Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, 1956–1959

Last updated March 16, 2020

This is a list of members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly between the 13 October 1956 election and the 2 May 1959 election. The previous Darwin division had been renamed Braddon after former Premier of Tasmania Sir Edward Braddon.

Name	Party	Division	Years in office
Hon Alexander Atkins	Labor	Bass	1946–1948; 1956–1972
Hon Charley Aylett	Labor	Braddon	1946–1964
Claude Barnard ^[1]	Labor	Bass	1950–1957
Bill Beattie	Liberal	Bass	1946–1950; 1954–1979
Bert Bessell	Liberal	Wilmot	1956–1976
Amelia Best ^[3]	Liberal	Wilmot	1955–1956; 1958–1959
Charles Best ^[3]	Liberal	Wilmot	1950–1958
Angus Bethune	Liberal	Wilmot	1946–1975
Carrol Bramich	Liberal	Braddon	1946–1964
Jack Breheny	Liberal	Braddon	1951–1972
Hon Douglas Cashion	Labor	Wilmot	1949–1972
Hon Sir Robert Cosgrove ^[2]	Labor	Denison	1919–1922; 1925–1931; 1934–1958
Brian Crawford	Labor	Franklin	1956–1959
Hon John Dwyer	Labor	Franklin	1931–1962
Hon Roy Fagan	Labor	Wilmot	1946–1974
Reg Fisher ^[4]	Labor	Wilmot	1956–1958
Hon Dr John Gaha	Labor	Denison	1950–1964
Bill Hodgman	Liberal	Denison	1955–1964
Hon Eric Howroyd ^[2]	Labor	Denison	1937–1950; 1958–1959
Tim Jackson	Liberal	Franklin	1946–1964
Bert Lacey ^[5]	Labor	Denison	1959
Kevin Lyons	Liberal	Braddon	1948–1972
William McNeil ^[4]	Labor	Wilmot	1959–1964
Hon John Madden ^[1]	Labor	Bass	1936–1956; 1957–1969
Fred Marriott	Liberal	Bass	1946–1961
Mabel Miller	Liberal	Franklin	1955–1964
Hon Bill Neilson	Labor	Franklin	1946–1977
Thomas Pearsall	Liberal	Franklin	1950–1966
Hon Eric Reece	Labor	Braddon	1946–1975
John Steer	Liberal	Bass	1950–1961; 1964–1968
Horace Strutt	Liberal	Denison	1946–1959; 1959–1969
Rex Townley	Liberal	Denison	1946–1965
Hon Dr Reg Turnbull	Labor/Independent^[6]	Bass	1946–1961
Sydney Ward	Labor	Braddon	1956–1976
Hon Alfred White ^[5]	Labor	Denison	1941–1959

Notes

¹ Labor MHA for Bass, Claude Barnard, died on 6 December 1957. A recount on 23 December 1957 resulted in the election of former Labor MHA John Madden.

² Labor MHA for Denison and Premier, Robert Cosgrove, resigned due to ill health on 25 August 1958. A recount on 4 September 1958 resulted in the election of Labor candidate Eric Howroyd.

³ Liberal MHA for Wilmot, Charles Best, resigned to contest the Council seat of Meander in November 1958. A recount on 24 November 1958 resulted in the election of former Liberal MHA Amelia Best.

⁴ Labor MHA for Wilmot, Reg Fisher, died on 29 December 1958. A recount on 15 January 1959 resulted in the election of former Labor candidate William McNeil.

⁵ Labor MHA for Denison, Alfred White, was appointed to the role of Agent-General in London in January 1959. A recount on 27 January 1959 resulted in the election of Labor candidate Bert Lacey. Lacey never got to sit in Parliament, however, as the House had been prorogued and he was defeated at the following election.

⁶ On 9 April 1959, Dr Reg Turnbull, the Treasurer and Minister for Health, was suspended from Labor Party membership by the State Executive due mainly to constant criticism of the Reece Government. The event precipitated the calling of the 1959 election for 2 May, at which Turnbull won two quotas (27.93%) in his own right.

Sources

Hughes, Colin A.; Graham, B. D. (1976). Voting for the South Australian, Western Australian and Tasmanian Lower Houses, 1890-1964. Canberra: Australian National University. ISBN 0-7081-1334-6.
Parliament of Tasmania (2006). The Parliament of Tasmania from 1856

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