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Division of Ballarat

Coordinates: 37°30′58″S 144°03′58″E / 37.516°S 144.066°E / -37.516; 144.066
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Ballarat
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Ballarat in Victoria, as of the 2022 federal election
Created1901
MPCatherine King
PartyLabor
NamesakeBallarat (historically spelled "Ballaarat", from a Wathaurong Aboriginal word: balla arat, thought to mean "resting place".)[1]
Electors110,704 (2022)
Area4,322 km2 (1,668.7 sq mi)
DemographicProvincial

The Division of Ballarat (spelt Ballaarat from 1901 until the 1977 election[1]) is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election.[1] It was named for the provincial city of the same name by Scottish squatter Archibald Yuille, who established the first settlement − his sheep run called Ballaarat − in 1837,[2] with the name derived from a local Wathawurrung word for the area, balla arat, thought to mean "resting place".

The division currently takes in the regional City of Ballarat and the smaller towns of Gordon, Meredith, Buninyong, Clunes, Creswick, Daylesford, and Trentham and part of Burrumbeet.[3]

The towns of Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, Blackwood and Myrniong were previously in the division before the division of Hawke was formed for the 2022 Federal Election.[3]

The current Member for Ballarat, since the 2001 federal election, is Catherine King, a member of the Australian Labor Party.

Geography

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Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.[4]

History

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The city of Ballarat, the division's namesake

At various times in its existence the division has included other towns such as Ararat, Maryborough, and Stawell.

Ballarat used to be a marginal seat, changing hands at intervals between the Labor Party and the non-Labor parties. Unlike most marginal seats, it was not a barometer for winning government; since 1955, all but one of its members has spent at least one term in opposition.

Its most prominent member has been Alfred Deakin, who was Prime Minister of Australia three times. Liberal senator Michael Ronaldson was the grandson of Archibald Fisken, a former Member for Ballarat.[5]

Ballarat also holds the distinction of seeing the closest seat result in Australian history. Nationalist Edwin Kerby unseated Labor incumbent Charles McGrath by a single vote in 1919. However, McGrath alleged irregularities, and the result was thrown out in 1920, forcing a by-election that was won by McGrath.[6]

Since 2001, the seat has been held by Catherine King, a member of the Australian Labor Party. It has been a safe Labor seat since 2007 except for a 6.8 percent swing towards the Liberal Party at the 2013 election turning it marginal for one term.

Members

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Image Member Party Term Notes
  Alfred Deakin
(1856–1919) 		Protectionist 30 March 1901 –
26 May 1909 		Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Essendon and Flemington. Served as minister under Barton. Served as Prime Minister from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908 and 1909 to 1910. Served as Opposition Leader in 1909, and from 1910 to 1913. Retired
  Liberal 26 May 1909 –
23 April 1913
  Charles McGrath
(1872–1934) 		Labor 31 May 1913 –
13 December 1919 		Lost seat by one vote
  Edwin Kerby
(1885–1971) 		Nationalist 13 December 1919 –
2 June 1920 		1919 election results declared void. Lost seat in subsequent by-election
  Charles McGrath
(1872–1934) 		Labor 2 June 1920 –
March 1931 		Died in office
  Independent March 1931 –
7 May 1931
  United Australia 7 May 1931 –
31 July 1934
  Archibald Fisken
(1897–1970) 		15 September 1934 –
23 October 1937 		Retired. Grandson is Michael Ronaldson
  Reg Pollard
(1894–1981) 		Labor 23 October 1937 –
10 December 1949 		Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Bulla and Dalhousie. Served as minister under Chifley. Transferred to the Division of Lalor
  Alan Pittard
(1902–1992) 		Liberal 10 December 1949 –
28 April 1951 		Lost seat
  Bob Joshua
(1906–1970) 		Labor 28 April 1951 –
April 1955 		Lost seat
  Labor (Anti-Communist) April 1955 –
10 December 1955
  Dudley Erwin
(1917–1984) 		Liberal 10 December 1955 –
11 November 1975 		Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Holt, McEwen and Gorton. Served as minister under Gorton. Retired
  Jim Short
(1936–) 		13 December 1975 –
18 October 1980 		Lost seat. Later elected to the Senate in 1984
  John Mildren
(1932–2024) 		Labor 18 October 1980 –
24 March 1990 		Lost seat
  Michael Ronaldson
(1954–) 		Liberal 24 March 1990 –
8 October 2001 		Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Howard. Retired. Later elected to the Senate in 2004. Grandfather was Archibald Fisken
  Catherine King
(1966–) 		Labor 10 November 2001 –
present 		Served as minister under Gillard and Rudd. Incumbent. Currently a minister under Albanese

Election results

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Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Ballarat
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2022 Australian federal election in Victoria § Ballarat.[edit]
2022 Australian federal election: Ballarat[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Catherine King 43,171 44.74 −2.15
Liberal Ben Green 26,142 27.09 −4.57
Greens John Barnes 14,076 14.59 +5.61
United Australia Terri Pryse-Smith 3,693 3.83 −0.77
One Nation Rosalie Taxis 3,476 3.60 +3.60
Liberal Democrats Julia McGrath 3,216 3.33 +3.33
Independent Alex Graham 2,044 2.12 +0.85
Australian Federation Kerryn Sedgman 682 0.71 +0.71
Total formal votes 96,500 94.97 −0.83
Informal votes 5,109 5.03 +0.83
Turnout 101,609 91.90 −1.92
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Catherine King 60,770 62.97 +2.74
Liberal Ben Green 35,730 37.03 −2.74
Labor hold Swing +2.74
Primary vote results in Ballarat (Parties that did not get 5% of the vote are omitted)
  Liberal
  National
  Labor
  Australian Democrats
  Greens
  Democratic Labour Party
Two-candidate-preferred results in Ballarat

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Profile of the electoral division of Ballarat (Vic)". Current federal electoral divisions. Australian Electoral Commission. 26 September 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  2. ^ Buninyong monument. Ballarat Reform League. Retrieved on 18 August 2011.
  3. ^ a b Australian Electoral Commison https://www.aec.gov.au/electorates/redistributions/2021/vic/final-report/files/maps-divisions/2021-AEC-Victoria-Composite-Outer-Melb-Final.pdf
  4. ^ Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  5. ^ "House of Representatives: Voting by constituency, Victoria". Legislative election of 24 March 1990. Adam Carr. 1990. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  6. ^ "BALLARAT ELECTION VOID". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 3 June 1920. p. 8. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  7. ^ Ballarat, VIC, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.
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37°30′58″S 144°03′58″E / 37.516°S 144.066°E / -37.516; 144.066

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