Kimberley 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 of Western Australia
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth.
The Legisla ...
, located in the state's far north and named after the
Kimberley region
The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert, Great Sandy and Tanami Desert, Tanami deserts ...
. The electorate has one of the highest
Aboriginal enrolments of any seat in the Parliament.
The seat has been held by the
Labor Party since 1980—inclusive of one term under a Labor Independent (1996–2001), but has become increasingly marginal in recent years. It saw an extremely close and almost unprecedented four-way race at the
2013 state election, with relatively small primary vote margins separating the Labor, Liberal, National and Green candidates in a result that was not known for several days. However, Labor candidate
Josie Farrer
Josephine Farrer (born 24 September 1947) is an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 2013 to 2021, representing the seat of Kimberley.
Farrer was born on Moola Bulla Stati ...
was able to hold the seat for Labor, winning the seat on Green preferences. In the
2021 state election Divina D'Anna retained the seat for Labor.
History
First created for the
1904 state election, the district was a combination of two former seats:
East Kimberley and
West Kimberley. Its first member,
Francis Connor
Francis Connor (1857 – 24 August 1916) was an Australian businessman, pastoralist, and politician who served in both houses of the Parliament of Western Australia, as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1893 to 1905 and as a member of ...
, was one of four independents who opted to support the
Labor Party's minority government under Premier
Henry Daglish
Henry Daglish (18 November 1866 – 16 August 1920) was an Australian politician who was the sixth premier of Western Australia and the first from the Labor Party, serving from 10 August 1904 to 25 August 1905. Daglish was born in Ballarat, V ...
. The government fell a year later, and a conservative member won the seat. It was then held for 19 years by non-Labor parties until a split in the
Country Party saw Labor gain the seat at the
1924 state election. Labor held the seat continuously for 44 years until losing it to 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 ...
at the
1968 state election.
The seat became the focus of controversy at the
1977 state election. A significant turnover in voters had occurred, with 1,750 voters including many
Aboriginals being entitled to vote for the first time. The Labor Party endorsed
Ernie Bridge, an Aboriginal businessman and president of the
Shire of Halls Creek
The Shire of Halls Creek is one of the four local government areas in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, covering an area of , most of which is sparsely populated. The Shire's seat of government is the town of Halls Creek. Man ...
, against the sitting member, Liberal Minister for Lands
Alan Ridge
Keith Alan Ridge (born 18 July 1934) is a former Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1968 to 1980, representing the seat of Kimberley. He was a minister in the government o ...
. Ridge won the vote but it was successfully challenged in the Court of Disputed Returns on 7 November due to claims of irregular treatment of Aboriginal voters at polling stations and various other concerns, and a
by-election was called for 17 December 1977. However, Ridge won the vote on a decreased voter turnout and an increased majority.
At the
1980 state election,
Ernie Bridge won the seat. In 1986, Bridge became a minister in the
Labor government—the first Aboriginal cabinet minister in any Australian government. In 1996, Bridge resigned from the Labor Party and was re-elected at the
1996 state election as an independent before retiring at the
2001 state election. His successor was
Carol Martin, the first Aboriginal woman elected to an Australian parliament.
Three out of five of the Indigenous Australians that have entered the Western Australian parliament have originated from this seat.
Geography
Named for the
Kimberley region, the electorate is the state's northernmost. The district has a long coastline, being bounded by the Indian Ocean to its north and west. To the east, it is bounded by the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
border, whilst its southern boundaries are those of local government areas. The district includes four local government areas:
Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley
Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begin ...
,
Shire of Broome
The Shire of Broome is one of the four local government areas in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, covering an area of , most of which is sparsely populated. The Shire's estimated population as at the was 16,222 most of whom re ...
,
Shire of Derby-West Kimberley
Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...
,
Shire of Halls Creek
The Shire of Halls Creek is one of the four local government areas in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, covering an area of , most of which is sparsely populated. The Shire's seat of government is the town of Halls Creek. Man ...
, all of them in their entirety. Its major population centres include
Broome,
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
,
Fitzroy Crossing Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to:
People As a given name
*Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name:
** FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855)
** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Bea ...
,
Halls Creek
Halls is a plural of the word hall.
Halls may also refer to:
People
* Walter Halls (1871–1953), British trade unionist and politician
* Ethel May Halls (1882–1967), American actress
* Julian Halls (born 1967), British field hockey player
* ...
,
Kununurra and
Wyndham. It also includes the eastern parts of the
Shire of East Pilbara
The Shire of East Pilbara is one of the four local government areas in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. With an area of , larger than the Australian states of Victoria and Tasmania combined, it is the largest local government region in ...
, to the east of the
Canning Stock Route.
Members for Kimberley
Election results
References
External links
* ABC Election Profiles
2005
* WAEC District Maps
1996–20052005–20082008–
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimberley
Kimberley
1904 establishments in Australia
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 ...
Constituencies established in 1904