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South sydney — Australian Federal Election Results

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

South sydney was won by John Jennings (United Australia Party) at the 1931 federal election, with a margin of 5,500 votes over John Stewart after preferences. This page covers every federal election in South sydney from 1901 to 1931.

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), 1901–1931

Election Winner Party Final Votes Final Share Runner-up Margin
1901 George Edwards FT 4,693 52.1% James Mcgowen (Labor) 379 (4.2 pts)
1903 George Edwards FT 9,662 56.0% Edward Riley (Labor) 2,066 (12.0 pts)
1906 Chris Watson Labor 10,347 56.4% James Graham (AS) 2,341 (12.8 pts)
1910 Edward Riley Labor 12,875 74.1% Eden George (Liberal) 8,366 (48.1 pts)
1913 Edward Riley Labor 17,584 65.0% Douglas Cooper (Liberal) 8,095 (29.9 pts)
1914 Edward Riley Labor 15,792 68.8% George Ritt (Liberal) 8,635 (37.6 pts)
1917 Edward Riley Labor 17,056 63.3% Alick Kay (National) 7,158 (26.6 pts)
1919 Edward Riley Labor 17,521 68.3% Frederick Sykes (National) 9,398 (36.6 pts)
1922 Edward Riley Labor 10,902 61.8% Robert Moore (National) 4,150 (23.5 pts)
1925 Edward Riley Labor 22,393 51.1% George Baker (National) 982 (2.2 pts)
1928 Edward Riley Labor 25,915 54.2% George Baker (National) 4,041 (8.5 pts)
1929 Edward Riley Labor 34,978 66.3% William Adkins (National) 17,196 (32.6 pts)
1931 John Jennings United Australia Party 29,897 55.1% John Stewart (Labor (Non-Communist)) 5,500 (10.1 pts)

First-Preference Result by Election

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

1901

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George EdwardsFT4,69341.4%
James McgowenLabor4,31438.0%
Henry HoyleIndependent2,33420.6%

1903

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
George EdwardsFT9,66256.0%
Edward RileyLabor7,59644.0%

1906

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Chris WatsonLabor10,34756.4%
James GrahamAS8,00643.6%

1910

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward RileyLabor12,87574.1%
Eden GeorgeLiberal4,50925.9%

1913

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward RileyLabor17,58465.0%
Douglas CooperLiberal9,48935.0%

1914

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward RileyLabor15,79268.8%
George RittLiberal7,15731.2%

1917

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward RileyLabor17,05663.3%
Alick KayNational9,89836.7%

1919

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward RileyLabor17,52168.3%
Frederick SykesNational8,12331.7%

1922

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward RileyLabor10,90258.9%
Robert MooreNational6,75236.5%
Vivian DeaconIndependent8704.7%

1925

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward RileyLabor22,39351.1%
George BakerNational21,41148.9%

1928

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward RileyLabor25,91554.2%
George BakerNational21,87445.8%

1929

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Edward RileyLabor34,97866.3%
William AdkinsNational17,78233.7%

1931

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John JenningsUnited Australia Party26,71149.2%
John StewartLabor (Non-Communist)17,07131.4%
Edward RileyLabor10,51219.4%

Margin Over Time

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

1901: FT margin 4.2 pts 1903: FT margin 12.0 pts 1906: Labor margin 12.8 pts 1910: Labor margin 48.1 pts 1913: Labor margin 29.9 pts 1914: Labor margin 37.6 pts 1917: Labor margin 26.6 pts 1919: Labor margin 36.6 pts 1922: Labor margin 23.5 pts 1925: Labor margin 2.2 pts 1928: Labor margin 8.5 pts 1929: Labor margin 32.6 pts 1931: United Australia Party margin 10.1 pts 1901 1903 1906 1910 1913 1914 1917 1919 1922 1925 1928 1929 1931

Trend

South sydney has been contested at 13 federal elections on record since 1901. Winning parties over that span: FT, Labor, United Australia Party.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won South sydney in the 1931 federal election?

John Jennings (United Australia Party) won South sydney in 1931 after preferences, with 29,897 votes (55.1%) to John Stewart's 24,397.

Which parties have won South sydney since 1901?

Since 1901, South sydney has been won by: FT, Labor, United Australia Party.

What was the closest result in South sydney?

The closest result on record for South sydney was 1925, when Edward Riley (Labor) beat George Baker by 982 votes (2.2 percentage points) after preferences.

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