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Electoral district of Broken Hill

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Broken Hill was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It has had two incarnations, from 1894 to 1913 and from 1968 to 1999. The district is named after and included the town of Broken Hill, however it has not always included the town of South Broken Hill, previously known as Alma, or the surrounding district.[1][2][3]

Members for Broken Hill

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First incarnation (1894–1913)
Member Party Term
  John Cann Labour 1894–1913
 
Second incarnation (1968–1999)
Member Party Term
  Lew Johnstone Labor 1968–1981
  Bill Beckroge Labor 1981–1999

History

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Prior to 1889 Broken Hill 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.[4] In 1894 Sturt became a rural district, with the towns of Broken Hill and Alma (now known as South Broken Hill) in the eponymous districts of Broken Hill and Alma.[5] The 1903 New South Wales referendum required the number of members of the Legislative Assembly to be reduced from 125 to 90 and Broken Hill absorbed Alma for the 1904 election.[6]

In the 1912 redistribution, the electoral district of Broken Hill was abolished and with the town absorbed into Sturt and South Broken Hill becoming part of the new district of Willyama. In 1920, Willyama, Sturt, Cobar and much of the area of Murray were combined to create a three-member Sturt, elected by proportional representation. In 1927, single-member electorates were recreated and the city of Broken Hill was split between Sturt and Murray. From 1932, the city of Broken Hill was split between Sturt and Cobar.

In 1968 Sturt was renamed Broken Hill and included all of the city of Broken Hill. In 1999, it was merged with part of Murray and renamed Murray-Darling.[7]

Election results

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1995 New South Wales state election: Broken Hill [8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Bill Beckroge 16,292 52.8 -0.4
National Mark Kersten 13,236 42.9 +14.1
Independent Gordon Dansie 1,324 4.3 +4.3
Total formal votes 30,852 94.2 +3.8
Informal votes 1,889 5.8 −3.8
Turnout 32,741 90.0
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Bill Beckroge 16,677 54.7 -5.3
National Mark Kersten 13,804 45.3 +5.3
Labor hold Swing -5.3

References

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  1. ^ "Part 5B alphabetical list of all electorates and Members since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Former Members". Members of Parliament. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  3. ^ Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Broken Hill". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  4. ^ "1880 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales. NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
  5. ^ "1893 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales. NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
  6. ^ "1904 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales. NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
  7. ^ "1998 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales. NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
  8. ^ Green, Antony. "1995 Broken Hill". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 May 2020.