The Electoral district of Polwarth is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

. It covers much of the rural territory west of Geelong

Geelong, Victoria

Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...

 and includes the towns of Anglesea

Anglesea, Victoria

Anglesea is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Great Ocean Road in the Surf Coast Shire local government area. At the 2006 census, Anglesea had a population of 2,290....

, Lorne

Lorne, Victoria

Lorne is a seaside town on Louttit Bay in Victoria, Australia. It is situated about the Erskine River and is a popular destination on the Great Ocean Road tourist route...

, Lismore

Lismore, Victoria

Lismore is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Hamilton Highway west of Melbourne. It is part of the Corangamite Shire local government area.The town is located at a point equidistant from Geelong and Warrnambool....

, Colac

Colac, Victoria

Colac is a small city located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, situated approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and...

, Camperdown

Camperdown, Victoria

Camperdown is an historically significant rural town in southwestern Victoria, Australia, south west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Camperdown had a population of 3,165.-History:...

, Terang

Terang, Victoria

Terang is a small Australian town situated in Corangamite Shire in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, on the Princes Highway 212 km south-west of the state's capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Terang had a population of 2256...

 and Mortlake

Mortlake, Victoria

Mortlake is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia on the Hamilton Highway, north-east of Warrnambool. It is in the Shire of Moyne local government area and the federal Division of Wannon...

.

The seat has existed since 1889 and has always been held by conservative

Conservatism

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...

 parties. The Liberal Party of Australia

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...

 has held the seat continuously since 1970, although the Nationals

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...

 have provided strong challenges on occasions, such as at the 1999 election when election night figures suggested retired AFL Footballer

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 Paul Couch

Paul Couch

Paul Couch is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong in the Australian Football League.Prior to playing with Geelong, Couch initially tried out with Fitzroy, but was rejected for being too slow....

 would win the seat. http://www.abc.net.au/vic99/electorates/data/results/POLW.htm Although ultimately Couch failed to finish ahead of the 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...

 candidate and the Liberals Terry Mulder

Terry Mulder

Terence Wynne "Terry" Mulder is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 1999, representing the Colac-based electorate of Polwarth. He is currently Minister for Transport and Roads.Mulder was born in Colac, and attended Trinity College, but...

 won after receiving preferences from Couch. http://www.vec.vic.gov.au/state1999resultPolwarthDistrict.html

At the 2002 election, Mulder retained the seat with a margin of 9.53%.

Members for Polwarth

Member		Party	Term
	Charles Forrest	Unaligned	1889–1894
	Thomas Baker	Unaligned	1894–1897
	Charles Forrest	Unaligned	1897–1911
	John Johnstone	Commonwealth Liberal Commonwealth Liberal Party The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....	1911–1917
	James McDonald	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...	1917–1929
		Economy	1929–1931
		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...	1931–1933
	Allan McDonald Allan McDonald Allan McKenzie McDonald, DFC was an Australian politician.-Early life:McDonald was born at Winchelsea, Victoria, the fourth child of contractor Allan McDonald and Elizabeth, née McKenzie. He attended Winchelsea State School and subsequently worked as a farm labourer and then farmer...	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...	1933–1940
	Edward Guye Edward Guye Edward Fritz Guye was an Australian politician who sat in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1940 to 1958.Guye was born in Brentford, England, the son of Fritz Guye and his wife Gertrude Percy Ashton Glover. His father was a Swiss watchmaker who had settled in London. His father died in 1901...	Country 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...	1940–1950
		Liberal Country Liberal Country Party The Liberal Country Party was a splinter group of the Victorian branch of the Australian Country Party, formed after federal MP John McEwen was expelled from the state branch, the United Country Party, for accepting a ministry in the Lyons-Page Coalition government in 1937...	1950–1958
	Thomas Darcy	Liberal Country Liberal Country Party The Liberal Country Party was a splinter group of the Victorian branch of the Australian Country Party, formed after federal MP John McEwen was expelled from the state branch, the United Country Party, for accepting a ministry in the Lyons-Page Coalition government in 1937...	1958–1959
		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...	1959–1970
	Cec Burgin	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...	1970–1985
	Ian Smith Ian Smith (Australian politician) Ian Winton Smith is a former Victoria, Australia Liberal Party of Australia politician. He represented the Electoral district of Warrnambool in the State of Victoria as a MLA from 1967 until 1983. He resigned to unsuccessfully contest Liberal Party pre-selection for the Federal Division of Wannon...	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...	1985–1999
	Terry Mulder Terry Mulder Terence Wynne "Terry" Mulder is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 1999, representing the Colac-based electorate of Polwarth. He is currently Minister for Transport and Roads.Mulder was born in Colac, and attended Trinity College, but...	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...	1999–present

Election results

See also

• Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
  Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
  The Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia. Before the formation of the Commonwealth in 1901, the six Australian colonies were self-governing, with parliaments which had come into existence at various...
  
  
• List of members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly

External links

• Electorate profile: Polwarth District, Victorian Electoral Commission