Electoral district of Cook and Westmoreland

Cook and Westmoreland was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales in the first and second Parliaments (1856–1859), named after Cook and Westmoreland counties in the Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Oberon areas. It elected two members simultaneously, with voters casting two votes and the first two candidates being elected.[1][2] It was largely replaced by Hartley,[3] however both members moved to other electorates, James Martin became the member for East Sydney,[1] while Robert Jamison became the member for Nepean.[2]

District of Cook and Westmoreland
New South WalesLegislative Assembly
Cook county in the 1840s
StateNew South Wales
Created1856
Abolished1859
NamesakeCook & Westmoreland counties
Coordinates33°32′S 150°7′E / 33.533°S 150.117°E / -33.533; 150.117
Westmoreland county in the 1840s

Member for Cook and Westmoreland

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Member Party Period Member Party Period
  James Martin[1] None 1856–1859   Robert Jamison[2] None 1856–1859

Election results

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There was only one contested election held in the district, in the 1856 New South Wales colonial election.[4] James Martin twice resigned in 1856 and 1857 as a result of accepting appointment as Attorney General, however on both occasions he was re-elected unopposed.[5][6]

1856

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1856 New South Wales colonial election: Cook and Westmoreland [7]
Candidate Votes %
James Martin (elected 1) 321 39.5
Robert Jamison (elected 2) 303 37.3
John Arkins 189 23.3
Total formal votes 813 100.0
Informal votes 0 0.0
Turnout 487 54.4
Polling was conducted on 4 April 1856. Martin represented Counties of Cook and Westmoreland in the old Legislative Council.

1858

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1858 New South Wales colonial election:
Cook and Westmoreland 27 January [8]
Candidate Votes %
James Martin (re-elected) unopposed  
Robert Jamison (re-elected) unopposed  

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Sir James Martin [1] (1820–1886)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Mr Robert Thomas Jamison (1829-1878)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  3. ^ An Act to amend the Electoral Law (PDF) (20). Australasian Legal Information Institute. 24 November 1858. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  4. ^ Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Cook and Westmoreland". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Representation of Cook and Westmoreland: return of Mr Martin". The Empire. 8 September 1856. p. 2. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via Trove.
  6. ^ "Cook and Westmoreland election: re-election of Mr Martin". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 22 September 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via Trove.
  7. ^ Green, Antony. "1856 Cook and Westmoreland". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  8. ^ Green, Antony. "1858 Cook and Westmoreland". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 June 2019.