South Perth 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 Western Australia. The district is located in the suburbs immediately south of the

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 ...

CBD. Although occasionally held by an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, South Perth has typically been a safe

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 ...

seat. It had never been won by the Labor Party until Geoff Baker won it for the party at the 2021 election.

Geography

South Perth is made up of affluent waterside areas in Perth's inner south. The district is bounded to the north by the Swan River and to the west and south by the

Canning River The Canning River (Djarlgarra in Nyungar) is a major tributary of the Swan River in the South West Land Division of Western Australia. It is home to much wildlife including dolphins, pelicans, swans and many other bird species. Source and ...

. A series of roads separates the electorate from neighbouring eastern districts. The seat includes the suburbs of

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

, Karawara,

Manning Manning (a.k.a. Mannion, Manning) is a family name. Origin and meaning Manning is from an old Norse word — manningi — meaning a brave or valiant man; and one of the first forms of the name was Mannin; another cartography was Mannyg ...

, Salter Point,

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, as well as parts of the suburbs of

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

and South Perth.

History

South Perth was first created for the 1901 state election, largely replacing the abolished seat of Canning, and won by William Gordon. However, Canning was re-created for the 1904 election and South Perth abolished, with Gordon transferring to Canning. South Perth was eventually revived for the 1950 state election and has existed continuously as an electorate since then. In 1950, it was won by Liberal candidate

George Yates George Wilhelmus Mancius Yates (February 26, 1843 – June 25, 1876) was an officer in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment. He was killed in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Biography Yates was born in Albany, New York. He met Custer in Monroe, Mich ...

, previously the member for Canning. He was succeeded after one term by

Bill Grayden William Leonard Grayden (born Wilbur Ives; 5 August 1920) is an Australian former politician. He was a member of parliament across six decades, serving in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (1947–1949, 1956–1993) and the Australian ...

, initially as an independent but soon after as a Liberal. Grayden had previously been the state member for

Middle Swan Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

and the federal 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 ...

. Grayden was the member for South Perth for 37 years, finally retiring in 1993. The seat's next MP was

Phillip Pendal Phillip George Pendal (4 February 1947 – 3 June 2008) was a Liberal and later Independent Western Australian politician, an opponent of abortion rights, and historian. Early life Born in Bunbury, Western Australia, Phillip Pendal was raised an ...

, first elected as a Liberal but twice re-elected as an independent. Upon Pendal's retirement at the 2005 state election, the seat returned to the Liberal fold when current member John McGrath was elected as its representative. McGrath held the seat until his own retirement at the 2021 election and was succeeded by Geoff Baker. Baker's win was historic as he became the first

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 ...

candidate to win the seat.

Members for South Perth

Election results

References

External links

* ABC election profiles
2005
* WAEC district maps
current boundariesprevious distributions
{{Electoral districts of Western Australia South Perth 1901 establishments in Australia 1904 disestablishments in Australia 1950 establishments in Australia