Created 1901 Electors 110,297 (2016) Founded 1901 Elector 110,297 | MP Sarah Henderson Demographic Provincial Member of parliament Sarah Henderson Namesake Lake Corangamite | |
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Area 7,625 km (2,944.0 sq mi) Party Liberal Party of Australia | ||
The Division of Corangamite is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for Lake Corangamite.
The division is located in the Western district of Victoria covering 7,624 square kilometres (2,944 sq mi). It is a mixed electorate, including the growing surf coast area, the southern suburbs of Geelong as well as rural areas to the west. Starting at Queenscliff in the north, the electorate runs down the surf coast to include Aireys Inlet, Anglesea, Apollo Bay, Barwon Heads, Belmont, Grovedale, Highton, Lorne, Ocean Grove and Torquay. The electorate includes the rural centre of Colac, as well as all the suburbs of Geelong south of the Barwon River.
The current Member for Corangamite, since the 2013 federal election, is Sarah Henderson, a member of the Liberal Party of Australia.
History
Until the 1930s it was usually a marginal seat which leaned toward the conservative parties, but was won by the Australian Labor Party during high-tide elections. In 1918, it was the first seat won by what would become the Country Party.
It was held by the Liberals (and their immediate predecessor, the United Australia Party) without interruption from 1934 to 2007. A reasonably safe seat for most of the time from the 1950s to the 1990s, it became increasingly less safe from 1998 onward as successive redistributions pushed it further into Geelong. This resulted in the seat falling to Labor by less than one percent at the 2007 federal election for the first time since 1929, and only the third time ever. It was retained by Labor on less than half a percent in 2010, but returned to the Liberals in 2013.
Prominent members include James Scullin, who later became the Prime Minister of Australia in 1929-32; Fraser Government Minister Tony Street, and longtime Liberal backbencher Stewart McArthur.