Darling Range 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 district is based to the east and south-east of

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 ...

Geography

Darling Range is situated in the outer east and south-east of Perth. It is a mixture of suburbia and hinterland, falling inside the

Metropolitan Region Scheme The Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) provides the legal basis for land use planning within the Perth metropolitan region. It classifies land into broad zones and reservations and is administered by the Western Australian Planning Commission. I ...

and running along most of its southern and eastern boundary. The district covers all of the

Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale The Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale is a local government area in the outer southeastern metropolitan area of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and has an area of and a population of almost 27,000 as at the 2016 Census. The Shire's seat ...

as well as the less urbanised parts of the city of Armadale.

History

Darling Range was first created for the 1950 state election. The seat's first member was

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

Ray Owen Raymond "Ray" Owen (birth registered third ¼ 1940 – 5 February 2006) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, and a chairman of the 1980s and 1990s. He played at club level for Widnes and Wakefield Trini ...

, who was previously the member for

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

. The district was abolished ahead of the 1974 state election. By this time its member was

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP Ian Thompson, who went on to represent the new district of Kalamunda. Darling Range was recreated just one term later for the 1977 state election. The seat was radically redistributed ahead of the 2008 state election, with just 15% of the voters in the redrawn district coming from its former configuration. Half of the district's voters—and indeed the vast majority of its territory—previously belonged to the abolished district of Serpentine-Jarrahdale, with the remainder coming from Armadale and

Swan Hills Swan Hills is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is in the eponymous Swan Hills, approximately north of Whitecourt and northwest of Fort Assiniboine. The town is at the junction of Highway 32 and Grizzly Trail, and is surrounded by Big Lak ...

. Thus, sitting Serpentine-Jarrahdale member, Liberal MP

Tony Simpson Anthony James Simpson (born 15 July 1965) is a former Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 2005 to 2017. He served as a minister in the government of Colin Barnett from Marc ...

became the new member for Darling Range at the 2008 election, whilst the former member for Darling Range, Liberal MP John Day, successfully contested the new seat of Kalamunda. Simpson served as the MP for Darling Range until his defeat by Barry Urban at the 2017 state election. This result marked the first time that the Labor Party had ever won the seat. In May 2018, Urban resigned from parliament as the privileges committee recommended his expulsion over a series of false claims of his credentials. At the subsequent

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 ...

former East Metropolitan MLC Alyssa Hayden recovered the seat for the Liberals. Hayden was defeated by

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 ...

candidate Hugh Jones at the 2021 election, marking the second time

had won the seat.

Members for Darling Range

Election results

References

External links

* ABC Election Profiles
20052017
* WAEC District Maps
1996–20052005–20082008–
{{Electoral districts of Western Australia

Darling Range The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, to t ...