Division of Flinders

The Division of Flinders is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division is one of the original 65 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for Matthew Flinders, the first man to circumnavigate Australia, and the person credited with giving Australia its name.

Flinders
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Flinders in Victoria, as of the 2019 federal election.
Created1901
MPGreg Hunt
PartyLiberal
NamesakeMatthew Flinders
Electors110,729 (2019)
Area871 km2 (336.3 sq mi)
DemographicRural

Originally a country seat south and east of Melbourne, Flinders is now a hybrid urban-rural seat based on the outer southern suburbs on the Mornington Peninsula, including Dromana, Hastings and Portsea.

History

Matthew Flinders, the division's namesake

It has usually been a fairly safe seat for the Liberal Party and its predecessors, who have held it for all but six years since its creation. However, it has occasionally been won by the Australian Labor Party, notably at the 1929 federal election when Prime Minister Stanley Bruce was defeated. This was the first of two times an incumbent Australian prime minister lost their own seat at a general election; the second time was not until Liberal Prime Minister John Howard lost his seat of Bennelong at the 2007 federal election.

The seat's most prominent member was Bruce, who held it for all but two years from 1918 to 1933. Other prominent former members include Jack Holloway, the Labor challenger who ousted Bruce and later a senior minister in the Curtin and Chifley governments (though he was the member for Melbourne Ports by then) and two deputy Liberal leaders – Sir Phillip Lynch (a minister in the Gorton, McMahon and Fraser governments) and Peter Reith (a minister in the Howard government).

Members

Image Member Party Term Notes
  Arthur Groom
(1852–1922)
Free Trade 29 March 1901
23 November 1903
Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Gippsland West. Retired
  James Gibb
(1843–1919)
Free Trade 16 December 1903
1906
Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Mornington. Did not contest in 1906. Failed to win the Division of Lyne
  Anti-Socialist 1906 –
12 December 1906
  (Sir) William Irvine
(1858–1943)
Anti-Socialist 12 December 1906
26 May 1909
Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Lowan. Served as minister under Cook. Resigned in order to become Chief Justice of the Victorian Supreme Court
  Commonwealth Liberal 26 May 1909 –
17 February 1917
  Nationalist 17 February 1917 –
5 April 1918
  Stanley Bruce
(1883–1967)
Nationalist 11 May 1918
12 October 1929
Served as minister under Hughes. Served as Prime Minister from 1923 to 1929. Lost seat
  Jack Holloway
(1875–1967)
Labor 12 October 1929
19 December 1931
Transferred to the Division of Melbourne Ports
  Stanley Bruce
(1883–1967)
United Australia 19 December 1931
6 October 1933
Served as minister under Lyons. Resigned in order to become the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
  James Fairbairn
(1897–1940)
United Australia 11 November 1933
13 August 1940
Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Warrnambool. Served as minister under Menzies. Died in office.
  Rupert Ryan
(1884–1952)
United Australia 21 September 1940
21 February 1945
Died in office
  Liberal 21 February 1945 –
25 August 1952
  Keith Ewert
(1918–1989)
Labor 18 October 1952
29 May 1954
Lost seat
  Robert Lindsay
(1905–2000)
Liberal 29 May 1954
31 October 1966
Retired
  (Sir) Phillip Lynch
(1933–1984)
Liberal 26 November 1966
22 October 1982
Served as minister under Gorton, McMahon and Fraser. Resigned due to ill health
  Peter Reith
(1950–)
Liberal 4 December 1982
5 March 1983
Lost seat
  Bob Chynoweth
(1941–)
Labor 5 March 1983
1 December 1984
Transferred to the Division of Dunkley
  Peter Reith
(1950–)
Liberal 1 December 1984
8 October 2001
Served as minister under Howard. Retired
  Greg Hunt
(1965–)
Liberal 10 November 2001
present
Served as minister under Abbott and Turnbull. Incumbent. Currently a minister under Morrison

Election results

2019 Australian federal election: Flinders[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Greg Hunt 45,293 46.72 −3.78
Labor Josh Sinclair 23,982 24.74 −2.80
Independent Julia Banks 13,367 13.79 +13.79
Greens Nathan Lesslie 6,599 6.81 −4.18
United Australia Christine McShane 2,447 2.52 +2.52
Animal Justice James Persson 2,304 2.38 −1.45
Sustainable Australia Reade Smith 1,072 1.11 +1.11
Independent Susie Beveridge 948 0.98 +0.98
Independent Harry Dreger 940 0.97 +0.97
Total formal votes 96,952 94.06 −1.90
Informal votes 6,124 5.94 +1.90
Turnout 103,076 93.11 +2.28
Two-party-preferred result
Liberal Greg Hunt 53,943 55.64 −1.37
Labor Josh Sinclair 43,009 44.36 +1.37
Liberal hold Swing−1.37

References

  1. Flinders, VIC, Tally Room 2019, Australian Electoral Commission.

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