Electoral district of Geelong

38°09′S 144°21′E / 38.150°S 144.350°E / -38.150; 144.350

Geelong
VictoriaLegislative Assembly
Location of Geelong (dark green) in Victoria
StateVictoria
Dates current1856–1859
1877–1976
1985–present
MPChristine Couzens
PartyLabor
NamesakeGeelong
Electors47,575 (2018)
Area328 km2 (126.6 sq mi)
DemographicUrban
Electorates around Geelong:
Eureka Eureka Lara
Eureka Geelong Port Phillip Bay
South Barwon South Barwon Bellarine

The electoral district of Geelong is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It centres on inner metropolitan Geelong and following the June 2013 redistribution of electoral boundaries includes the suburbs of Belmont, Breakwater, East Geelong, Geelong, Geelong West, Newtown and South Geelong, Herne Hill, Manifold Heights, Newcomb, Newtown, St Albans Park, Thomson, Whittington and part of Fyansford.[1]

The seat first existed from 1856 to 1859 as a four-member seat. It was split into Geelong East and Geelong West in 1859, but re-created in 1876 as a three-member seat. It was cut back to a two-member seat in 1889 and became a single-member seat in 1904. It was abolished in 1976 but re-created in 1985.

In its current incarnation, it has historically been a marginal seat with demographics similar to the state at large. As such, it was held by the governing party of the day from 1985 to 2010. Incomes vary strongly across the seat.

It was won in 1999 by Ian Trezise for the ALP by 16 votes after recounts. The Victorian Parliament was hung at that election, and the results for the seat of Geelong, which took several days to arrive at, had a significant impact on the events that brought the Bracks government to power. At the 2002 election, the seat's margin grew to 8.1%, however, neither major party considered it safe due to its history as a marginal seat. Trezise narrowly held it for Labor in the 2010 election, becoming the first opposition member for this seat in its current incarnation.

The 2014 Victorian state election saw boundary changes and Christine Couzens retained the seat for the ALP following the retirement of Trezise.[2] In 2018, she fended off a strong challenge from an independent candidate, Darren Lyons, a former mayor of Geelong. At the next election, she managed a swing to her on the 2PP and secured the best margin for Labor in this seat in 70 years.

Members for Geelong

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First incarnation (1856–1859, 4 members)
Member 1 Term Member 2 Term Member 3 Term Member 4 Term
Sir Charles Sladen 1856–1857 Alexander Fyfe 1856–1857 Charles Read 1856–1858 John Brooke 1856–1859
Alexander Thomson 1857–1859 George Board 1858–1859 James Harrison 1858–1859

Split into Geelong East and Geelong West in 1859.

Second incarnation (1877–1976), 3 members initially, two from 1889, 1 from 1904
Member 1 Term Member 2 Term Member 3 Term
Charles Kernot 1877–1880 Robert de Bruce Johnstone 1877–1881 Sir Graham Berry 1877–1886
Charles Andrews Sr. 1880
Charles Kernot 1880–1882 George Cunningham 1881–1886
Joseph Connor 1882–1886
Charles Andrews Sr. 1886–1894 James Munro 1886–1892 John Donaghy 1886–1889
   
John Rout Hopkins 1892–1894    
H. B. Higgins 1894–1900 William Gurr 1894–1902
Charles Andrews Jr. 1900–1904 George Martin 1902–1904
Member Party Term
  William Colechin Labor 1904–1907
  William Gurr Ministerialist 1907–1908
  William Plain Labor 1908–1916
  Nationalist 1916–1917
  Robert Purnell Nationalist 1917–1920
  William Brownbill Labor 1920–1932
  Edward Austin United Australia 1932–1935
  William Brownbill Labor 1935–1938
  Fanny Brownbill Labor 1938–1948
  Edward Montgomery Liberal/Liberal and Country 1948–1950
  James Dunn Labor 1950–1955
  Sir Thomas Maltby Liberal and Country 1955–1961
  Hayden Birrell Liberal and Country/Liberal 1961–1976
Third incarnation (1985–present, 1 member)
Member Party Term
  Hayden Shell Labor 1985–1992
  Ann Henderson Liberal 1992–1999
  Ian Trezise Labor 1999–2014
  Christine Couzens Labor 2014–present

Election results

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2022 Victorian state election: Geelong[3][4][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Christine Couzens 20,754 46.4 +4.5
Liberal James Bennett-Hullin 12,194 27.2 +5.3
Greens Aleisha Smith 6,849 15.3 +6.3
Family First Madeleine Parker-Hill 2,051 4.6 +4.6
Animal Justice Bob Motta 1,465 3.3 +0.2
Ind. (Socialist Alliance) Angela Carr 994 2.2 +2.2
Independent Stephen Juhasz 455 1.0 +1.0
Total formal votes 44,762 95.9 +0.4
Informal votes 1,918 4.1 −0.4
Turnout 46,680 89.1 −1.1
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Christine Couzens 28,965 64.7 +4.4
Liberal James Bennett-Hullin 15,797 35.3 −4.4
Labor hold Swing +4.4

Graphical summary

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Two-party preferred results in Geelong since 1911.

Historical maps

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Final Electoral Boundaries" (PDF). Electoral Boundaries Commission. 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Geelong results". Victoria Election 2014. ABC. 2014. Archived from the original on 3 December 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  3. ^ Green, Antony (11 January 2023). "VIC22 – 2-Party Preferred Results and Swings by District". Antony Green's Election Blog. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  4. ^ VIC 2021 Final Redistribution, ABC News. [Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  5. ^ Geelong District results, Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
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