Belmont is an

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Belmont is named for the inner eastern

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

suburb of Belmont, which falls within its borders. The seat was in its present incarnation considered a safe Labor seat prior to 2013, and was held by former Labor leader

Eric Ripper Eric Stephen Ripper (born 13 September 1951) is a retired Australian politician. From 2008 to 2012 he was Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia. He grew up on a wheat/sheep farm near Nyabing. Ripper late ...

; however, it fell to Liberal Glenys Godfrey in the Liberal landslide at the 2013 state election. Belmont reverted to its status as a safe Labor seat when

Cassie Rowe Cassandra Michelle Rowe (born 6 September 1980) is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since the 2017 state election, representing Belmont. Rowe holds a Bachelor of Arts from th ...

won it at the 2017 state election.

History

Belmont was initially within the vast electorate of

Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...

. In 1911, just 50 people voted at the Belmont and Welshpool Road booths, and by 1950, this had grown to 410 at Belmont, 685 at Welshpool and 692 at Queens Park. However, the area grew rapidly following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as industry developed at Belmont, Kewdale and Forrestfield, and Housing Commission areas were built to support them. At the 1955 redistribution, the new electorate of Beeloo was created—the only district to be so created. The previous member for Canning,

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

member

Colin Jamieson Colin John Jamieson, AO JP (26 May 1923 – 27 March 1990), was a politician in Western Australia. A member of the Labor Party, he served as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1953 until 1986, as the Minister for Wo ...

who was first elected in 1953, secured the seat at the 1956 election. At the 1962 election, Beeloo moved further south into Cannington and Queens Park, whilst a new seat of Belmont was created with boundaries not dissimilar to the present seat. It was represented by former

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 ...

James Hegney James Hegney (27 September 1891 – 5 May 1970) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1930 to 1947 and again from 1950 to 1968. He served as Speaker of the Legislative ...

until 1968. At the redistribution taking effect from the 1968 election, Beeloo was abolished, and a new seat of Ascot was created north and south of the Swan River. Belmont shifted southwards and was won by Jamieson at the election. When the electorate lost the suburb of Belmont to Ascot in the distribution prior to the 1974 election, the electorate was renamed

Welshpool Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...

. Ascot, initially represented by

Merv Toms John Mervin Toms (23 January 1909 – 8 October 1971) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1956 to 1971. He was appointed Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in July ...

until his death while presiding as

on 8 October 1971, was then won by schoolteacher

Mal Bryce Malcolm John Bryce (10 April 19433 March 2018) was an Australian politician, who served as a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1971 to 1988, representing the seat of Ascot. He was deputy leader of the L ...

who went on to become Deputy Premier to Brian Burke from 1983 to 1988. At the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held to replace him on 17 February 1988, schoolteacher and union organiser

was successful. At the 1988 redistribution, both Welshpool and Ascot were abolished, and Belmont was recreated, with Ripper transferring into the seat.

Geography

Belmont is bounded by the Swan River to the northwest, the

Helena River The Helena River is a tributary of the Swan River in Western Australia. The river rises in country east of Mount Dale and flows north-west to Mundaring Weir, where it is dammed. It then flows west until it reaches the Darling Scarp. It passes ...

to the north, the freight railway to the east, Welshpool Road to the south and

Orrong Road Orrong Road is a major arterial road servicing the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia as well as the south-eastern continuation of the Graham Farmer Freeway. It is a dual carriageway for its entire length, with multiple sets of traffic ...

to the southwest. Its boundaries include the suburbs of Ascot, Belmont, Cloverdale, Kewdale, Redcliffe,

Rivervale Rivervale may refer to: In Australia * Rivervale, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth In Singapore * Rivervale, Singapore, a precinct of the district of Sengkang located in north-eastern Singapore In the United States * Rivervale, Arkansas, a s ...

, South Guildford and

, as well as

Perth Airport Perth Airport is an international, domestic and general aviation airport serving Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth busiest airport in Australia measured by passenger movements and falls within the boundaries of ...

, and parts of Burswood and Hazelmere. The 2007 redistribution, which took effect at the 2008 election, only removed a section of

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

which had been added in 2005.

Members for Belmont

Election results

References

External links

Electorate Profile
(

Antony Green Antony John Green (born 2 March 1960) is an Australian psephologist and commentator. He is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's chief election analyst. Early years and background Born in Warrington, Lancashire, in northern England, Gree ...

, ABC) {{DEFAULTSORT:Belmont Belmont 1962 establishments in Australia Constituencies established in 1962