The electoral district of Geelong is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It centres on inner metropolitan Geelong and following the June 2013 redistribution of electoral boundaries includes the suburbs of Belmont, Breakwater, East Geelong, Geelong, Geelong West, Newtown and South Geelong, Herne Hill, Manifold Heights, Newcomb, Newtown, St Albans Park, Thomson, Whittington and part of Fyansford.
The seat first existed from 1856 to 1859 as a four-member seat. It was split into Geelong East and Geelong West in 1859, but re-created in 1876 as a three-member seat. It was cut back to a two-member seat in 1889 and became a single-member seat in 1904. It was abolished in 1976 but re-created in 1985.
In its current incarnation, it has historically been a marginal seat with demographics similar to the state at large. As such, it was held by the governing party of the day from 1985 to 2010. Incomes vary strongly across the seat.
It was won in 1999 by Ian Trezise for the ALP by 16 votes after recounts. The Victorian Parliament was hung at that election, and the results for the seat of Geelong, which took several days to arrive at, had a significant impact on the events that brought the Bracks government to power. At the 2002 election, the seat's margin grew to 8.1%, however, neither major party considered it safe due to its history as a marginal seat. Trezise narrowly held it for Labor in the 2010 election, becoming the first opposition member for this seat in its current incarnation.
The 2014 Victorian state election saw boundary changes and Christine Couzens retained the seat for the ALP following the retirement of Trezise. In 2018, she fended off a strong challenge from an independent candidate, Darren Lyons, a former mayor of Geelong. At the next election, she managed a swing to her on the 2PP and secured the best margin for Labor in this seat in 70 years.
Members for Geelong First incarnation (1856–1859, 4 members) Member 1 Term Member 2 Term Member 3 Term Member 4 Term Sir Charles Sladen 1856–1857 Alexander Fyfe 1856–1857 Charles Read 1856–1858 John Brooke 1856–1859 Alexander Thomson 1857–1859 George Board 1858–1859 James Harrison 1858–1859
Split into Geelong East and Geelong West in 1859
Second incarnation (1877–1976), 3 members initially, two from 1889, 1 from 1904 Member 1 Term Member 2 Term Member 3 Term Charles Kernot 1877–1880 Robert de Bruce Johnstone 1877–1881 Sir Graham Berry 1877–1886 Charles Andrews Sr. 1880 Charles Kernot 1880–1882 George Cunningham 1881–1886 Joseph Connor 1882–1886 Charles Andrews Sr. 1886–1894 James Munro 1886–1892 John Donaghy 1886–1889 John Rout Hopkins 1892–1894 H. B. Higgins 1894–1900 William Gurr 1894–1902 Charles Andrews Jr. 1900–1904 George Martin 1902–1904 MemberPartyTerm William Colechin Labor 1904–1907 William Gurr Ministerialist 1907–1908 William Plain Labor 1908–1916 Nationalist 1916–1917 Robert Purnell Nationalist 1917–1920 William Brownbill Labor 1920–1932 Edward Austin United Australia 1932–1935 William Brownbill Labor 1935–1938 Fanny Brownbill Labor 1938–1948 Edward Montgomery Liberal/Liberal and Country 1948–1950 James Dunn Labor 1950–1955 Sir Thomas Maltby Liberal and Country 1955–1961 Hayden Birrell Liberal and Country/Liberal 1961–1976
Third incarnation (1985–present, 1 member)MemberPartyTerm Hayden Shell Labor 1985–1992 Ann Henderson Liberal 1992–1999 Ian Trezise Labor 1999–2014 Christine Couzens Labor 2014–present
Election results
Graphical summary
Historical maps
See also
References
External links Electorate profile: Geelong District, Victorian Electoral Commission