1949 Australian federal election 1949 Australian federal election Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley, was defeated by the opposition Liberal–Country coalition under Robert Menzies. Menzies became prime minister for a second time, his first term having ended in 1941. The number of MPs in both houses had been increased at the election, and single transferable vote under a proportional voting system had been introduced in the Senate. Though Labor
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia most notably Dame Enid Lyons (1932–39), who had 12 children (one died in infancy). In 1943, four years after her husband's death in office, she was the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives. She was a junior minister in the Menzies Government from 1949 to 1951. Some Prime Ministers' spouses have received official recognition for their services to the community: Tamie Fraser was the first spouse of a Prime Minister to be provided with an official secretary for dealing with her correspondence. There are currently seven living spouses of former prime ministers of Australia: The most