Electoral district of Wilcannia

Wilcannia was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1889 to 1904. The district was named after and included the town of Wilcannia. Prior to 1889 Wilcannia was part of the district of Wentworth. The population in Wentworth had grown significantly since the 1880 redistribution, especially as a result of the growth of mining at Broken Hill. Under the formula for seats, Wentworth was due to return 3 members. Because of the large area covered by the district, in 1889 it was split into 3, Wentworth, Sturt and Wilcannia.[1] Its first member was the son of Charles Dickens.[2] It was abolished in 1904 due to the re-distribution of electorates following the 1903 New South Wales referendum, which required the number of members of the Legislative Assembly to be reduced from 125 to 90.[3] The district was divided between Cobar and the new district of The Darling.[4][5] The member for Wilcannia was Richard Sleath (Independent Labor) who unsuccessfully contested the 1904 election for The Darling.[6][7]

Members for Wilcannia edit

Member Party Period
  Edward Dickens Protectionist 1889–1894
  Richard Sleath Labour 1894–1901
  Independent Labor 1901–1904

Election results edit

1901 New South Wales state election: Wilcannia [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Labor Richard Sleath 637 47.9 -24.1
Labour John Buzacott 414 31.1
Independent Liberal Thomas Bell 280 21.0
Total formal votes 1,331 99.3 -0.3
Informal votes 10 0.8 +0.3
Turnout 1,341 52.5 +9.9
Member changed to Independent Labor from Labour  

References edit

  1. ^ "1880 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales. NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Mr Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens (1852-1902)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  3. ^ "1904 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales. NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Part 5B alphabetical list of all electorates and Members since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  5. ^ Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Wilcannia". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Mr Richard Sleath (1863–1922)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  7. ^ Green, Antony. "1904 Darling". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  8. ^ Green, Antony. "1901 Wilcannia". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 April 2020.