Electoral district of Wooroora

Wooroora
South Australia—House of Assembly
StateSouth Australia
Created1875
Abolished1938
DemographicRural

Wooroora was an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian colony (state from 1901) of South Australia.[1]

The electorate was created by the Electoral Districts Act 1872 of the South Australian parliament but it was not until the provincial election of 1875 that candidates were first elected to represent Woorooroo. The electorate stretched from Gulf St Vincent in the west to Riverton in the east, spanning the central and northern Adelaide Plains from the River Light in the south to Hoyleton and Auburn north of the Wakefield River, in the north.

The structure of the parliament was changed and its membership reduced by the Constitution Act Amendment Act, 1901. The new Wooroora district elected three members and comprised the former Wooroora and Light districts.[2]

According to South Australian historian Geoff Manning, the name derives from an Aboriginal name for the area, the (central) Adelaide Plains, about 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of Adelaide (roughly where the Wakefield River crosses the plain).[3]

The chief polling place was listed as Riverton, with subsidiary polling places at Humphrey's Springs (now Alma), Stockport, Port Wakefield, Balaklava, Auburn, Rhynie, Watervale, Tarlee, and Hoyleton.[4] The electorate boundaries were defined as lands including the whole of the Hundreds of Goyder, Stow, Hall, Inkerman, Balaklava, Dalkey, and Alma as well as parts of the Hundreds of Dublin, Grace, Light, Gilbert, Upper Wakefield and Stanley.[4] The number of members was set at two.[4]

Members

Two members (1875–1902)
Member Party Term Member Party Term
  H. E. Bright 1875–1884   James Pearce 1875–1875
  John Bosworth 1875–1884
  John Duncan 1884–1890   J. W. Castine 1884–1891
  H. C. Kelly 1890–1891
  Robert Kelly 1891–1893   Defence League 1891–1896
  James McLachlan, Sr. Defence League 1893–1896
  1896–1902   National League 1896–1902
Three members (1902–1938)
Member Party Term Member Party Term Member Party Term
  Jenkin Coles National League 1902–1910   David James National League 1902–1910   F. W. Paech National League 1902–1908
  Frederick Young Farmers and Producers 1909–1910
  Liberal Union 1910–1911   Liberal Union 1910–1918   Liberal Union 1910–1915
  Oscar Duhst Liberal Union 1912–1915
  Richard Layton Butler Liberal Union 1915–1918   Albert Robinson Liberal Union 1915–1924
  James McLachlan Jr. Liberal Union 1918–1923   Allan Robertson Labor 1918–1921
  Richard Layton Butler Liberal Union 1921–1923
  Liberal Federation 1923–1930   Liberal Federation 1923–1938   Liberal Federation 1923–1924
  Allan Robertson Labor 1924–1927
  Archie Cameron Country 1927–1932
  Samuel Dennison Country 1930–1932
  Liberal and Country 1932–1938   Liberal and Country 1932–1938   Liberal and Country 1932–1934
  Albert Robinson Independent 1934–1938

References

  1. ^ "Statistical Record of the Legislature, 1836 - 2007" (PDF). Parliament of South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  2. ^ The Constitution Act Amendment Act (SA)
  3. ^ Manning, Geoffrey. "Place Names - Wooroora". Manning Index of South Australian History. State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "Electoral Districts Act (No 27 of 35 and 36 Vic, 1872)". South Australia Numbered Acts. Australasian Legal Information Institute. 1872. Retrieved 22 August 2018.

34°01′38″S 138°41′08″E / 34.02722°S 138.68556°E / -34.02722; 138.68556