Mount Marshall was an
electoral district 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 ...
from 1930 to 1989.
History
The seat was created under the ''Redistribution of Seats Act 1929'' and was first contested in the 1930 state election. It was historically very safe for the
Country Party, and its member from 1967 to 1983, Ray McPharlin, led the party between 1974 and 1975. He lost the leadership after the party walked out of a coalition with
Charles Court
Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was a Western Australian politician, and the 21st Premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party.
Early life
Court's family e ...
and 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 ...
on 16 May 1975, only to ultimately return under considerable pressure. In 1978, McPharlin joined a breakaway party, known as the National Party (NP), led by future Deputy Premier
Hendy Cowan
Hendy John Cowan (born 25 April 1943) is a former deputy premier of Western Australia.
He had served in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly as the Member for Merredin-Yilgarn from 30 March 1974 and the Member for Merredin from 19 Feb ...
, and won the seat under this banner at the
1980 election. However, in 1982 he rejoined the National Country Party, who lost the seat for the first time in its history to the Liberals. It was recaptured by
Mort Schell at the 1986 election, however, the seat was dissolved in a redistribution under the ''Electoral Districts Act 1947'' on 29 April 1988 into the neighbouring seats of
Avon and
Merredin.
Geography
Mount Marshall was located in the Eastern Wheatbelt region and, while its exact composition varied over time, it was remarkably stable over its existence when compared with neighbouring electoral districts.
It included the following
local government areas
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory.
The phrase i ...
:
*
Dalwallinu (northeast)
*
Dowerin (1955 onwards)
*
Kellerberrin
*
Koorda
*
Mount Marshall
*
Mukinbudin
*
Nungarin
*
Tammin
*
Trayning
*
Wyalkatchem
In later years, as populations in the area declined, the District absorbed the rest of Dalwallinu (1966) and the Shires of
Cunderdin (1972),
Quairading
Quairading is a Western Australian town located in the Wheatbelt region. It is the seat of government for the Shire of Quairading.
History
The town was named for Quairading Spring, derived from a local Aboriginal word recorded in 1872 by s ...
(1972),
Goomalling (1977),
Wongan-Ballidu (1977),
Westonia (1982) and parts of
Yilgarn (1982).
Members
Election results
References
{{Former electoral districts of Western Australia
Mount Marshall