Electoral district of Port Phillip

The Electoral district of Port Phillip was an electorate of the New South Wales Legislative Council before it became the separate colony of Victoria (Australia) on 1 July 1851. At the time, some members of the Council were elected and the balance were appointed by the Governor. The Town of Melbourne returned one member while the Port Phillip district, which covered the rest of what became Victoria after its separation in 1851, returned five members.[1]

Port Phillip
New South Wales—Legislative Council
Location of the District in 1843.
Same as current-day Victoria.
StateNew South Wales
Created1843
Abolished1851
NamesakePort Phillip
Electors1,157 (1843)
Coordinates37°S 144°E

History

Settlers of the Port Phillip District had wanted representation in the New South Wales Legislative Council for some time. In 1843 representatives were elected; "But the colonists were not satisfied with government from and by Sydney".[2]

On 1 July 1851, the District was separated from New South Wales under provisions of the Australian Colonies Government Act 1850, and became the Colony of Victoria and the Victorian Legislative Council was created.

Members
Member 1TermMember 2TermMember 3TermMember 4TermMember 5Term
Charles Ebden [3] 1 Jun 1843 –
31 Mar 1844		 Thomas Walker [4] 1 Jun 1843 –
31 Jul 1845		 Charles Nicholson [5] 1 June 1843 –
20 Jun 1848		 Alexander Thomson [6] 1 Jun 1843 –
31 Mar 1844		 John Lang [7] 1 June 1843 –
1 Nov 1847
Adolphus Young [8] 1 Apr 1844 –
31 Jul 1845		 Sir Thomas Mitchell [9] 1 Apr 1844 –
31 Aug 1844
Benjamin Boyd [10] 1 Sep 1844 –
1 Aug 1845
Thomas Boyd [11] 1 Aug 1845 –
11 Dec 1845		 Maurice O'Connell [12] 1 Aug 1845 –
20 Jun 1848		 Edward Curr [13] 1 Sep 1845 –
31 May 1846
Edward Brewster [14] 1 Jan 1846 –
1 Feb 1848		 John Foster [15] 1 Jun 1846 –
20 Jun 1848
Charles Ebden [3] 1 Mar 1848 –
20 Jun 1848		 John Airey [16] 22 Dec 1847 –
20 Jun 1848
Lauchlan Mackinnon [17] 1 Sep 1848 –
31 May 1850		 James Williamson [18] 1 Sep 1848 –
31 Jan 1849		 John Dickson [19] 1 Sep 1848 –
30 Jun 1851		 Edward Curr [13] 1 Sep 1848 –
31 May 1849		 James Palmer [20] 1 Sep 1848 –
31 May 1849
William Macarthur [21] 1 Feb 1849 –
30 Jun 1851		 John Foster [15] 1 Jun 1849 –
31 May 1850		 Henry Moor [22] 1 Jul 1849 –
30 Jun 1851
Charles Ebden [3] 1 Jun 1850 –
30 Jun 1851		 William Mercer [23] 1 Jun 1850 –
30 Jun 1851

Election results

1843
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 1843 New South Wales colonial election § Port Phillip[edit]
1843 New South Wales colonial election, 20 June:
Port Phillip [24][25]
Candidate Votes %
Charles Ebden 228 19.69
Thomas Walker 217 18.74
Charles Nicholson 206 17.79
Alexander Thomson 184 15.89
John Dunmore Lang 166 14.34
Sir Thomas Mitchell 157 13.56
Total votes 1,158 100.00

1844 (1)

Charles Ebden and Alexander Thomson resigned in March 1844.

Port Phillip by-election
23 April 1844 [26]
Candidate Votes %
Sir Thomas Mitchell 195 44.10
Adolphus Young 134 31.68
Maurice O'Connell 94 22.22
Total votes 423 100

1844 (2)

Sir Thomas Mitchell, while an elected member was also the Surveyor General. He was criticised by Governor Sir George Gipps for not supporting the government by absenting himself from the Legislative Council when he did not agree with government measures. Mitchell chose to resign his seat.[27]

Port Phillip by-election
17 September 1844 [28]
Candidate Votes %
Benjamin Boyd unopposed  

1845 (1)

Thomas Walker resigned on 31 July 1845.

Port Phillip by-election
7 August 1845 [29]
Candidate Votes %
Maurice O'Connell show of hands  
Archibald Boyd    

1845 (2)

Adolphus Young resigned on 31 July 1845.

Port Phillip by-election
7 August 1845 [29]
Candidate Votes %
Thomas Boyd unopposed  

1845 (3)

Benjamin Boyd resigned on 1 August 1845.

Port Phillip by-election
26 September 1845 [30]
Candidate Votes %
Edward Curr 50 81.97
Neil Black 11 8.03
Total votes 61 100

1846 (1)

Thomas Boyd resigned in December 1845.

Port Phillip by-election
23 January 1846 [31]
Candidate Votes %
Edward Brewster unopposed  

1846 (2)

Edward Curr resigned in May 1846.

Port Phillip by-election
29 June 1846 [32]
Candidate Votes %
John Foster unopposed  

1847

John Lang was absent for two successive sessions of the Council and his seat was declared vacant in November 1847.

Port Phillip by-election
22 December 1847 [33]
Candidate Votes %
John Airey unopposed  

1848 By-election

Edward Brewster resigned in February 1848.

Port Phillip by-election
15 March 1848 [34]
Candidate Votes %
Charles Ebden unopposed  

1848
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 1848 New South Wales colonial election § Port Phillip[edit]
1848 New South Wales colonial election, 3 October:
Port Phillip [35]
Candidate Votes %
Lauchlan Mackinnon (elected 1) 239 16.66
James Williamson (elected 2) 234 16.31
John Dickson (elected 3) 232 16.17
James Palmer (elected 4) 226 15.75
Edward Curr (elected 5) 189 13.17
The Duke of Wellington,
Lord Palmerston,
Lord Brougham,
Lord John Russell,
Sir Robert Peel		 58 4.04
William Macarthur 25 1.74
Total votes 1,435 100.00
The original polling day was 27 July;[36] however, no candidates were nominated for Port Phillip as a result of the campaign for independence from New South Wales.[37] A further writ was issued on 25 August.[38]

1849 (1)

James Williamson resigned in January 1849.

Port Phillip by-election
27 February 1849 [39]
Candidate Votes %
William Macarthur 97 90.65
The Duke of Wellington 9 8.41
John Fawkner 1 0.93
Total votes 107 100

1849 (2)

Edward Curr resigned in May 1849.

Port Phillip by-election
23 June 1849 [40]
Candidate Votes %
John Foster unopposed  

1849 (3)

James Palmer resigned in May 1849.

Port Phillip by-election
17 July 1849 [41]
Candidate Votes %
Henry Moor unopposed  

1850

Lauchlan Mackinnon and John Foster resigned in May 1850.

Port Phillip by-election
11 June 1850 [42]
Candidate Votes %
Charles Ebden 421 31.94
William Mercer 401 30.42
John Lang 386 29.29
Lachlan McAlister 110 8.35
Total votes 1,318 100

See also

References
  1. "An Act to provide for the division of the Colony of New South Wales into Electoral Districts and for the Election of Members to serve in the Legislative Council.". Act No. 16 of 23 February 1843 (PDF). Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  2. "Victoria, Australia". Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911. pp. 42–43.
  3. "Mr Charles Hotson Ebden (1811-1867)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  4. "Mr Thomas Walker (1) (1804-1886)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  5. "Sir Charles Nicholson (1808-1903)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  6. "Mr Alexander Thomson (1800-1866)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  7. "The Reverend John Dunmore Lang, MA, DD (1799 - 1878)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  8. "Mr Adolphus William Young (1814-1885)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  9. "Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (1792-1855)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  10. "Mr Benjamin Boyd (1803-1851)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  11. "Mr Thomas Elder Boyd (1802-1860)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  12. "Sir Maurice Charles O'Connell, Kt (1812 - 1879)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  13. "Mr Edward CURR (1798-1850)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  14. "Mr Edward Jones Brewster". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  15. "Mr John Leslie Fitzgerald Vesey Foster (1818-1900)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  16. "Mr John Moore Cole Airey". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  17. "Mr Lauchlan Mackinnon (1817-1888)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  18. "Mr James Williamson (1811-1881)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  19. "Dr John Dickson". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  20. "Sir James Frederick Palmer, Kt (1803-1871)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  21. "Sir William Macarthur (1800-1882)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  22. "Mr Henry Moor (1809-1877)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  23. "Major William Drummond Mercer (1796-1871)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  24. "Port Phillip election". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 July 1843. p. 2. Retrieved 23 May 2019 – via Trove.
  25. M. M. H. Thompson (2006). The Seeds of Democracy: Early Elections in Colonial New South Wales. Federation Press. ISBN 978-1-86287-631-6.
  26. "The election". Geelong Advertiser. 25 April 1844. p. 2. Retrieved 2 June 2019 – via Trove.
  27. "Resignation of Sir Thomas Mitchell". Geelong Advertiser. 26 August 1844. p. 2 (Morning.). Retrieved 2 June 2019 – via Trove.
  28. "District election". Geelong Advertiser. 16 September 1844. p. 4 (Morning.). Retrieved 2 June 2019 – via Trove.
  29. "District election". Geelong Advertiser and Squatters' Advocate. 9 August 1845. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via Trove.
  30. "Local Intelligence". The Port Phillip Patriot and Morning Advertiser. 4 October 1845. p. 2. Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via Trove.
  31. "The election". The Melbourne Courier. 19 January 1846. p. 2. Retrieved 4 June 2019 – via Trove.
  32. "The election". Geelong Advertiser and Squatters' Advocate. 24 June 1846. p. 2. Retrieved 4 June 2019 – via Trove.
  33. "The election". Geelong Advertiser. 17 December 1847. p. 1. Retrieved 4 June 2019 – via Trove.
  34. "Election of a member for the Legislative Council". Port Phillip Gazette and Settler's Journal. 11 March 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 4 June 2019 – via Trove.
  35. "The district election". The Argus. 13 October 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 26 May 2019 – via Trove.
  36. "Writs for a general election". New South Wales Government Gazette (68). 27 June 1848. p. 799. Retrieved 26 May 2019 – via Trove.
  37. "Melbourne". Geelong Advertiser. 27 July 1848. p. 4. Retrieved 26 May 2019 – via Trove.
  38. "Writ of election: Port Phillip". New South Wales Government Gazette (91). 25 August 1848. p. 1065. Retrieved 26 May 2019 – via Trove.
  39. "The Port Phillip elections". The People's Advocate and New South Wales Vindicator. 24 March 1849. p. 4. Retrieved 5 June 2019 – via Trove.
  40. "Election of Mr J F L Foster". Geelong Advertiser. 12 June 1849. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2019 – via Trove.
  41. "Election of Mr Moor". Geelong Advertiser. 7 July 1849. p. 1. Retrieved 5 June 2019 – via Trove.
  42. "Abstract of the general state of the poll". Geelong Advertiser. 24 June 1850. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2019 – via Trove.
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