1959 Australian Labor Party leadership spill
# 1959 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

A leadership spill of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), then the opposition party in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 16 February 1959.

## Background

Senior Labor left-winger Eddie Ward unsuccessfully challenged ALP leader H. V. Evatt following Evatt's third defeat at the polls in the 1958 election. Evatt was re-elected by a lower than expected margin of only 14 votes. The closeness of the ballot further highlighted the dissatisfaction with Evatt's leadership.

At the same caucus, Arthur Calwell was re-elected as deputy leader unopposed.

## Results

The following table gives the ballot results:

| Name | Name | Votes | Percentage |
| - | - | - | - |
| | H. V. Evatt | 46 | 58.97 |
| | Eddie Ward | 32 | 41.03 |
