Bowen was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland from 1873 to 1950 and at various times until 1992.
Bowen is the only state or federal electorate in Australia to ever return a Communist member, Fred Paterson, who served as member for Bowen from the 1944 election until the 1950 election.
During the First McIlwraith Ministry, the seat of Bowen was occupied by three Attorneys-General. Upon Henry Beor's death, Pope Alexander Cooper, who was not at that time in Parliament, was appointed Attorney-General and contested and won the resulting by-election. When he resigned, Charles Chubb entered parliament in the same manner. From 1963 until 1971, a later member, Peter Delamothe, also served as Attorney-General.
Today, the electoral districts of Whitsunday and Burdekin comprise parts of the former Electoral district of Bowen.
First incarnation (1873-1950) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | Term | |
Thomas Henry FitzGerald | 1873–1875 | ||
Francis Amhurst | 1875–1877 | ||
Henry Beor | Conservative | 1877–1880 | |
Pope Alexander Cooper | Conservative | 1881–1883 | |
Charles Chubb | Conservative | 1883–1888 | |
Robert Smith | Conservative | 1888–1890 | |
Ministerial | 1890–1902 | ||
Francis Kenna | Labor | 1902–1907 | |
Kidston | 1907–1909 | ||
Myles Ferricks | Labor | 1909–1912 | |
Edward Caine | Ministerialist | 1912–1915 | |
Charles Collins | Labor | 1915–1936 | |
Ernest Riordan | Labor | 1936–1944 | |
Fred Paterson | Communist | 1944–1950 | |
Later incarnations | |||
Peter Delamothe | Liberal | 1960–1971 | |
Ken Smyth | Labor | 1986–1992 |