| Ballarat Australian House of Representatives Division |
|
|---|---|
 Division of Ballarat (green) in Victoria |
|
| Created: | 1901 |
| MP: | Catherine King |
| Party: | Labor |
| Namesake: | Ballarat, Victoria |
| Electors: | 93,624 |
| Area: | 4,652 km² (1,796 sq mi) |
| Demographic: | Provincial |
The Division of Ballarat is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the provincial city of Ballarat. The name of the Division was spelled Ballaarat until 1977.
At various times throughout history it has included towns such as Ararat, Daylesford, Maryborough, and Stawell. The division currently takes in 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. Recent Liberal member 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.
Members
| 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 | |
Election results
| Australian federal election, 2007: Ballarat | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labor | Catherine King | 44,191 | 50.33 | +5.33 | |
| Liberal | Samantha McIntosh | 33,402 | 38.04 | -6.53 | |
| Greens | Belinda Coates | 7,008 | 7.98 | +1.25 | |
| Family First | Dale Butterfield | 3,207 | 3.65 | +1.50 | |
| Total formal votes | 87,808 | 97.59 | +0.93 | ||
| Informal votes | 2,170 | 2.41 | -0.93 | ||
| Turnout | 89,978 | 96.11 | +0.15 | ||
| Two Candidate Preferred Result | |||||
| Labor | Catherine King | 51,056 | 58.15 | +5.92 | |
| Liberal | Samantha McIntosh | 36,752 | 41.85 | -5.92 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | +5.92 | |||
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