Nhulunbuy was an

electoral division 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 poli ...

of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's

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 ...

. It was first created in 1974, and is named after the remote town of the same name. Nhulunbuy is a rural electorate on the Territory's northeast coast, covering and taking in the towns of Nhulunbuy,

Galiwinku Elcho Island, known to its traditional owners as Galiwin'ku (Galiwinku) is an island off the coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located at the southern end of the Wessel Islands group located in the East Arnhe ...

Yirrkala Yirrkala is a small community in East Arnhem Region, Northern Territory, Australia, southeast of the large mining town of Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Nhulunbuy, on the Gove Peninsula in Arnhem Land. Its population comprises predominantly ...

and

Gapuwiyak Gapuwiyak, also known as Lake Evella, is an Aboriginal Australian community located in north-eastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, south of the head of Buckingham Bay and about the same distance south-west of Arnhem Bay. The settlement had ...

. There were 5,895 people enrolled in the electorate as of August 2016. The division was abolished in 2020, and replaced by the division of Mulka. Nhulunbuy was traditionally a safe seat for the Labor Party, which held the seat without a break from 1980 to 2016. Labor's dominance in the seat was mostly on the strength of strong support among indigenous voters; more than 50% of the electorate's population being indigenous. The only exception to the ALP's dominance was

Milton Ballantyne Milton James Ballantyne (5 November 1928 – 15 December 2015) was an Australian politician. He was the Country Liberal Party member for Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northe ...

, who won the seat for the

Country Liberal Party The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP) is a centre-right political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In local politics it operates in a two-party system with the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It also contests federal ...

in 1974 when the ALP won no seats in the Assembly. Ballantyne managed to hold on despite a strong swing to the ALP in 1977, before being easily beaten by the ALP's

Dan Leo Daniel Murray Leo (born 14 August 1950) is a former Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral legisl ...

in 1980. Leo retired in 1990 and handed the seat to

Syd Stirling Sydney James Stirling (born 16 December 1951) is a former Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1990 to 2008. Stirling was born in Kyneton, Victoria, and worked ...

, who went on to become deputy leader of Territory Labor, and as such became Deputy Chief Minister under

Clare Martin Clare Majella Martin (born 15 June 1952) is a former Australian journalist and politician. She was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995. She was appointed Opposition Leader in 1999, and won ...

from 2001 to 2008. Stirling stood down in 2008 and was succeeded by Lynne Walker, who became deputy opposition leader in 2015. With Labor being an unbackable favourite to win the 2016 Territory election, Walker appeared well on her way to becoming Deputy Chief Minister. Even without Labor being heavily favoured to win government, there was virtually no hint that Walker was in any danger in her own seat, which she held with a seemingly insurmountable 13.7 percent majority. However, in a shock result, even as Labor swept to a landslide victory, Walker was defeated by independent and indigenous activist

Yingiya Mark Guyula Yingiya Mark Guyula is an Australian politician and a Yolŋu man of the Djambarrpuyŋu clan and the Liya-Dhälinymirr people. He is an independent member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly for the seat of Mulka in north-east Arnhe ...

by just eight votes, making the seat Labor's only loss in the election.

Members for Nhulunbuy

Election results

References

External links

Division profile from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission
{{Electoral divisions of the Northern Territory

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a township that is the sixth largest population centre in the Northern Territory of Australia. Nhulunbuy was created on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and a deep water port were established ...