Benalla was 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

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The electorate covered a rural area of 17,120 km², and included the towns of

Benalla Benalla is a small city located on the Broken River gateway to the High Country north-eastern region of Victoria, Australia, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. At the the population was 10,822. It is the administrative cent ...

Bright Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) * Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage na ...

Eildon Eildon is the largest committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, with a population of 34,892 at the census in 2001. It also contains the three Eildon Hills, tallest in the Scottish Borders. Places in Eildon References See also *Subdivi ...

Euroa Euroa is a town in the Shire of Strathbogie in the north-east of Victoria, Australia. At the 2016 census, Euroa's population was 3,275. The name Euroa comes from an Aboriginal word in the old local dialect meaning 'joyful'. History Major T ...

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

Mount Beauty Mount Beauty is a small town in north-eastern Victoria, Australia. The town lies alongside the Kiewa River, at the junction of the Kiewa Valley Highway and Bogong High Plains Road in the Alpine Shire local government area. History The town was ...

, Murchison,

Myrtleford Myrtleford is a town in northeast Victoria, Australia, 280 km (170 miles) northeast of Melbourne and 46 km (29 miles) southeast of Wangaratta. Myrtleford is part of the Alpine Shire local government area and in 2016 the town had a po ...

Nagambie Nagambie is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia. The city is on the Goulburn Valley Freeway north of Seymour and in the Shire of Strathbogie. As of , Nagambie had a population of 2,254. History The Nagambie Region is w ...

and

Violet Town Violet Town is a town in northeastern Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Strathbogie local government area, northeast of the state capital, Melbourne on the Hume Highway. At the , Violet Town and district (Honeysuckle Ward) had ...

. The electorate had a population of 47,675 as of the 2006 census, with 36,987 enrolled electors in the 2010 state election. The seat was created in 1904. Historically a staunchly conservative rural district, it was held by conservative members for most of its history. It was held by various early conservative parties throughout the early 20th century, but became safe for the rural conservative National Party, which held the seat for all but nine years from 1920 to 2000. This trend was briefly and unexpectedly broken in a 2000 by-election caused by the resignation of long-time National Party leader and former Deputy Premier Pat McNamara. In a major upset,

Denise Allen Denise Margaret Allen (29 March 1953 – 22 January 2022) was an Australian politician, political strategist, social commentator and disability advocate. Life and career Allen was born on 29 March 1953 in Alexandra, Victoria, to Jack Donald ...

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 la ...

member ever to win it. The seat's conservative nature, however, reasserted itself when

Bill Sykes William Everett Sykes (born 3 October 1948) is an Australian politician. He was the Nationals member of the Victorian parliament, representing Benalla, from 2002 to 2014, after a career as a veterinarian and businessman. Sykes was also a Vi ...

regained the seat for the Nationals at the 2002 election despite a landslide Labor victory which devastated the conservative parties across the state. The seat reverted to form in the 2006 election, and Sykes held it without serious difficulty until his retirement after the 2014 election. Benalla was abolished at the same time, and was largely replaced with

Members for Benalla

Election results

External links

Benalla District profile, Victorian Electoral Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benalla Former electoral districts of Victoria (Australia) 1904 establishments in Australia 2014 disestablishments in Australia