Of the 65 federal electoral divisions first contested at the 1901 election, 32 are still in existence without ever being abolished. These are referred to as Federation Divisions, with the Australian Electoral Commission's redistribution guidelines stating that "Every effort should be made to retain the names of original federation divisions". The Division of Oxley (1901–1934) was abolished in 1934. Its name was revived in 1949 for a seat in a different area from the original, so Oxley has not been contested at every election. The Division of Riverina was abolished in 1984 and re-created in 1993, so it has not been contested at every election. Although there were 75 members in the House of Representatives in 1901, there were only 65 divisions contested as the states of South Australia and Tasmania consisted of single multi-member divisions electing 7 and 5 members respectively.
State Divisions at 1901 election Current Federation divisions New South Wales 26 12 Victoria 23 10 Queensland 9 7 Western Australia 5 3 South Australia 1 0 Tasmania 1 0 TOTAL 65 32
In the state parliaments:
In New South Wales, there is only one of the original 34 contested in 1856 that still exists. In Victoria, three of the original 37 contested in 1856 still exist. In Queensland there is only one of the original 16 contested in 1860. In South Australia there is also only one of the original 17 contested in 1856. In Western Australia, five of the original 30 contested in 1890 still exist. In the Northern Territory, there are seven of the original 19 contested in 1974. In both Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory none still exist.
Federal Division State Division of Ballarat Vic Division of Bendigo Vic Division of Brisbane Qld Division of Capricornia Qld Division of Corangamite Vic Division of Corio Vic Division of Cowper NSW Division of Eden-Monaro NSW Division of Flinders Vic Division of Fremantle WA Division of Gippsland Vic Division of Herbert Qld Division of Hume NSW Division of Hunter NSW Division of Indi Vic Division of Kennedy Qld Division of Kooyong Vic Division of Macquarie NSW Division of Maranoa Qld Division of Melbourne Vic Division of Moreton Qld Division of New England NSW Division of Newcastle NSW Division of Parramatta NSW Division of Perth WA Division of Richmond NSW Division of Robertson NSW Division of Swan WA Division of Wannon Vic Division of Wentworth NSW Division of Werriwa NSW Division of Wide Bay Qld
State New South Wales Electoral district of Parramatta
Victoria Electoral district of Brighton Electoral district of Richmond (Victoria) Electoral district of Williamstown
Queensland Electoral district of South Brisbane
South Australia Electoral district of Flinders
Western Australia Electoral district of Albany Electoral district of Bunbury Electoral district of Fremantle Electoral district of Geraldton Electoral district of Murray-Wellington
Northern Territory Electoral division of Arnhem Electoral division of Barkly Electoral division of Casuarina Electoral division of Fannie Bay Electoral division of Nightcliff Electoral division of Port Darwin Electoral division of Sanderson
References