| Ballarat Australian House of Representatives Division |
|
|---|---|
Division of Ballarat (green) in Victoria |
|
| Created: | 1900 |
| MP: | Catherine King |
| Party: | Labor |
| Namesake: | Ballarat, Victoria |
| Area: | 4,652 km² (1,796 sq mi) |
| Demographic: | Provincial |
The Division of Ballarat (Ballaarat until 1977) is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the provincial city of Ballarat.
At various times in its existence it has included towns such as Ararat, Daylesford, Maryborough, and Stawell. The division currently takes in the regional City of Ballarat and the smaller towns of Bacchus Marsh, Ballan, Daylesford, Creswick, Trentham and Clunes.
Ballarat has always been a marginal seat, changing hands at intervals between the Australian Labor Party and the non-Labor parties. Its most prominent member has been Alfred Deakin, who was Prime Minister of Australia three times. Liberal senator Michael Ronaldson was the grandson of former member Archibald Fisken. [1]
Ballarat also holds the title of closest seat result. The Nationalist MP won by a single vote in 1919.
| Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred Deakin | Protectionist | 1901–1909 | |
| Commonwealth Liberal | 1909–1913 | ||
| Charles McGrath | Labor | 1913–1919 | |
| Edwin Kerby | Nationalist | 1919–1920 | |
| Charles McGrath | Labor | 1920–1931 | |
| United Australia | 1931–1934 | ||
| Archibald Fisken | United Australia | 1934–1937 | |
| Reg Pollard | Labor | 1937–1949 | |
| Alan Pittard | Liberal | 1949–1951 | |
| Robert Joshua | Labor | 1951–1955 | |
| Labor (Anti-Communist) | 1955–1955 | ||
| Dudley Erwin | Liberal | 1955–1975 | |
| Jim Short | Liberal | 1975–1980 | |
| John Mildren | Labor | 1980–1990 | |
| Michael Ronaldson | Liberal | 1990–2001 | |
| Catherine King | Labor | 2001–present | |
| Australian federal election, 2010: Ballarat | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labor | Catherine King | 46,289 | 51.75 | +1.42 | |
| Liberal | Mark Banwell | 30,364 | 33.95 | -4.09 | |
| Greens | Belinda Coates | 10,140 | 11.34 | +3.36 | |
| Family First | Jim Rainey | 2,646 | 2.96 | -0.69 | |
| Total formal votes | 89,439 | 96.28 | -1.31 | ||
| Informal votes | 3,456 | 3.72 | +1.31 | ||
| Turnout | 92,895 | 94.98 | -1.11 | ||
| Two-candidate preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Catherine King | 55,188 | 61.70 | +3.55 | |
| Liberal | Mark Banwell | 34,251 | 38.30 | -3.55 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | +3.55 | |||
|
||||||||