Central Province (Victoria)

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Central Province
VictoriaLegislative Council
Central Province and electoral districts of Melbourne, St. Kilda, Collingwood, South Melbourne, Richmond and Williamstown.tif
Central Province, 1855 map
State Victoria
Created1856
Abolished1882
Electors 7506 (in 1856) [1]
DemographicMetropolitan

Central Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council. [2] [3] 37°48′S144°55′E / 37.800°S 144.917°E / -37.800; 144.917

Contents

Creation

Central was one of the six original upper house Provinces of the bi-cameral Victorian Parliament created in November 1856. [2] The area of the province, centered on Melbourne was defined in the Victoria Constitution Act 1855. [4] Central Province included the Electoral Districts of Melbourne, St Kilda, Collingwood, South Melbourne, Richmond and Williamstown as well as parts of other adjoining districts. [5]

Abolition

Central Province was abolished in the redistribution of provinces in 1882. James Lorimer and William Edward Hearn transferred from Central to Melbourne Province; Theodotus Sumner transferred to North Yarra Province; James MacBain and James Graham transferred to South Yarra Province that year. [3]

Members

These were members of the upper house province of the Victorian Legislative Council. [2]

Members for Central Province
YearMember 1PartyMember 2PartyMember 3PartyMember 4PartyMember 5Party
1856   Nehemiah Guthridge    John Hood    Henry Miller [6]    John Pascoe Fawkner    John Hodgson  
1858   Thomas Fellows  
1858   Thomas à Beckett [7]  
1859   George Cole  
1860   William Henry Hull  
1860
1862
1864
1866   James Graham [8]  
1868   John O'Shanassy  
1868
1869   Henry Walsh  
1870
1871   Archibald Michie [9]  
1872
1873   Theodotus Sumner [10]  
1874   Frederick Sargood  
1874
1876
1878   William Edward Hearn  
1879   James Lorimer [11]  
1880   James MacBain  
1880

1856 election results

Candidate [1] Votes [1]
Hodgson*
1204
Fawkner*
1196
Miller*
863
Hood*
736
Guthridge*
689
Smith
688
a'Beckett
598
Fellows
577
Wiklie
516
Mayne
439
Total
7506

First five elected.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Election for the Central Province". South Australian Register. 3 September 1856. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Edward Sweetman (1920). Constitutional Development of Victoria, 1851-6. Whitcombe & Tombs Limited. p.  182 . Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Find a Member". State Government of Victoria. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  4. "Victoria Constitution Act 1855" (PDF). p. 444. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  5. "Central Province and Electoral Districts of Melbourne, St Kilda, Collingwood, South Melbourne, Richmond and Williamstown" (map). State Library of Victoria. 27 November 1855. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  6. Mellor, Suzanne G. "Miller, Henry (1809–1888)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN   978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN   1833-7538. OCLC   70677943 . Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  7. "Victoria". Freeman's Journal. Sydney. 29 September 1858. p. 2. à Beckett won the September by-election, sworn-in in October
  8. "The Central Province election". The Argus. Melbourne. 20 September 1866. p. 4. Graham was elected unopposed on 20 Sep 1866, sworn-in Jan 1867
  9. "Central Province Election". The Argus. Melbourne. 22 June 1871. Michie was elected in June, sworn-in in August
  10. "Central Province Election". The Argus. Melbourne. 1 April 1873. p. 5. Sumner won the 31 March by-election, sworn-in in May
  11. "Central Province Election". The Argus. Melbourne. 12 May 1879. p. 8. Lorimer elected unopposed 12 May, sworn-in July