| Upper Hunter | |
| State: | nsw |
| Lifespan: | 1856–1894 1904–1920 1927–present |
| Mp: | Dave Layzell |
| Mp-Party: | National |
| Namesake: | Upper Hunter Shire |
| Electors: | 56127 |
| Electors Year: | 2021 |
| Area: | 27687.50 |
| Class: | Rural |
| Near-N: | Northern Tablelands |
| Near-Ne: | Northern Tablelands |
| Near-Nw: | Barwon |
| Near-E: | Myall Lakes |
| Near-W: | Dubbo |
| Near-S: | Cessnock |
| Near-Se: | Port Stephens |
| Near-Sw: | Bathurst |
Upper Hunter is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. The seat is currently held by Dave Layzell for the National Party after he was elected at a by-election to replace Michael Johnsen.
Upper Hunter covers the entirety of Dungog Shire, Muswellbrook Shire, Upper Hunter Shire, Singleton Shire, part of the City of Cessnock (including Branxton) and all of the City of Maitland north of the Hunter River.[1]
In 1859, Upper Hunter replaced the Electoral district of Phillip, Brisbane and Bligh, established in the first Parliament in 1856. It had two members from 1880 to 1894. It was abolished in 1894 and largely replaced by Robertson and Singleton. In 1904 Robertson was abolished and Upper Hunter was recreated. It was abolished from 1920 with the introduction of proportional representation, but was recreated in 1927.[2] [3]
Upper Hunter is one of three electorates to have never been held by the Labor Party and always by the conservative side of politics since the abolition of proportional representation in 1927, the other two being Tamworth and Oxley. The Nationals have held the district without interruption since 1931.
| 1859–1880, 1 member | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | Term | ||
| John Robertson[4] | None | 1859–1861 | ||
| Thomas Dangar[5] | None | 1861–1864 | ||
| James White[6] | None | 1864–1868 | ||
| Archibald Bell[7] | None | 1868–1872 | ||
| John Creed[8] | None | 1872–1874 | ||
| Francis White[9] | None | 1874–1875 | ||
| Thomas Hungerford[10] | None | 1875–1875 | ||
| John McElhone[11] | None | 1875–1880 | ||
| 1880–1894, 2 members | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | Term | Member | Party | Term | ||||
| John McLaughlin[12] | None | 1880–1885 | John McElhone | None | 1880–1885 | ||||
| Robert Fitzgerald[13] | None | 1885–1887 | Thomas Hungerford | None | 1885–1887 | ||||
| 1887–1889 | John McElhone | 1887–1889 | |||||||
| 1889–1894 | William Abbott[14] | 1889–1891 | |||||||
| Thomas Williams[15] | 1891–1894 | ||||||||
| 1904–1920, 1 member | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | Term | ||
| William Fleming[16] | 1904–1910 | |||
| William Ashford[17] | 1910–1910 | |||
| Henry Willis[18] | 1910–1913 | |||
| 1913–1913 | ||||
| Mac Abbott[19] | 1913–1917 | |||
| 1917–1918 | ||||
| William Cameron[20] | 1918–1920 | |||
| 1927–present, 1 member | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | Term | ||
| William Cameron | 1927–1931 | |||
| Malcolm Brown[21] | 1931–1932 | |||
| 1932–1939 | ||||
| D'Arcy Rose[22] | 1939–1959 | |||
| Leon Punch[23] | 1959–1962 | |||
| Frank O'Keefe[24] | 1962–1969 | |||
| Col Fisher[25] | , | 1970–1988 | ||
| George Souris[26] | 1988–2015 | |||
| Michael Johnsen[27] | 2015–2021 | |||
| Dave Layzell[28] | 2021–present | |||
See main article: Electoral results for the district of Upper Hunter.