Cobar was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales which was named after the town of Cobar. It was first created in 1894 and abolished in 1920. Cobar was recreated in 1930 and abolished in 1968. [1] [2] [3]
Prior to 1894 the town of Cobar was part of the district of Bourke which returned three members. Multi-member constituencies were abolished in the 1893 redistribution, resulting in the creation of 76 new districts, including Cobar. [4] Bourke was reduced in size and parts were given to the new districts of Cobar and The Barwon. Cobar also absorbed parts of the abolished districts of The Bogan and Forbes. The electoral district included all of the counties of Canbelego, Robinson and Yanda as well as parts of the surrounding counties of Booroondarra, Cowper, Flinders, Gregory, Oxley, Rankin, Werunda and Woore. [5] [6] Cobar's economy was centered around copper mining, [7] and the district also included Nyngan which was established in 1883 as a stop on the Main Western railway line on its way to Bourke.
At its establishment in 1894 Cobar had 1,646 enrolled voters, slightly less than the average of 2,046. [8] In 1904 the number of enrolled voters nearly doubled as women were given the right to vote while the number of members of the Legislative Assembly was reduced from 125 to 90 as a result of the 1903 New South Wales referendum. [9] Cobar absorbed parts of The Lachlan and parts of the abolished seats of The Barwon, Condoublin and Wilcannia. [10] The combined effect of the changes meant that the number of enrolled voters in Cobar went from 3,501, [11] to 6,488, [12] an increase of 185%. The district was significantly expanded in 1913, absorbing most of The Darling, including the town of Bourke. [13]
Cobar was abolished in 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, [14] and was absorbed by the expanded district of Sturt, along with Willyama to create a three-member electorate covering most of the Western Division of New South Wales. Proportional representation was abolished in 1927, with Bourke going to the re-created district of Namoi, while Cobar and Nyngan were in the re-created district of Lachlan.
Cobar was re-created in 1930, and comprised part of the districts of Sturt, Lachlan and Namoi, including the towns of Cobar, Bourke, Brewarrina, Byrock, Wilcannia, White Cliffs and part of Broken Hill. [15]
The 1949 redistribution saw Cobar absorb the entire district of Sturt, but lost Bourke and Nyngan to Castlereagh and South Broken Hill and Menindee to the re-constituted Sturt. [16] [17]
Cobar, along with Sturt were abolished as a result of the 1966 redistribution, replaced by the new district of Broken Hill, which included all of the town, and the district extended from the border with Victoria on the Murray River to the Queensland border in the north, including the towns of Wentworth and Wilcannia. The town of Cobar was absorbed by Castlereagh, which moved west, while south western part of the district was absorbed by the district of Temora. [18]
First incarnation (1894–1920) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | Term | |
Thomas Waddell | Protectionist | 1894–1898 | |
William Spence | Labour | 1898–1901 | |
Donald Macdonell | Labour | 1901–1911 | |
Charles Fern | Labour | 1911–1918 | |
Mat Davidson | Labor | 1918–1920 | |
Second incarnation (1930–1968) | |||
Member | Party | Term | |
Mat Davidson | Labor | 1930–1939 | |
Industrial Labor | 1939–1939 | ||
Labor | 1939–1949 | ||
Ernest Wetherell | Labor | 1949–1965 | |
Lew Johnstone | Labor | 1965–1968 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labor | Lew Johnstone | 6,200 | 45.0 | −55.0 | |
Liberal | Allan Connell | 5,174 | 37.5 | +37.5 | |
Independent | Douglas McFarlane | 1,416 | 10.3 | +10.3 | |
Independent | William Edwards | 997 | 7.2 | +7.2 | |
Total formal votes | 13,787 | 97.8 | |||
Informal votes | 315 | 2.2 | |||
Turnout | 14,102 | 89.6 | |||
Two-party-preferred result | |||||
Labor | Lew Johnstone | 7,636 | 55.4 | −44.6 | |
Liberal | Allan Connell | 6,151 | 44.6 | +44.6 | |
Labor hold | Swing | N/A |
Bourke was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1880 to 1904, including the towns of Bourke and Cobar. It elected two members simultaneously between 1882 and 1889 increasing to three members until 1894, with each elector being able to vote for as many candidates as there were vacancies.
Willyama was an electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the Australian State of New South Wales named after the original aboriginal name for the Broken Hill area. It included southern Broken Hill and sparsely occupied areas further south. Since 1904 all of the town was in the district of Broken Hill, surrounded by the rural district of Sturt. In the 1912 redistribution north Broken Hill was in Sturt, while Willyama was created to include South Broken Hill, the southern part of Sturt and the north western part of Murray. In 1920, it was combined with Sturt, Cobar and much of the area of Murray to create a three-member Sturt. Willyama's only member was Jabez Wright representing Labor.
Broken Hill was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It has had two incarnations, from 1894 to 1913 and from 1968 to 1999. The district is named after and included the town of Broken Hill, however it has not always included the town of South Broken Hill, previously known as Alma, or the surrounding district.
The Darling was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1904 to 1913, named after the Darling River. It was created in the 1904 re-distribution of electorates following the 1903 New South Wales referendum, which required the number of members of the Legislative Assembly to be reduced from 125 to 90, and consisted of Bourke and parts of The Barwon and Wilcannia. It was abolished in 1913 with most of the district going to Cobar and the balance to Sturt.
Sturt was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales in the Broken Hill area. It was a single member electorate from 1889 to 1920.
Wilcannia was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1889 to 1904. The district was named after and included the town of Wilcannia. Prior to 1889 Wilcannia was part of the district of Wentworth. The population in Wentworth had grown significantly since the 1880 redistribution, especially as a result of the growth of mining at Broken Hill. Under the formula for seats, Wentworth was due to return 3 members. Because of the large area covered by the district, in 1889 it was split into 3, Wentworth, Sturt and Wilcannia. Its first member was the son of Charles Dickens. It was abolished in 1904 due to the re-distribution of electorates following the 1903 New South Wales referendum, which required the number of members of the Legislative Assembly to be reduced from 125 to 90. The district was divided between Cobar and the new district of The Darling. The member for Wilcannia was Richard Sleath who unsuccessfully contested the 1904 election for The Darling.
Condoublin was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1894 to 1901, in the Condobolin area.
Alma was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1894 to 1904, named after Alma, a locality in southern Broken Hill, now known as South Broken Hill.
Young was an electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, named after and including the town of Young. It elected two members between 1880 and 1894 and one member from 1894 to 1904, when it was replaced by Burrangong. The sitting member George Burgess (Labour) successfully contested Burrangong. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, Burrangong was absorbed by the three member district of Cootamundra. Proportional representation was abandoned in 1927 and Young was recreated. It was abolished in 1981 and the district was split with Young being absorbed by Burrinjuck while the towns of Cowra and Forbes were absorbed by a re-created Lachlan.
Singleton was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian colony of New South Wales created in 1894, existing from 1894 until 1913. It was named after the town of Singleton and replaced Patrick's Plains.
Uralla-Walcha was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, including the towns of Uralla and Walcha. It was originally created in 1894, when multi-member districts were abolished, and the three member district of New England was largely divided between Uralla-Walcha, Armidale and Bingara. The district was abolished in 1904 as a result of the 1903 New South Wales referendum, which reduced the number of members of the Legislative Assembly from 125 to 90, and was divided between Armidale and Bingara.
Wentworth was an electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the far south west of the Australian state of New South Wales and named after and including the town of Wentworth. It established in 1880 and partly replacing Lachlan. From 1885 until 1889 it elected two members. The population in Wentworth had grown significantly since the 1880 redistribution, especially as a result of the growth of mining at Broken Hill, with the electoral roll growing from 1,901 in 1880 to 5,617 in 1887. Under the formula for seats, Wentworth was due to return 3 members, however because of the large area covered by the district, in 1889 it was split into 3, Wentworth, Sturt and Wilcannia. Wentworth retained the eponymous town, along with the towns of Menindie and Pooncaira. Sturt contained the mining boom towns of Broken Hill, Silverton and Milparinka while Wilcannia was the only town in that district.
Deniliquin was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, named after and including the town of Deniliquin.
Concord was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian state of New South Wales, created in 1930, and named after and including the Sydney suburb of Concord. It was abolished in 1968.
Newcastle East was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It was created in 1894, when multi-member districts were abolished, and the three member district of Newcastle was divided between Newcastle East, Newcastle West, Kahibah, Waratah and Wickham. from 1894 to 1904, when it was abolished as a result of the 1903 New South Wales referendum, which required the number of members of the Legislative Assembly to be reduced from 125 to 90. Newcastle East was absorbed into the district of Newcastle.
Castlereagh, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales had two incarnations, from 1904 until 1920 and from 1927 until 1991.
The 1904 New South Wales state election involved 90 electoral districts returning one member each. The election was conducted on the basis of a simple majority or first-past-the-post voting system. There were two significant changes from the 1901 election, the first was that women were given the right to vote, which saw an increase in the number of enrolled voters from 345,500 in 1901, to 689,490 in 1904. The second was that as a result of the 1903 New South Wales referendum, the number of members of the Legislative Assembly was reduced from 125 to 90. The combined effect of the changes meant that the average number of enrolled voters per electorate went from 2,764, to 7,661, an increase of 277%. Leichhardt was the only district that was not substantially changed, while The Macquarie and The Murray districts retained nothing but the name.
Sturt, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, had two incarnations, from 1889 until 1968 and from 1971 until 1981.
Broken Hill, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales has had two incarnations, from 1894 to 1913 and from 1968 to 1999.
Cobar, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales had two incarnations, from 1894 until 1920 and from 1930 until 1968.