Williamstown is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. It is a 51.54 km2 urban electorate in the inner south-western suburbs of Melbourne, encompassing the suburbs of Brooklyn, Newport, Spotswood, Williamstown, Williamstown North, South Kingsville, Seaholme, Altona and Yarraville. The electorate had a population of 54,426 as of the 2006 census.
Williamstown is one of only three electorates (along with Brighton and Richmond) 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, who held the seat for a Victorian record 51 years until his retirement in 1955, and former Premiers Joan Kirner and Steve Bracks.
Steve Bracks held the seat from a by-election in 1994 until his surprise resignation on 30 July 2007. A by-election was held on 15 September 2007, resulting in the election of Labor's Wade Noonan.
The seat is almost entirely within the equally safe federal seat of Gellibrand.
Members for Williamstown MemberPartyTerm John Foster Independent 1856–1857 George Perry Independent 1857–1859 George Verdon Liberal 1859–1868 Thomas Mason Independent 1868–1871 Alfred Clark Liberal 1871–1887 James Mirams Liberal 1887–1889 William Carter Labor 1889–1894 James Styles Labor 1894–1900 Alexander Ramsay Commonwealth Liberal 1900–1904 John Lemmon Labor 1904–1955 Larry Floyd Labor 1955–1973 Gordon Stirling Labor 1973–1988 Joan Kirner Labor 1988–1994 Steve Bracks Labor 1994–2007 Wade Noonan Labor 2007–2018 Melissa Horne Labor 2018–present
Election results
Historical maps
External links District profile from the Victorian Electoral Commission Map of the Electoral District of Williamstown, 1855 Map of the Williamstown Electorate, 2023
References