Electoral district of Ballarat West

Ballarat West Victoria—Legislative Assembly
Location in Victoria, 1859
State	Victoria
Dates current	1859–1927, 1992–2014
Electors	43,964 (2010)
Area	135 km2 (52.1 sq mi)
Demographic	Urbanised Rural
Coordinates	37°34′S143°50′E / 37.567°S 143.833°E / -37.567; 143.833

The Electoral district of Ballarat West (initially spelt Ballaarat West) ^[1] was an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly in Australia. It existed from 1859 to 1927 and from 1992 to 2014.

The original seat was created for the second election to the Legislative Assembly in 1859. In 1927, it was merged with Ballaarat East to form a single Ballaarat electorate.

Its second implementation occurred in 1992, when it replaced Ballarat North. Unlike Ballarat East, which had a rural character, Ballarat West was mostly urban, and included much of Ballarat proper and its southern and western suburbs.

The seat was replaced by Wendouree in 2014.

Members for Ballarat West

Three members from 1877 ^[2] to 1889. ^[3]

First incarnation (1859–1927)
Member 1		Party	Term	Member 2		Party	Term
	John Bailey	Unaligned	1859–1861		Robert Serjeant	Unaligned	1859–1861
	Duncan Gillies	Unaligned	1861–1868		William Collard Smith	Unaligned	1861–1864
					Robert Lewis	Unaligned	1864
					William Vale	Unaligned	1864–65, 1865–69
	Charles Jones	Unaligned	1868–69, 1869, 1869–71		John James	Unaligned	1869–1870
					Sir Archibald Michie	Unaligned	1870–1871
	Joseph Jones	Unaligned	1871–1875		William Collard Smith	Unaligned	1871–1892
	George Fincham	Unaligned	1875–1886					Member 3		Party	Term
									Henry Bell	Unaligned	1877–1886
	Charles Jones	Unaligned	1886–1889
									Richard Vale	Unaligned	1886–1889
	Joseph Kirton	Unaligned	1889–1894
	William Collard Smith	Unaligned	1894		Richard Vale	Unaligned	1892–
	Joseph Kirton	Unaligned	1894–1904		"      "	"	–1902
					Charles Shoppee	Ministerialist	1902–1904
	Harry Bennett	Labour	1904–1907
	Joseph Kirton	Unaligned	1907–1908
	Andrew McKissock	Labour	1908–1911
	Matthew Baird	Commonwealth Liberal	1911–1917
		Economy	1917–1918
		Nationalist	1918–1927

Second incarnation (1992–2014)
Member		Party	Term
	Paul Jenkins	Liberal	1992–1999
	Karen Overington	Labor	1999–2010
	Sharon Knight	Labor	2010–2014

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Ballarat West

2010 Victorian state election: Ballarat West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Craig Coltman	17,230	43.60	+5.66
	Labor	Sharon Knight	16,446	41.62	−5.49
	Greens	Leon Dwyer	3,876	9.81	−0.08
	Family First	Dale Butterfield	1,284	3.25	−1.78
	Country Alliance	Carl Wesley	681	1.72	+1.72
Total formal votes			39,517	95.78	−0.56
Informal votes			1,740	4.22	+0.56
Turnout			41,257	93.84	+1.55
Two-party-preferred result
	Labor	Sharon Knight	20,175	51.05	−5.55
	Liberal	Craig Coltman	19,342	48.95	+5.55
	Labor hold		Swing	−5.55

See also

• Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
• List of members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly

References

1. "An Act to alter the Electoral Districts of Victoria and to increase the number of Members of the Legislative Assembly thereof" (PDF). Australasian Legal Information Institute. 1858. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
2. "The New Victorian Legislative Assembly". South Australian Register. 19 May 1877. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
3. "The New Victorian Legislative Assembly". Western Mail. Trove. 20 April 1889. Retrieved 29 August 2013.

• "Find a Member". State Government of Victoria. Archived from the original on 17 August 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025.

External links

• Electorate profile: Ballarat West District, Victorian Electoral Commission