Williamstown 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

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 ...

. It is a 33 km² urban electorate in the inner south-western suburbs of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, encompassing the suburbs of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Newport, Spotswood, Williamstown and

Yarraville Yarraville is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong local government area. Yarraville recorded a population of 15,636 at the . Yarraville i ...

. The electorate had a population of 54,426 as of the 2006 census. Williamstown is one of only three electorates (along with

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

) to have been contested at every election since 1856. It is a very safe seat for the Labor Party, which has held it for all but two terms since 1889 and without interruption since 1904. Notable former members include

John Lemmon Edward John Lemmon (1 June 1930 – 29 July 1966) was a British logician and philosopher born in Sheffield, England. He is most well known for his work on modal logic, particularly his joint text with Dana Scott published posthumously (Lemm ...

, who held the seat for a Victorian record 51 years until his retirement in 1955, and former Premiers

Joan Kirner Joan Elizabeth Kirner (née Hood; 20 June 1938 – 1 June 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Labor Party member of the Parliament of Victoria from 1982 to 1994, she was a mem ...

and Steve Bracks. Steve Bracks held the seat from a

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 ...

in 1994 until his surprise resignation on 30 July 2007. A

was held on 15 September 2007, resulting in the election of

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 ...

Wade Noonan Wade Mathew Noonan (born 7 April 1971) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2018, representing the electorate of Williamstown. He was a minister in the Andrews Ministry fro ...

. The seat is almost entirely within the equally safe federal seat of Gellibrand.

Members for Williamstown

Election results

Historical maps

File:Electoral district of Williamstown 1859.png, Location within Greater Melbourne area, 1859

External links

District profile from the Victorian Electoral Commission

Map of the Electoral District of Williamstown, 1855

References

Electoral districts of Victoria (Australia) 1856 establishments in Australia Williamstown, Victoria City of Hobsons Bay Electoral districts and divisions of Greater Melbourne {{VictoriaAU-gov-stub