Murray-Wellington 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 ...

. The seat's current member is

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 labour ...

MLA

Robyn Clarke Robyn Marjorie Jane Clarke (born 19 September 1964) is an Australian politician. She is a Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch), Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Electoral ...

. Originally known as Murray, it was one of the original 30 seats contested at the 1890 election. The district is a regional electorate situated between

Mandurah Mandurah () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 107,641 as of the 2021 Australian census, 2 ...

and Bunbury. The seat has alternated between the names ''Murray'' and ''Murray-Wellington'' to reflect its geography. The seat has been a traditional stronghold for 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 ...

, though the opposing Labor Party has won the seat three times in the last four decades.

Geography

In its present configuration, Murray-Wellington is a coastal electorate running from the eastern outskirts of

to the northern outskirts of Bunbury. It covers three local government areas –

Shire of Murray The Shire of Murray is a local government area of Western Australia. It has an area of and is located in the Peel Region about south of the Perth central business district. The Shire extends across the Peel Inlet and the Swan Coastal Plain ...

Shire of Waroona The Shire of Waroona is a local government area in the Peel region of Western Australia between Mandurah and Harvey and about 110 kilometres (68 mi) south of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of about 835 km² ...

and the

Shire of Harvey The Shire of Harvey is a local government area of Western Australia. Harvey is located in the state's South West region, approximately 140 km south of Perth, and includes some of Bunbury's northern suburbs. The shire covers an area of 1, ...

– including all of the latter two and the vast geographic majority of the former. Its major population centres include the towns of Dwellingup,

Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

, North Dandalup, North Yunderup, Pinjarra, South Yunderup and Waroona as well as the northern Bunbury suburbs of

Australind Australind is a town in Western Australia, located 12 km north-east of Bunbury's central business district. Its local government area is the Shire of Harvey. At the 2016 census, Australind had a population of 14,539. History Prior to Eur ...

and Leschenault.

History

The seat of Murray-Wellington (or Murray) has traditionally been a stronghold of the

and its predecessor parties, but became a marginal seat held by

following the 2017 state election. The district's most famous member was

Ross McLarty Sir Duncan Ross McLarty, (17 March 1891 – 22 December 1962) was an Australian politician and the 17th Premier of Western Australia. Early life McLarty was born in Pinjarra, Western Australia, the youngest of seven children of Edward McLarty, ...

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...

between 1947 and 1953, who held the seat from 1930 to 1962. The seat's current

member,

, arrived as a result of the 2017 state election. The seat's only other

member, Keith Read, won the vacant seat at the 1989 state election, even as his father and then Labor MP John Read was defeated in the neighbouring seat of

. Keith Read was defeated at the 1993 state election.

Members for Murray-Wellington

Election results

References

External links

* ABC Election Profiles
2005
* WAEC District Maps
1996–20052005–20082008–2017-
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray-Wellington Electoral districts of Western Australia