Electoral district of Melbourne

The electoral district of Melbourne is an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It currently includes the localities of Carlton, North Carlton, Melbourne, East Melbourne, West Melbourne, North Melbourne, Parkville, Newmarket, Kensington and Flemington, and includes Melbourne University. The district has been in existence since 1856 (it was abolished in 1859 and reestablished in 1889).

Melbourne, 1855
This article is about the Victorian state electorate. For the seat of the New South Wales Legislative Council (known as City of Melbourne 1848–51), see Electoral district of Town of Melbourne. For former electorates of the Victorian Legislative Council, see Electoral district of City of Melbourne and Melbourne Province. For the federal electorate, see Division of Melbourne.

Melbourne
Victoria—Legislative Assembly
Location of Melbourne (dark green) in Greater Melbourne
StateVictoria
Dates current1856–1859, 1889–present
MPEllen Sandell
PartyGreens
Electors50,393 (2018)
Area27 km2 (10.4 sq mi)
DemographicCentral Metropolitan
Coordinates37°48′14″S 144°56′28″E
Electorates around Melbourne:
Essendon Brunswick Northcote
Footscray Melbourne Richmond
Williamstown Albert Park Prahran

The electorate was won in 2014 for the first time by Greens candidate Ellen Sandell.

History

Melbourne was one of the inaugural districts of the first Assembly in 1856.[1] Its area was defined by the 1855 Act as:

Commencing at a Point in the Yarra Yarra River due South from the South-western Angle of Gisborne Street, thence to Gisborne Street, and by the Western Side of that Street to Victoria Parade, thence by the South Side of Victoria Parade to the Western Side of Nicholson Street, thence by the said Western Side of Nicholson Street Northwards to the Boundary Line of the Corporate Limits of Melbourne, thence by the last-mentioned Boundary Line bearing West to the Moonee Ponds, by the said Moonee Ponds downwards to the Site of Main’s Bridge,[a] thence by a Line bearing South to the Yarra Yarra River, and on the South by the Yarra Yarra River to the commencing Point.[1]

a now Flemington Bridge

Melbourne was abolished in 1859, its area was split into the new electoral districts of East Melbourne and West Melbourne, each having two members.[2]

Melbourne was re-created as a single-member electorate by the Electoral Act Amendment Act 1888[3] which took effect at the 1889 elections.

Since 1908 the seat had been traditional Labor territory since 1908, but had become increasingly marginal against the Greens since 2002. Senior Labor minister Bronwyn Pike successfully held the seat against strong Greens challenges at three subsequent elections, defeating future Greens Senator Richard Di Natale in 2002 and 2006, and prominent lawyer Brian Walters in 2010. Pike resigned in 2012, and Labor candidate and City of Melbourne councillor Jennifer Kanis retained the seat after a closely contested by-election, which saw her finish second on primary votes to Greens candidate Cathy Oke but win on preferences. Kanis lost the seat to Greens candidate Ellen Sandell at the 2014 election. Along with the seat of Prahran it was the first win for the Greens in the Victorian Legislative Assembly.

Members
First incarnation (1856–1859, 5 members)[4]
Member 1 Party Term Member 2 Party Term Member 3 Party Term Member 4 Party Term Member 5 Party Term
  Archibald Michie None 1856–1859   David Moore None 1856–1859   John Smith[5] None 1856–1859   William Stawell None 1856–1857   John O'Shanassy[6]# None 1856
  James Service None 1857–1859   Henry Langlands None 1857–1859
Second incarnation (1889–present, 1 member)
MemberPartyTerm
  Godfrey Carter None 1889–1900
  Edward Findley Labour 1900–1901
  James Boyd Ministerialist 1901–1908
  Alexander Rogers Labor 1908–1924
  Tom Hayes Labor 1924–1955
  Labor (Anti-Communist) 1955–1955
  Arthur Clarey Labor 1955–1972
  Barry Jones Labor 1972–1977
  Keith Remington Labor 1977–1988
  Neil Cole Labor 1988–1999
  Bronwyn Pike Labor 1999–2012
  Jennifer Kanis Labor 2012–2014
  Ellen Sandell Greens 2014–present

Election results
Main article: Electoral results for the district of Melbourne
2018 Victorian state election: Melbourne[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Greens Ellen Sandell 15,755 38.85 −2.59
Labor Jennifer Kanis 14,568 35.92 +6.65
Liberal Darin Schade 6,920 17.06 −7.03
Reason Leo Close 1,513 3.73 +3.73
Animal Justice Lawrence Pope 830 2.05 −0.12
Liberal Democrats Benjamin Rookes 410 1.01 +1.01
Independent Peter Hanlon 328 0.81 +0.81
Aussie Battler Kim Fuhrmann 233 0.57 +0.57
Total formal votes 40,557 95.29 −1.21
Informal votes 2,004 4.71 +1.21
Turnout 42,561 84.46 −3.08
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Jennifer Kanis 30,521 75.25 +4.79
Liberal Darin Schade 10,036 24.75 −4.79
Two-candidate-preferred result
Greens Ellen Sandell 20,816 51.33 −1.04
Labor Jennifer Kanis 19,741 48.68 +1.04
Greens hold Swing−1.04

Historical maps
  • Location of Melbourne district in 1856

Notes

^# O'Shanassy won both Melbourne and Kilmore districts, he decided to represent the latter resulting in a by-election for Melbourne.[8]

References
  1. "Victoria Constitution Act 1855" (PDF). Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  2. "An Act to alter the Electoral Districts of Victoria and to increase the number of Members of the Legislative Assembly thereof" (PDF). 1858. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  3. "The Electoral Act Amendment Act 1888" (pdf). Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  4. "The Victorian Parliament". South Australian Register. Trove. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  5. Eastwood, Jill. "Smith, John Thomas (1816–1879)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 18 April 2013 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  6. Edward Sweetman (1920). Constitutional Development of Victoria, 1851-6. Whitcombe & Tombs Limited. p. 183. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  7. State Election 2018: Melbourne District, VEC.
  8. "Political Condition. The New Parliament". The Argus. Trove. 29 October 1856. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  9. "Central Province and Electoral Districts of Melbourne, St Kilda, Collingwood, South Melbourne, Richmond and Williamstown" (map). State Library of Victoria. 27 November 1855. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
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