EveryElectionResult.com

Election results, country by country.

Darwin — Australian Federal Election Results

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

Darwin was won by Aubrey Luck (Liberal) at the 1954 federal election, with a margin of 330 votes over Arthur Foster after preferences. This page covers every federal election in Darwin from 1903 to 1954.

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), 1903–1954

Election Winner Party Final Votes Final Share Runner-up Margin
1903 King O'malley Labor 4,483 50.7% James Brickhill (Prot) 129 (1.5 pts)
1906 King O'malley Labor 5,215 60.4% William Lamerton (AS) 1,795 (20.8 pts)
1910 King O'malley Labor 6,681 63.3% William Fisher (Liberal) 2,800 (26.5 pts)
1913 King O'malley Labor 8,312 52.1% Alexander Marshall (Liberal) 660 (4.1 pts)
1914 King O'malley Labor 8,585 56.1% Ernest Plummer (Liberal) 1,862 (12.2 pts)
1917 Charles Howroyd National 9,073 58.8% King O'malley (Labor) 2,712 (17.6 pts)
1919 George Bell National 6,630 54.0% Joseph Lyons (Labor) 985 (8.0 pts)
1922 Joshua Whitsitt Country Party 5,069 50.4% George Bell (National) 81 (0.8 pts)
1925 George Bell National 12,164 60.5% Henry Lane (Labor) 4,219 (21.0 pts)
1928 George Bell National 14,880 71.9% James Campbell (Independent) 9,067 (43.8 pts)
1929 George Bell National 11,982 69.6% Henry Lane (Labor) 6,749 (39.2 pts)
1931 George Bell United Australia Party 16,149 69.9% Joseph Mcgrath (Labor) 9,187 (39.8 pts)
1934 George Bell United Australia Party 13,271 54.4% Edwin Brown (Labor) 2,145 (8.8 pts)
1937 George Bell United Australia Party 13,557 52.5% Edwin Brown (Labor) 1,287 (5.0 pts)
1940 George Bell United Australia Party 15,896 59.2% Eric Reece (Labor) 4,935 (18.4 pts)
1943 Dame Enid Lyons United Australia Party 14,055 51.5% Eric Reece (Labor) 816 (3.0 pts)
1946 Dame Enid Lyons Liberal 15,835 54.2% Harold Kirkpatrick (Labor) 2,443 (8.4 pts)
1949 Dame Enid Lyons Liberal 16,455 56.6% Harold Kirkpatrick (Labor) 3,853 (13.3 pts)
1951 Aubrey Luck Liberal 16,103 54.0% Maxwell Poulter (Labor) 2,396 (8.0 pts)
1954 Aubrey Luck Liberal 16,447 50.5% Arthur Foster (Labor) 330 (1.0 pts)

First-Preference Result by Election

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

1903

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
King O'malleyLabor4,48350.4%
James BrickhillProt4,35449.0%
James GaffneyIndependent530.6%

1906

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
King O'malleyLabor5,21555.0%
William LamertonAS3,42036.1%
Henry BannisterIndependent8499.0%

1910

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
King O'malleyLabor6,68163.3%
William FisherLiberal3,88136.7%

1913

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
King O'malleyLabor8,31252.1%
Alexander MarshallLiberal7,65247.9%

1914

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
King O'malleyLabor8,58556.1%
Ernest PlummerLiberal6,72343.9%

1917

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Charles HowroydNational9,07358.8%
King O'malleyLabor6,36141.2%

1919

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George BellNational6,63054.0%
Joseph LyonsLabor5,64546.0%

1922

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George BellNational4,53345.1%
Joshua WhitsittCountry Party4,05140.3%
James CampbellIndependent1,47314.6%

1925

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George BellNational9,68248.1%
Henry LaneLabor7,54137.5%
Hubert NicholsNational2,88614.4%

1928

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George BellNational14,88071.9%
James CampbellIndependent5,81328.1%

1929

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George BellNational11,98253.6%
Henry LaneLabor5,23323.4%
Thomas D'altonLabor5,13723.0%

1931

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George BellUnited Australia Party16,14969.9%
Joseph McgrathLabor6,96230.1%

1934

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George BellUnited Australia Party13,27154.4%
Edwin BrownLabor11,12645.6%

1937

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George BellUnited Australia Party13,55752.5%
Edwin BrownLabor12,27047.5%

1940

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George BellUnited Australia Party15,89659.2%
Eric ReeceLabor10,96140.8%

1943

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eric ReeceLabor7,79928.6%
Dame Enid LyonsUnited Australia Party7,34926.9%
Carrol BramichLabor3,83214.0%
John LearyUnited Australia Party3,10411.4%
John WrightUnited Australia Party2,88510.6%
Edgar NichollsIndependent1,7096.3%
Roy HarveyCommunist Party of Australia6162.3%

1946

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Dame Enid LyonsLiberal15,83554.2%
Harold KirkpatrickLabor13,39245.8%

1949

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Dame Enid LyonsLiberal16,45556.6%
Harold KirkpatrickLabor12,60243.4%

1951

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Aubrey LuckLiberal14,81949.7%
Maxwell PoulterLabor9,82032.9%
Arthur FosterLabor5,17117.3%

1954

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Aubrey LuckLiberal16,44750.5%
Arthur FosterLabor16,11749.5%

Margin Over Time

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

1903: Labor margin 1.5 pts 1906: Labor margin 20.8 pts 1910: Labor margin 26.5 pts 1913: Labor margin 4.1 pts 1914: Labor margin 12.2 pts 1917: National margin 17.6 pts 1919: National margin 8.0 pts 1922: Country Party margin 0.8 pts 1925: National margin 21.0 pts 1928: National margin 43.8 pts 1929: National margin 39.2 pts 1931: United Australia Party margin 39.8 pts 1934: United Australia Party margin 8.8 pts 1937: United Australia Party margin 5.0 pts 1940: United Australia Party margin 18.4 pts 1943: United Australia Party margin 3.0 pts 1946: Liberal margin 8.4 pts 1949: Liberal margin 13.3 pts 1951: Liberal margin 8.0 pts 1954: Liberal margin 1.0 pts 1903 1906 1910 1913 1914 1917 1919 1922 1925 1928 1929 1931 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1951 1954

Trend

Darwin has been contested at 20 federal elections on record since 1903. Winning parties over that span: Labor, National, Country Party, United Australia Party, Liberal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Darwin in the 1954 federal election?

Aubrey Luck (Liberal) won Darwin in 1954 after preferences, with 16,447 votes (50.5%) to Arthur Foster's 16,117.

Which parties have won Darwin since 1903?

Since 1903, Darwin has been won by: Country Party, Labor, Liberal, National, United Australia Party.

What was the closest result in Darwin?

The closest result on record for Darwin was 1922, when Joshua Whitsitt (Country Party) beat George Bell by 81 votes (0.8 percentage points) after preferences.

Related Pages