Frank McGuren

Who was Frank McGuren?

Francis William "Frank" McGuren, OAM was an Australian politician. Born in Grafton, New South Wales, he was educated at St Augustine's School in Coffs Harbour. He then became a public servant, and was elected to Grafton City Council.

In 1958, he was the Labor candidate for the seat of Cowper in the Australian House of Representatives, facing former Prime Minister Earle Page of the Country Party. Page had held the seat since 1919—the second-longest serving MP in Australian history—and had skated to reelection time and again. The 1958 election was no different, and McGuren was roundly defeated.

McGuren sought a rematch in 1961. On paper, he faced very long odds. Cowper appeared to be a reasonably safe seat for Page, with an 11-point swing required for Labor to win it. However, by this time, Page was 81 years old and gravely ill with lung cancer. Although he was sick to actively campaign, he opted to fight his 17th general election anyway. McGuren led the field on the first count. On the second count, while an independent candidate's preferences flowed mostly to Page, McGuren's first-count lead was large enough for him to be elected by a slim three-point margin—a 13-point swing to Labor. Page died 11 days later without knowing that he had lost the seat. McGuren's win — one of the largest upsets in Australian political history — was part of a 15-seat swing to Labor which almost brought down the government of Robert Menzies.