Upper Hunter 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

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 ...

. The seat is currently held by

Dave Layzell David Robert Layzell is an Australian politician who has served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the member for Upper Hunter for the NSW Nationals since May 2021. Dave Layzell is a former construction manager. He lives in . Dave ...

for the National Party after he was elected at 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 ...

to replace

Michael Johnsen Michael John Johnsen (born 15 March 1964) is an Australian former politician who served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wal ...

. Upper Hunter covers the entirety of

Dungog Shire Dungog Shire is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is situated adjacent to the Barrington Tops and consists predominantly of very rugged to hilly country which becomes less rugged from north ...

Muswellbrook Shire Muswellbrook Shire is a local government area in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Hunter railway line. Muswellbrook Shire was established on 1 July 1979 fro ...

Upper Hunter Shire The Upper Hunter Shire is a local government area in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in May 2004 from the Scone Shire and parts of Murrurundi and Merriwa shires. The Mayor of the Upper Hunter Sh ...

Liverpool Plains Shire Liverpool Plains Shire is a local government area located in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed on 17 March 2004 by the amalgamation of Quirindi Shire with parts of Parry, Murrurundi and Gunnedah ...

(excluding the area around

Werris Creek Werris Creek is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, near Tamworth, New South Wales, Tamworth, in Liverpool Plains Shire. It is north of Quirindi, New South Wales, Quirindi and is at the junction of the Main North railway line, New South ...

), the northern half of

Singleton Shire Singleton Council is a local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Main North railway line. The mayor of the council is Cr. Sue Moore, an independent poli ...

(including

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance ...

itself), northeastern

Mid-Western Regional Council The Mid-Western Regional Council is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Castlereagh Highway that passes through the middle of the area in an approximate southeast� ...

(including

Bylong Bylong is a village in New South Wales, Australia, in the Mid-Western Regional Council. It is located on the Bylong Valley Way. The area is home to numerous horse studs. The champion racehorse and sire Heroic was born in the area. Bylong host ...

) and part of Mid-Coast Council.

History

In 1859, Upper Hunter replaced the Electoral district of Phillip, Brisbane and Bligh, established in the first Parliament in 1856. It had two members from 1880 to 1894. It was abolished in 1894 and largely replaced by

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

and

. In 1904 Robertson was abolished and Upper Hunter was recreated. It was abolished from 1920 with the introduction of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

, but was recreated in 1927. Upper Hunter is one of three electorates to have never been held by the Labor Party and always by the conservative side of politics since the abolition of proportional representation in 1927, the other two being Tamworth and

Oxley Oxley may refer to: Places Australia Australian Capital Territory * Oxley, Australian Capital Territory is a suburb of Canberra, Australia Queensland *Oxley, Queensland is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia ** Oxley railway station, Brisba ...

. The Nationals have held the district without interruption since 1931.

Members for Upper Hunter

First incarnation 1856–1894

Second incarnation 1904–1920

Third incarnation 1927–present

Election results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upper Hunter Electoral districts of New South Wales 1859 establishments in Australia Constituencies established in 1859 1894 disestablishments in Australia Constituencies disestablished in 1894 1904 establishments in Australia Constituencies established in 1904 1920 disestablishments in Australia Constituencies disestablished in 1920 1927 establishments in Australia Constituencies established in 1927 Dungog Shire Mid-Coast Council Muswellbrook Shire Singleton Council Upper Hunter Shire