Fremantle 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 located in the inner south-west 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 ...

, centring on the port of

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

. Fremantle is a historically safe

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 ...

seat, though the

Greens WA Greens Western Australia, commonly known as the Greens WA, is a List of member parties of the Australian Greens, member party of the Australian Greens in Western Australia. The Greens (WA) was formed following the merger of the Western Australia ...

have polled well in recent times. Labor held the seat from 1924 until a 2009 by-election which was lost to Greens candidate

Adele Carles Adele Simone Carles (born 19 February 1968) is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2009 to 2013, representing the electorate of Fremantle. She was initially elected as a Greens W ...

. Carles quit the party in the following year, sitting as an independent for the remainder of her term. The seat returned to Labor at the 2013 election.

Geography

Fremantle is a north–south elongated electorate. It is bounded to the north by the Swan River and to the west by the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. A series of roads make up the district's short southern and long eastern boundary. The district takes in the suburbs of

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

East Fremantle East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

, North Coogee, South Fremantle and White Gum Valley, as well as parts of the suburbs of Bicton, Hamilton Hill,

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

and Spearwood. The district also includes

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island ( nys, Wadjemup), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, Rottnest is an A-class ...

History

Created for the 1890 election, Fremantle was one of the original 30 districts of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. It has remained as an electorate ever since. In its early years, the seat changed hands regularly between different candidates. However, the seat became more favourable to the Labor Party in the early 20th century, and has been held by the Labor Party at all times between 1924 and 2021, except from 2009 to 2013. Fremantle's longest-serving member was Joseph Sleeman, member for 35 years from 1924 to 1959. David Parker, member for Fremantle from 1980 to 1990, served as Deputy Premier of Western Australia under

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Peter Dowding Peter McCallum Dowding SC (born 6 October 1943) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who served as the 24th Premier of Western Australia, from 25 February 1988 until his forced resignation on 12 February 1990. He was a member of parli ...

from 1988 to 1990. The seat's member until his retirement in 2009 was

Jim McGinty James Andrew McGinty (born 22 September 1949) is an Australian former politician. He was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1990 to 2009, representing the district of Fremantle. He was Labor Party leader and Lea ...

, who was the Opposition Leader from 1994 to 1996 and Attorney-General in the

Gallop The canter and gallop are variations on the fastest gait that can be performed by a horse or other equine. The canter is a controlled three-beat gait, while the gallop is a faster, four-beat variation of the same gait. It is a natural gait pos ...

and

Carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

governments from 2001 to 2008. He was replaced in the

2009 Fremantle state by-election The 2009 Fremantle state by-election was held in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly district of Fremantle on 16 May 2009. It was triggered by the resignation of sitting member Jim McGinty. The Labor Party was defending a seat that they ...

by Greens candidate

, who won the seat having outpolled Labor on the primary vote, and gaining sufficient preference flow to fill McGinty's vacancy. In doing so, Carles set a number of firsts for the Greens in Australia. The seat reverted to form in 2013 election, with

Simone McGurk Simone Frances McGurk (born 5 December 1963) is an Australian politician. She is the member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the seat of Fremantle, and Minister for Community Services, Children's Interests and Women's Interest ...

reclaiming the seat for Labor on Green preferences. A redistribution ahead of the 2017 election ballooned McGurk's margin from a fairly safe 57.9 percent to a comfortably safe 65.4 percent. McGurk's margin blew out in Labor's 2017 landslide, when she took 73.1 percent of the two-party vote, making Fremantle Labor's fourth-safest seat.

Members for Fremantle

Election results

References

External links

* ABC Election Profiles
2005
* WAEC District Maps
1996–20052005–20082008–
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fremantle

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 ...

1890 establishments in Australia Constituencies established in 1890