1949 Brisbane City Council election
The 1949 Brisbane City Council election was held on 30 April 1949 to elect a lord mayor and 20 aldermen to the Brisbane City Council.
The Citizens' Municipal Organisation was returned to power, winning a majority of wards. In the lord mayoral election, J. B. Chandler was re-elected with an increased majority, defeating Labor candidate Felix Dittmer and Communist candidate Max Julius.
Petronel White was elected to Hamilton Ward for the CMO, becoming the first woman to be elected as an alderman in an Australian capital city.
Electoral system
At the time, Brisbane City Council used the first-past-the-post voting system, in contrast to the preferential voting system used at Queensland state and federal elections. Voters were required to number "1" next to the name of their chosen candidate.Voting was compulsory for anyone over the age of 21 who had lived in the Greater Brisbane area for at least three months.
Retiring aldermen
Citizens
- Scott Mullin – lost preselection; announced retirement on 6 December 1948
- W. H. McDonald – preselected but withdrew; announced retirement on 10 March 1949
Candidates
Incumbents are shown in bold text. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour.| Ward | Held by | Others | |||
| Ward | Held by | ||||
| Lord Mayor | John Beals Chandler | Felix Dittmer | Max Julius | ||
| Baroona | Robert William Martin | Charles Donald Smith | |||
| Brisbane | Leslie Kellinger Addison | Robert Alexander Gray | |||
| Bulimba | Frederick Walter Peterson | Thomas Holmes | |||
| Buranda | Russel Flexmore Roberts | J. Melloy | |||
| Enogerra | Ernest Lanham | F. A. Eaton | |||
| Fortitude Valley | Lex David Ord | Tom Rasey | Albert Graham | ||
| Hamilton | Petronel White | Harry Weld | |||
| Ithaca | Leonard Stanley Rudd | Norman Lewis Buchan | |||
| Kelvin Grove | Richard Samuel Griffiths | Bert Milliner | George Winter Russell | ||
| Kurilpa | Edward David Harris | Tom Moores | |||
| Logan | Horace Williams | O. Lewis | M. E. M. Hanson | ||
| Maree | Charles Percival Bottomley | A. Elliott | |||
| Merthyr | Aubrey William Lederle | Harold Summers Charlton | |||
| Nundah | William Morrow Cook | F. J. Diamond | |||
| Oxley | John Edward Lane | R. C. E. Mansfield | |||
| Sandgate | James Stevingstone Kerr | A. R. C. Hill | |||
| South Brisbane | Enoch McKenzie | Wilfred Coutts | E. Combey | ||
| Toowong | William Richer Moon | W. T. H. Carr | |||
| Windsor | James Joseph Ryan | G. B. Mellifont | |||
| Wynnum | Willie Russel McNeille Howard | Dorrie Cloherty | K. K. Watson | S. Green S. R. Ewart |