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East sydney — Australian Federal Election Results

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

East sydney was won by Leonard Devine (Labor) at the 1966 federal election, with a margin of 4,368 votes over William Berman after preferences. This page covers every federal election in East sydney from 1901 to 1966.

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), 1901–1966

Election Winner Party Final Votes Final Share Runner-up Margin
1901 George Reid FT 6,191 74.3% Harry Foran (Independent) 4,052 (48.6 pts)
1903 George Reid FT 8,103 65.3% Thomas Thrower (Labor) 3,795 (30.6 pts)
1906 George Reid AS 7,229 54.9% John West (Labor) 1,293 (9.8 pts)
1910 John West Labor 10,487 57.1% Samuel Lees (Liberal) 2,597 (14.1 pts)
1913 John West Labor 14,174 56.1% John Wilson (Liberal) 3,097 (12.3 pts)
1914 John West Labor 12,831 57.3% Osterley Thompson (Liberal) 3,263 (14.6 pts)
1917 John West Labor -1 100.0% None (None) -1 (100.0 pts)
1919 John West Labor 12,751 57.8% John Wilson (National) 3,424 (15.5 pts)
1922 John West Labor 10,885 59.1% Bejamin Fuller (National) 3,367 (18.3 pts)
1925 John West Labor 18,822 53.8% Richard Orchard (National) 2,653 (7.6 pts)
1928 John West Labor 19,651 58.4% Julian Simpson (National) 5,657 (16.8 pts)
1929 John West Labor 25,105 68.4% Hyman Diamond (National) 13,522 (36.9 pts)
1931 John Clasby United Australia Party 19,831 51.7% Eddie Ward (Labor (Non-Communist)) 1,282 (3.3 pts)
1934 Eddie Ward Labor (Non-Communist) 26,563 54.8% Arthur Butterell (United Australia Party) 4,650 (9.6 pts)
1937 Eddie Ward Labor 28,484 58.2% Arthur Butterell (United Australia Party) 8,055 (16.5 pts)
1940 Eddie Ward Labor 25,186 67.2% Lewis Nott (United Australia Party) 12,884 (34.4 pts)
1943 Eddie Ward Labor 36,531 74.6% Vincent Brady (United Australia Party) 24,101 (49.2 pts)
1946 Eddie Ward Labor 37,863 69.8% Ivan Dougherty (Liberal) 21,515 (39.7 pts)
1949 Eddie Ward Labor 22,496 59.4% John Mant (Liberal) 7,098 (18.7 pts)
1951 Eddie Ward Labor 20,379 54.9% Alexander Stewart (Liberal) 3,612 (9.7 pts)
1954 Eddie Ward Labor 19,282 61.5% George Chambers (Liberal) 7,214 (23.0 pts)
1955 Eddie Ward Labor 24,859 69.4% Joseph Landor (Liberal) 13,906 (38.8 pts)
1958 Eddie Ward Labor 22,377 73.5% Derek Montefiore-Castle (Liberal) 14,318 (47.0 pts)
1961 Eddie Ward Labor 21,999 75.5% John Folbigg (Liberal) 14,862 (51.0 pts)
1963 Leonard Devine Labor 19,779 64.9% William Foster (Liberal) 9,068 (29.7 pts)
1966 Leonard Devine Labor 15,004 58.5% William Berman (Liberal) 4,368 (17.0 pts)

First-Preference Result by Election

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

1901

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George ReidFT6,19168.0%
Harry ForanIndependent2,13923.5%
John ClearyIndependent5175.7%
James ToomeyIndependent2532.8%

1903

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George ReidFT8,10361.3%
Thomas ThrowerLabor4,30832.6%
Robert PeelProt7996.0%

1906

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George ReidAS7,22954.9%
John WestLabor5,93645.1%

1910

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John WestLabor10,48757.1%
Samuel LeesLiberal7,89042.9%

1913

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John WestLabor14,17456.1%
John WilsonLiberal11,07743.9%

1914

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John WestLabor12,83157.3%
Osterley ThompsonLiberal9,56842.7%

1917

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John WestLabor-1100.0%

1919

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John WestLabor12,75157.8%
John WilsonNational9,32742.2%

1922

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John WestLabor10,88559.1%
Bejamin FullerNational7,51840.9%

1925

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John WestLabor18,82253.8%
Richard OrchardNational16,16946.2%

1928

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John WestLabor19,65158.4%
Julian SimpsonNational13,99441.6%

1929

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John WestLabor25,10568.4%
Hyman DiamondNational11,58331.6%

1931

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John ClasbyUnited Australia Party16,97744.2%
Eddie WardLabor (Non-Communist)16,29142.4%
George BucklandLabor5,11213.3%

1934

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eddie WardLabor (Non-Communist)25,56749.9%
Arthur ButterellUnited Australia Party21,68642.3%
George LaughlanLabor2,4004.7%
William McdougallCommunist Party of Australia1,5923.1%

1937

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eddie WardLabor28,48456.0%
Arthur ButterellUnited Australia Party20,42940.2%
Thomas GrantIndependent1,6033.2%
Louis PhillipsIndependent3480.7%

1940

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eddie WardLabor23,68549.1%
Lewis NottUnited Australia Party12,21125.3%
Stephen GouldLabor (Non-Communist)5,54711.5%
James CattsUnited Australia Party2,5085.2%
Frederick AaronsIndependent2,2644.7%
Diana GouldIndependent1,8673.9%
Louis PhillipsIndependent1870.4%

1943

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eddie WardLabor36,53169.0%
Vincent BradyUnited Australia Party12,43023.5%
Hugh AngraveLiberal Democrats2,3774.5%
Ernest CarrOPA1,1412.2%
Arthur ShirleyIndependent4940.9%

1946

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eddie WardLabor37,86365.5%
Ivan DoughertyLiberal16,34828.3%
John CampbellIndependent3,5786.2%

1949

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eddie WardLabor22,49657.0%
John MantLiberal15,39839.0%
William DaltonIndependent1,5523.9%

1951

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eddie WardLabor20,37954.9%
Alexander StewartLiberal16,76745.1%

1954

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eddie WardLabor19,28258.0%
George ChambersLiberal12,06836.3%
Wilton BrownCommunist Party of Australia1,9045.7%

1955

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eddie WardLabor24,85963.6%
Joseph LandorLiberal10,95328.0%
Wilton BrownCommunist Party of Australia3,2518.3%

1958

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eddie WardLabor22,37763.2%
Derek Montefiore-CastleLiberal8,05922.8%
Edward MaherCommunist Party of Australia2,7037.6%
Mervyn ReidDemocratic Labor Party2,2836.4%

1961

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Eddie WardLabor21,99967.8%
John FolbiggLiberal7,13722.0%
Joseph BerginDemocratic Labor Party2,2767.0%
Wilton BrownCommunist Party of Australia1,0303.2%

1963

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Leonard DevineLabor19,77961.2%
William FosterLiberal10,71133.1%
Wilton BrownCommunist Party of Australia1,8275.7%

1966

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Leonard DevineLabor15,00452.9%
William BermanLiberal10,63637.5%
Melvyn AntcliffDemocratic Labor Party1,8076.4%
Wilton BrownCommunist Party of Australia9403.3%

Margin Over Time

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

1901: FT margin 48.6 pts 1903: FT margin 30.6 pts 1906: AS margin 9.8 pts 1910: Labor margin 14.1 pts 1913: Labor margin 12.3 pts 1914: Labor margin 14.6 pts 1917: Labor margin 100.0 pts 1919: Labor margin 15.5 pts 1922: Labor margin 18.3 pts 1925: Labor margin 7.6 pts 1928: Labor margin 16.8 pts 1929: Labor margin 36.9 pts 1931: United Australia Party margin 3.3 pts 1934: Labor (Non-Communist) margin 9.6 pts 1937: Labor margin 16.5 pts 1940: Labor margin 34.4 pts 1943: Labor margin 49.2 pts 1946: Labor margin 39.7 pts 1949: Labor margin 18.7 pts 1951: Labor margin 9.7 pts 1954: Labor margin 23.0 pts 1955: Labor margin 38.8 pts 1958: Labor margin 47.0 pts 1961: Labor margin 51.0 pts 1963: Labor margin 29.7 pts 1966: Labor margin 17.0 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

Trend

East sydney has been contested at 26 federal elections on record since 1901. Winning parties over that span: FT, AS, Labor, United Australia Party, Labor (Non-Communist).

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won East sydney in the 1966 federal election?

Leonard Devine (Labor) won East sydney in 1966 after preferences, with 15,004 votes (58.5%) to William Berman's 10,636.

Which parties have won East sydney since 1901?

Since 1901, East sydney has been won by: AS, FT, Labor, Labor (Non-Communist), United Australia Party.

What was the closest result in East sydney?

The closest result on record for East sydney was 1931, when John Clasby (United Australia Party) beat Eddie Ward by 1,282 votes (3.3 percentage points) after preferences.

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