Wilcannia 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 poli ...

of the Legislative Assembly in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

from 1889 to 1904. The district was named after and included the town of

Wilcannia Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. Located on the Darling River, the town was the third largest inland port in the country during the river boat era of the mid-19th ce ...

. Prior to 1889 Wilcannia was part of the district of Wentworth. The population in Wentworth had grown significantly since the 1880 redistribution, especially as a result of the growth of mining at

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It ...

. Under the formula for seats, Wentworth was due to return 3 members. Because of the large area covered by the district, in 1889 it was split into 3, Wentworth, Sturt and Wilcannia. Its first member was the son of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

. It was abolished in 1904 due to the re-distribution of electorates following the

1903 New South Wales referendum A referendum concerning the reduction of the members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was put to voters on 16 December 1903, in conjunction with the 1903 federal election. The referendum was conducted on the basis of optional preferen ...

, which required the number of members of the Legislative Assembly to be reduced from 125 to 90. The district was divided between

Cobar Cobar is a town in central western New South Wales, Australia whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier H ...

and the new district of The Darling. The member for Wilcannia was

Richard Sleath Richard Sleath (3 October 1863 – 10 October 1922) was an Australian politician. Born in Ceres, Fife to ploughman Richard Sleath and Mary Fernie, he migrated to Queensland in 1877, becoming a shearer and prospector. In 1882 he moved to Sydney ...

() who unsuccessfully contested the 1904 election for The Darling.

Members for Wilcannia

Election results

References

Former electoral districts of New South Wales Constituencies established in 1889 1889 establishments in Australia Constituencies disestablished in 1904 1904 disestablishments in Australia {{NewSouthWales-gov-stub