Electoral district of Sturt (New South Wales) explained

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.[1] [2]

Members for Sturt

Single-member (1889—1920)
Member Party Term
 Wyman Brown[3] 1889–1891
 John Cann[4] 1891–1894
 William Ferguson[5] 1894–1901
 1901–1904
 1904–1904
 Arthur Griffith[6] 1904–1913
 John Cann1913–1917
 Percy Brookfield[7] 1917–1919
 1919–1920
Three members (1920—1927)
Member Party Term Member Party Term Member Party Term
 Percy Brookfield1920–1921 Mat Davidson[8] 1920–1927 Brian Doe[9] 1920–1927
 Jabez Wright[10] 1921–1922
 Ted Horsington[11] 1922–1927
Single-member (1927—1968)
Member Party Term
 Ted Horsington1927–1939
 1939–1939
 1939–1947
 William Wattison[12] 1947–1968
 
Single-member (1971—1981)
Member Party Term
 Tim Fischer[13] 1971–1980
 John Sullivan[14] 1981

History

Prior to 1889 Broken Hill 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.[15] In 1894 Sturt became a rural district, with the towns of Broken Hill and Alma (now known as South Broken Hill) in the eponymous districts of Broken Hill and Alma.[16] In 1904 Alma was absorbed into Broken Hill.[17] At the 1912 redistribution Sturt was recast, absorbing north Broken Hill, and the western part of the abolished district of The Darling, including the town of Tibooburra. South Broken Hill, the southern part of Sturt were combined in the new district of Willyama, along with the north western part of Murray.[18]

In 1920 Sturt was combined with Cobar, Willyama and much of the area of Murray to create a three-member electorate, elected by proportional representation. At the time it was one of the largest electoral districts in the world, said to be 121,000 square miles, with votes having to be brought sometimes 500 miles by the primitive transportation of the time to the central counting place. But proportional representation pundits as far as away as Canada revelled in STV's successful implementation under such conditions.[19]

In 1927, it became a single member electorate, but was renamed Broken Hill in 1968.

An entirely different district was created in 1971, containing the town of Narrandera and replacing parts of Albury, Murray, Murrumbidgee and Temora.[20] It was abolished in 1981 and replaced by Albury, Lachlan, Murray, Murrumbidgee and Wagga Wagga.[21]

Election results

See main article: Electoral results for the district of Sturt (New South Wales).

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Former Members . Members of Parliament . . 2020-10-25.
  2. DistrictIndexes . Sturt . Elections for the District of Sturt . 4 November 2019.
  3. Mr Wyman Brown (1836–1899) . 700 . Yes . 16 June 2019.
  4. Mr John Henry Cann (1860–1940) . 1064 . Yes . 7 May 2019.
  5. Mr William John Ferguson (1) (1859–1935) . 1053 . Yes . 9 April 2019.
  6. Mr Arthur Hill Griffith (1861–1946) . 1079 . Yes . 11 May 2019.
  7. 1285 . Yes . Brookfield, Percival Stanley (1875–1921) . 11 May 2019.
  8. Mr Mark Anthony Davidson (1869–1949) . 1207 . Yes . 13 May 2019.
  9. Mr Brian James Doe (1862–1941) . Yes . 30 April 2019 . 1097.
  10. Mr Jabez Wright (1852–1922) . 954 . Yes . 5 May 2019.
  11. Mr Edward Matthew Horsington (1878–1947) . 1319 . Yes. 23 June 2019.
  12. Mr William Ernest Wattison (1903–1975) . 1651 . Yes . 10 May 2019.
  13. Mr (Tim) Timothy Andrew Fischer (1946–2019) . 2023 . Yes . 3 September 2019.
  14. Mr John William Sullivan (1929-) . 1883 . Yes . 13 May 2019.
  15. Web site: 1880 Redistribution . Atlas of New South Wales . NSW Land & Property Information . https://web.archive.org/web/20150623031828/http://atlas.nsw.gov.au/public/nsw/home/topic/article/1880-redistribution.html . 23 June 2015 . dead.
  16. Web site: 1893 Redistribution . Atlas of New South Wales . NSW Land & Property Information . https://web.archive.org/web/20150623031828/http://atlas.nsw.gov.au/public/nsw/home/topic/article/1893-redistribution.html . 23 June 2015 . dead.
  17. Web site: 1904 Redistribution . Atlas of New South Wales . NSW Land & Property Information . https://web.archive.org/web/20150623031828/http://atlas.nsw.gov.au/public/nsw/home/topic/article/1904-redistribution.html . 23 June 2015 . dead.
  18. Web site: 1912 Redistribution . Atlas of New South Wales . NSW Land & Property Information . https://web.archive.org/web/20150623031828/http://atlas.nsw.gov.au/public/nsw/home/topic/article/1912-redistribution.html . 23 June 2015 . dead.
  19. News: Is proportional representation suitable for all elections in provincial constituencies? . 9. 15 January 1929 . The UFA . . archive.org . 4 November 2019.
  20. Web site: 1966 Redistribution . Atlas of New South Wales . NSW Land & Property Information . https://web.archive.org/web/20150623031828/http://atlas.nsw.gov.au/public/nsw/home/topic/article/1966-redistribution.html . 23 June 2015 . dead.
  21. Web site: 1980 Redistribution . Atlas of New South Wales . NSW Land & Property Information . https://web.archive.org/web/20150623031828/http://atlas.nsw.gov.au/public/nsw/home/topic/article/1980-redistribution.html . 23 June 2015 . dead.