The Division of Barker is an Australian Electoral Division in the south-east of South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

.

The division was created in 1903 and is named for Collet Barker

Collet Barker

Collet Barker was a British military officer and explorer. He explored areas of South Australia, Western Australia and Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory-History:Barker was born in Hackney, he lived in Newbury as a child...

, an early explorer of the region at the mouth of the Murray River

Murray River

The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...

. It has always been based in the south-eastern rural areas of South Australia, centred on Bordertown

Bordertown, South Australia

Bordertown is a small South Australian town near the Victorian border. It is where the Dukes Highway and the railway line, the two main routes between Adelaide and Melbourne, cross Tatiara Creek....

 and Mount Gambier

Mount Gambier, South Australia

Mount Gambier is the largest regional city in South Australia located approximately 450 kilometres south of the capital Adelaide and just 17 kilometres from the Victorian border....

, but in recent years its boundaries have been extended to the north to include Riverland

Riverland

The Riverland, is a region of South Australia. It covers the area near the Murray River from where it flows into South Australia downstream to Blanchetown.The major town centres are Renmark, Berri, Loxton, Waikerie and Barmera...

 towns such as Renmark

Renmark, South Australia

Renmark is a town in South Australia's rural Riverland area, and is located 254 km northeast of Adelaide, on the banks of the River Murray. The Sturt Highway between Adelaide and Sydney runs through the town; Renmark is the last major town encountered in South Australia when driving this route. It...

. Barker has always been a safe seat for the conservative parties and has been held continuously by the Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 since that party's creation in 1944. The seat became particularly safe after the expansion of parliament in 1949 which removed the division's city territory around Glenelg. Its most prominent members have been Archie Cameron

Archie Cameron

Archie Galbraith Cameron , was an Australian politician. He was Leader of the Country Party 1939-40, and Speaker of the House of Representatives 1950-56.-Biography:...

, a leader of the Country Party

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

 and later Speaker of the House

Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The presiding officer in the upper house is the President of the Senate....

 and Ian McLachlan

Ian McLachlan

Ian Murray McLachlan AO is an Australian landowner, former first-class cricketer, and former member of the Australian House of Representatives.-Early life:...

, a Cabinet minister in the Howard

John Howard

John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....

 government.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Langdon Bonython	Protectionist Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...	1903–1906
	John Livingston John Livingston (Australian politician) John Livingston was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1906 to 1922.Livingston was born in Mount Gambier, South Australia and educated privately at the family home of Curratum. He worked on farms in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria and in 1880 explored the Gascoyne...	Anti-Socialist	1906–1909
		Commonwealth Liberal Commonwealth Liberal Party The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....	1909–1916
		Nationalist Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...	1916–1922
	Malcolm Cameron Malcolm Cameron (Australian politician) Malcolm Duncan Cameron was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1922 to 1934. From 1922 to 1925 he was a member of the Liberal Party, from 1925 to 1931 he was a member for the Nationalist Party of Australia, and from 1931 to 1934 he was a member for the United Australia Party...	Liberal Union Liberal Party (1922) The Liberal Party, also known as the Liberal Union or the Liberal Union Party, was a short-lived political party in Australia that operated mainly in 1922. The party was formed by disaffected Nationalists, principally Thomas Ashworth and Charles Merrett, who opposed the leadership of Prime...	1922 Australian federal election, 1922 Federal elections were held in Australia on 16 December 1922. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes lost its majority... –1925
		Nationalist Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...	1925–1931
		United Australia United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...	1931 Australian federal election, 1931 Federal elections were held in Australia on 19 December 1931. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election... –1934
	Archie Cameron Archie Cameron Archie Galbraith Cameron , was an Australian politician. He was Leader of the Country Party 1939-40, and Speaker of the House of Representatives 1950-56.-Biography:...	Country	1934 Australian federal election, 1934 Federal elections were held in Australia on 15 September 1934. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent United Australia Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons with coalition partner the Country Party led... –1940
		United Australia United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...	1940 Australian federal election, 1940 Federal elections were held in Australia on 21 September 1940. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election... –1944
		Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1944–1956
	Jim Forbes Jim Forbes (Australian politician) Alexander James "Jim" Forbes CMG is a former Australian poilitician.Forbes was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1956 to 1975 for the Division of Barker, South Australia...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1956–1975
	James Porter James Porter (Australian politician) James Robert Porter was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1975 to 1990 for the Division of Barker, South Australia.-Notes:...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1975 Australian federal election, 1975 Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election following a double dissolution of both Houses.... –1990
	Ian McLachlan Ian McLachlan Ian Murray McLachlan AO is an Australian landowner, former first-class cricketer, and former member of the Australian House of Representatives.-Early life:...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1990–1998
	Patrick Secker Patrick Secker Patrick Damien Secker , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 1998, representing the Division of Barker, South Australia....	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1998–present

Election results