The Division of Darling Downs was an Australian electoral division in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. It was named after the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generall ...

region of Queensland, and consisted mainly of the city of

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

and surrounding rural areas. The seat was safely conservative for its entire existence, almost always held by the Country Party (now called the National Party), or the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and its predecessors. Its prominent members included Sir

Littleton Groom Sir Littleton Ernest Groom KCMG KC (22 April 18676 November 1936) was an Australian politician. He held ministerial office under four prime ministers between 1905 and 1925, and subsequently served as Speaker of the House of Representatives fr ...

, Cabinet minister and

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

, and

Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden, (13 April 189421 April 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Australia from 29 August to 7 October 1941. He was the leader of the Country Party from 1940 to 1958 and also served ...

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

in 1941. The electorate's first member,

William Henry Groom William Henry Groom (9 March 1833 – 8 August 1901) was an Australian publican, newspaper proprietor, and politician who served as a member of the Parliament of Queensland from 1862 to 1901 and of the Parliament of Australia in 1901. Early li ...

, died at the first Commonwealth Parliament meeting in Melbourne in 1901. His death led to Australia's first by-election, which was won by his son Littleton. The seat was abolished in 1984, being replaced by the

Division of Groom The Division of Groom is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. Groom is an agricultural electorate located on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. It includes the regional city of Toowoomba and rural communities to the west an ...

, named after the aforesaid Littleton Groom.

Members

Election results

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darling Downs, Division Of 1901 establishments in Australia Constituencies established in 1901

Darling Downs