 He was eventually chosen as the Labor candidate for the Division of Macquarie at the 1925 federal election.Macquarie was a large and diverse electorate, covering an area from Bathurst east across the Blue Mountains to Penrith, on the outskirts of Sydney; it included industrial, agricultural, and mining districts in virtually equal measure.It was one of the most marginal seats in the country, and had last been won by Labor in 1919.