The Division of Ballarat (spelt Ballaarat from 1901 until the 1977 election) is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. It was named for the provincial city of the same name by Scottish squatter Archibald Yuille, who established the first settlement − his

sheep run A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east o ...

called Ballaarat − in 1837, with the name derived from a local Wathawurrung word for the area, ''balla arat'', thought to mean "resting place". The division currently takes in the regional City of

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vi ...

and the smaller towns of

Bacchus Marsh Bacchus Marsh ( Wathawurrung: ''Pullerbopulloke'') is an urban centre and suburban locality in Victoria, Australia located approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne and west of Melton at a near equidistance to the major cities ...

, Ballan, Blackwood,

Buninyong Buninyong is a town 11 km from Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Midland Highway, south of Ballarat on the road to Geelong. Buninyong was proclaimed a town on 27 June 1851 on the same day as Winchelsea, Portarlington, ...

, Clunes,

Creswick Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia, 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 122 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2016 census, Creswick had a populati ...

, Daylesford,

Myrniong Myrniong ()'' Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition'' (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is near the Western Freeway, north west of the state capital, Melbourne and west of Bacchus Ma ...

and Trentham and part of Burrumbeet. The current Member for Ballarat, since the 2001 federal election, is Catherine King, a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

Geography

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.

History

At various times in its existence the division has included other towns such as Ararat, Maryborough, and Stawell. Ballarat used to be a

marginal Marginal may refer to: * ''Marginal'' (album), the third album of the Belgian rock band Dead Man Ray, released in 2001 * ''Marginal'' (manga) * '' El Marginal'', Argentine TV series * Marginal seat or marginal constituency or marginal, in polit ...

seat, changing hands at intervals between the Labor Party and the non-Labor parties. Unlike most marginal seats, it was not a barometer for winning government; since 1955, all but one of its members has spent at least one term in opposition. Its most prominent member has been

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia. He was a leader of the movement for Federation, which occurred in 1901. During his three terms as prime ministe ...

, who was

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the princip ...

three times. Liberal senator

Michael Ronaldson Michael John Clyde Ronaldson (born 13 February 1954) is a former Australian politician. He was a Senator for the state of Victoria representing the Liberal Party from July 2005 until February 2016, and previously served in the House of Repres ...

was the grandson of Archibald Fisken, a former Member for Ballarat. Ballarat also holds the distinction of seeing the closest seat result in Australian history.

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

Edwin Kerby Edwin Thomas John Kerby (12 April 1885 – 5 July 1971) was an Australian politician. Early life Born in Ballarat, Victoria, he attended Grenville College before becoming a mining engineer and electrical contractor. Military service He ser ...

unseated Labor incumbent

Charles McGrath David Charles McGrath (10 November 1872 – 31 July 1934) was an Australian politician. Originally a member of the Australian Labor Party, he joined Joseph Lyons in the 1931 Labor split that led to the formation of the United Australia Party. ...

by a single vote in 1919. However, McGrath alleged irregularities, and the result was thrown out in 1920, forcing 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 ...

that was won by McGrath. Since 2001, the seat has been held by Catherine King, a member of the

. It has been a safe Labor seat since 2007 except for a 6.8 percent swing towards the Liberal Party at the 2013 election turning it marginal for one term.

Members

Election results

References

External links

Division of Ballarat – Australian Electoral Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballarat, Division of Electoral divisions of Australia Constituencies established in 1901 1901 establishments in Australia Ballarat