Division of Cook (1906–1955)

Cook Australian House of Representatives Division
Created	1906
Abolished	1955
Namesake	James Cook

The Division of Cook was an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1906 and abolished in 1955. ^[1] The division was named for James Cook, who explored the east coast of Australia in 1770. It was located in the inner suburbs of Sydney, taking in the suburbs of Alexandria, Redfern and Surry Hills. ^[2]

Cook was a safe seat for the Australian Labor Party, but in the 1930s and 1940s it was fiercely contested between Federal Labor and Lang Labor factions of the party. ^{[1] [3]}

Members

Image		Member	Party	Term	Notes
		James Catts (1877–1951)	Labor	12 December 1906 – April 1922	Lost seat
			Majority Labor	April 1922 – 16 December 1922
		Edward Riley (1892–1969)	Labor	16 December 1922 – 15 September 1934	Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Scullin. Lost seat
		Jock Garden (1882–1968)	Labor (NSW)	15 September 1934 – February 1936	Lost preselection and retired
			Labor	February 1936 – 21 September 1937
		Tom Sheehan (1891–1955)		23 October 1937 – 2 May 1940	Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Curtin, Forde and Chifley. Died in office
			Labor (Non-Communist)	2 May 1940 – February 1941
			Labor	February 1941 – 26 March 1955
		Jim Cope (1907–1999)		21 May 1955 – 10 December 1955	Transferred to the Division of Watson after Cook was abolished in 1955 [4]

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Cook (1906–1955)

See also

• Division of Cook

References

1. "Division of Cook, New South Wales (created 1906, abolished 1955)". Psephos: Adam Carr's Electoral Archive. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
2. "Profile of the electoral division of Cook (NSW)". Australian Electoral Commission. 10 October 2024. Archived from the original on 16 May 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
3. "Labor Stands for Economic Security and Social Justice". The Australian Worker. 18 August 1943. p. 7. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
4. Black, Joshua (2021). "Jim Cope (1907–1999)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Archived from the original on 22 July 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.