desmond HareLabor13,41330.5%
Francis MullinsDemocratic Labor Party3,9449.0%

1969

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Reginald SwartzLiberal29,71557.5%
Eugene SalasLabor16,78532.5%
Francis MullinsDemocratic Labor Party5,17710.0%

1972

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
James ThomasLabor18,86636.3%
Tom McveighCountry Party16,78332.3%
Colin BrimblecombeLiberal11,69522.5%
Eugene ConnollyDemocratic Labor Party3,3416.4%
Ronald AlfordIndependent1,3122.5%

1974

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Tom McveighCountry Party38,07864.9%
Ronald MaddenLabor19,86033.8%
William NobesAP7331.2%

1975

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Tom McveighNational Country Party42,13369.4%
Peter WoodLabor18,59030.6%

1977

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Thomas McveighNational Country Party42,63068.1%
Robert LingardLabor18,50529.6%
David ProudIndependent1,4822.4%

1980

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Tom McveighNational Country Party41,01163.3%
Janet HuntLabor19,37929.9%
Maria HayboerAustralian Democrats3,5515.5%
David ProudIndependent8701.3%

1983

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Tom McveighNational42,62761.7%
Ronald CullinLabor22,52432.6%
David GrovesAustralian Democrats3,9605.7%

Margin Over Time

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

1901: Independent margin 57.0 pts 1903: NLU margin 100.0 pts 1906: Prot margin 30.2 pts 1910: Liberal margin 39.7 pts 1913: Liberal margin 19.9 pts 1914: Liberal margin 13.7 pts 1917: National margin 12.2 pts 1919: National margin 15.4 pts 1922: National margin 17.1 pts 1925: National margin 26.3 pts 1928: National margin 100.0 pts 1929: National margin 15.7 pts 1931: Independent margin 21.6 pts 1934: United Australia Party margin 21.7 pts 1937: Country Party margin 28.1 pts 1940: Country Party margin 15.9 pts 1943: Country Party margin 5.0 pts 1946: Country Party margin 27.6 pts 1949: Liberal margin 30.7 pts 1951: Liberal margin 100.0 pts 1954: Liberal margin 30.1 pts 1955: Liberal margin 100.0 pts 1958: Liberal margin 24.5 pts 1961: Liberal margin 10.0 pts 1963: Liberal margin 28.8 pts 1966: Liberal margin 32.9 pts 1969: Liberal margin 27.8 pts 1972: Country Party margin 22.6 pts 1974: Country Party margin 31.4 pts 1975: National Country Party margin 38.8 pts 1977: National Country Party margin 39.5 pts 1980: National Country Party margin 35.8 pts 1983: National margin 30.9 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 1977 1980 1983

Trend

Darling downs has been contested at 33 federal elections on record since 1901. Winning parties over that span: Independent, NLU, Prot, Liberal, National, United Australia Party, Country Party, National Country Party.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Darling downs in the 1983 federal election?

Tom Mcveigh (National) won Darling downs in 1983 after preferences, with 42,627 votes (65.4%) to Ronald Cullin's 22,524.

Which parties have won Darling downs since 1901?

Since 1901, Darling downs has been won by: Country Party, Independent, Liberal, NLU, National, National Country Party, Prot, United Australia Party.

What was the closest result in Darling downs?

The closest result on record for Darling downs was 1943, when Arthur Fadden (Country Party) beat Leslie Bailey by 2,701 votes (5.0 percentage points) after preferences.

Related Pages