Of the 65 federal electoral divisions first contested at the 1901 election, 33 are still in existence without ever being abolished. These are referred to as Federation Divisions, with the Australian Electoral Commission's redistribution guidelines stating that "Every effort should be made to retain the names of original federation divisions".[1]
- The Division of Oxley (1901–1934) was abolished in 1934. Its name was revived in 1949 for a seat in a different area from the original, so Oxley has not been contested at every election.
- The Division of Riverina was abolished in 1984 and re-created in 1993, so it has not been contested at every election.
- Although there were 75 members in the House of Representatives in 1901, there were only 65 divisions contested as the states of South Australia and Tasmania consisted of single multi-member divisions electing 7 and 5 members respectively.
State |
Divisions at 1901 election |
Current Federation divisions
|
New South Wales
|
26
|
13
|
Victoria
|
23
|
10
|
Queensland
|
9
|
7
|
Western Australia
|
5
|
3
|
South Australia
|
1
|
0
|
Tasmania
|
1
|
0
|
TOTAL |
65 |
33
|
In the state parliaments:
Federal
State
New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
Northern Territory
References