The Division of Gwydir was an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. As a result of the electoral redistribution

Redistribution (Australia)

The term redistribution is used in Australia to mean a redrawing of electoral boundaries. It is equivalent to the term redistricting in the United States....

 of 13 September 2006, Gwydir was abolished and ceased to exist at the 2007 federal election.

Gwydir was named for the Gwydir River

Gwydir River

The Gwydir River is a large inland river in the northern part of the Australian state of New South Wales which is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. The river has two main tributaries—the Horton River and the Rocky River...

 (which in turn was named by the explorer Allan Cunningham

Allan Cunningham (botanist)

Allan Cunningham was an English botanist and explorer, primarily known for his travels in New South Wales to collect plants.- Early life :...

 after his patron Lord Gwydir, who took his title from Gwydir Castle

Gwydir Castle

Gwydir Castle is situated in the Conwy valley, North Wales, a mile to the west of the ancient market town of Llanrwst and to the south of the large village of Trefriw...

 in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

). The Division was located in western New South Wales, and at the time of its abolition included the towns of Bourke

Bourke, New South Wales

-Transportation:Bourke can be reached by the Mitchell Highway, with additional sealed roads from town to the north , east and south . The town is also served by Bourke Airport and has Countrylink bus service to other regional centres, like Dubbo...

, Moree

Moree, New South Wales

Moree is a large town in Moree Plains Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Mehi River in the centre of the rich black-soil plains....

, Mudgee and Brewarrina

Brewarrina, New South Wales

Brewarrina is a small town in North West New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. It is 98 km east of Bourke and west of Walgett on the Kamilaroi Highway, and 808 km from Sydney. Brewarrina has had its population decrease from 1,197 persons in...

.

The seat was a stronghold of the Australian Workers Union and was usually held by the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 until the 1940s, but after 1949 it grew increasingly safe for the National Party of Australia

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...

. Its last Labor member, William Scully, was a Cabinet minister in the Ben Chifley

Ben Chifley

Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...

 government. The final member, John Anderson

John Anderson (Australian politician)

John Duncan Anderson AO is a former Australian politician. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the rural-based National Party of Australia from July 1999 to July 2005.-Early years:...

, was Leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime 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 until he resigned the position.

In September 2006 the New South Wales redistribution commissioners decided to abolish the Division of Gwydir. The abolition took effect at the 2007 federal election. Most of the division became part of the Division of Parkes

Division of Parkes

The Division of Parkes is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. The largest electorate in the state, it is located in the far north of the state, and adjoining the border with Queensland. Its largest population centre is Dubbo...

, whilst some towns in the Upper Hunter Shire (mainly Scone

Scone, New South Wales

Scone is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Scone had a population of 4,624 people. It is located on the New England Highway north of Muswellbrook about 270 kilometres north of Sydney, and is part of the Hunter and Upper...

, Aberdeen

Aberdeen, New South Wales

Aberdeen is a small town in the upper Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Hunter Shire. It is located about 12 kilometres north of Muswellbrook on the New England Highway. Aberdeen is named after Aberdeen, Scotland. At the 2006 census, Aberdeen had a population of...

, Merriwa

Merriwa, New South Wales

Merriwa is a town in the far west of the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Hunter Shire. It is located on the Golden Highway, 273 kilometres northwest of Sydney and about half way between Newcastle and Dubbo...

 and Murrurundi

Murrurundi, New South Wales

Murrurundi is a rural town in Upper Hunter Shire, located in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales. Murrurundi, which is 193 km by road from Newcastle and 309 km from Sydney, has a population of 1,330 people...

) were absorbed into the Division of Hunter

Division of Hunter

The Division of Hunter is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in northern rural New South Wales, and encompasses much of the Hunter Valley region, including the towns of Singleton, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Cessnock and Denman...

.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	George Cruickshank	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...	1901–1903
	William Webster William Webster (Australian politician) William Webster was an Australian politician. Born in Everton, Lancashire in England, he was the son of John Webster, a labourer, and Elizabeth, née Poynton. Leaving school at 13, Webster migrated to New South Wales in 1879 and, having quarried stone at Pyrmont and saved prodigiously, was able to...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1903–1916
		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...	1916–1919
	Lou Cunningham Lou Cunningham Lucien Lawrence "Lou" Cunningham was an Australian farmer and politician. He was born at Inverell, New South Wales, to a farmer, Eugene Cunningham, and his wife Mary, née Edgeworth, both born in Ireland...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1919 Australian federal election, 1919 Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1919. 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 defeated the opposition Australian... –1925
	Aubrey Abbott Aubrey Abbott Charles Lydiard Aubrey Abbott was an Australian politician and administrator of the Northern Territory. He was born at St Leonards, Sydney, to Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, a magistrate, and Marion, née Lydiard...	Country	1925 Australian federal election, 1925 Federal elections were held in Australia on 14 November 1925. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 22 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election... –1929
	Lou Cunningham Lou Cunningham Lucien Lawrence "Lou" Cunningham was an Australian farmer and politician. He was born at Inverell, New South Wales, to a farmer, Eugene Cunningham, and his wife Mary, née Edgeworth, both born in Ireland...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1929 Australian federal election, 1929 Federal elections were held in Australia on 12 October 1929. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, with no Senate seats up for election, as a result of Billy Hughes and other rebel backbenchers crossing the floor over industrial relations legislation, depriving the... –1931
	Aubrey Abbott Aubrey Abbott Charles Lydiard Aubrey Abbott was an Australian politician and administrator of the Northern Territory. He was born at St Leonards, Sydney, to Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, a magistrate, and Marion, née Lydiard...	Country	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... –1937
	William Scully	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1937–1949
	Thomas Treloar Thomas Treloar Thomas John Treloar was an Australian politician. Born in Tamworth, New South Wales, he was educated at Sydney Grammar School before returning to Tamworth as a shopkeeper. He eventually became a company director before serving in World War I 1915-18 and World War II 1942-46...	Country	1949 Australian federal election, 1949 Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced... –1953
	Ian Allan Ian Allan (Australian politician) Archibald Ian Allan was an Australian politician. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, he attended Sydney Grammar School before becoming an overseer at CSR. After serving in World War II from 1939 to 1946, he became an ABC announcer in Tamworth...	Country	1953–1969
	Ralph Hunt Ralph Hunt (Australian politician) Ralph James Dunnet Hunt AO was an Australian politician.Hunt was born in Narrabri, New South Wales and was a farmer and grazier before entering the Australian Parliament. He was a councillor of Boomi Shire Council from 1956 to 1968 and Vice-President of it from 1962 to 1968...	Country, National 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...	1969–1989
	John Anderson John Anderson (Australian politician) John Duncan Anderson AO is a former Australian politician. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the rural-based National Party of Australia from July 1999 to July 2005.-Early years:...	National 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...	1989 Gwydir by-election, 1989 A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Gwydir on 15 April 1989. This was triggered by the resignation of National Party MP Ralph Hunt.The Australian Labor Party did not field a candidate... –2007