Wentworth was an electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the far south west of the Australian state of New South Wales and named after and including the town of Wentworth. It established in 1880 and partly replacing Lachlan. From 1885 until 1889 it elected two members. The population in Wentworth had grown significantly since the 1880 redistribution, especially as a result of the growth of mining at Broken Hill, with the electoral roll growing from 1,901 in 1880 to 5,617 in 1887. Under the formula for seats, Wentworth was due to return 3 members, however because of the large area covered by the district, in 1889 it was split into 3, Wentworth, Sturt and Wilcannia.[1] Wentworth retained the eponymous town, along with the towns of Menindie and Pooncaira. Sturt contained the mining boom towns of Broken Hill, Silverton and Milparinka while Wilcannia was the only town in that district.

The district was abolished in 1904 due to the re-distribution of electorates following the 1903 New South Wales referendum, which required the number of members of the Legislative Assembly to be reduced from 125 to 90.[2] It was replaced by a re-created district of The Murray along with parts of The Lachlan and the abolished district of Hay.[3][4][5]

Members for Wentworth

Single-member (1880–1885)
Member Party Term
  William Brodribb None 1880–1882
  Edward Quin None 1882–1885
Two members (1885–1889)
Member Party Term Member Party Term
  Edward Quin None 1885–1887   William MacGregor None 1885–1887
  Joseph Abbott Protectionist 1887–1889   Ind. Free Trade 1887–1887
    Thomas Browne Protectionist 1887–1889
Single-member (1889–1894)
Member Party Term
  (Sir) Joseph Abbott Protectionist 1889–1891
  Independent 1891–1894
  Protectionist 1894–1901
  Robert Scobie Labor 1901–1904

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Wentworth
1901 New South Wales state election: Wentworth [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Robert Scobie 649 63.3 +32.3
Independent Harry Harben 258 25.2
Independent Thomas Boynton 85 8.3
Independent Liberal Alexander Cameron 34 3.3
Total formal votes 1,026 99.1 +0.3
Informal votes 9 0.9 -0.3
Turnout 1,035 60.7 +17.0
Labor gain from Progressive  
The sitting member was Sir Joseph Abbott (Protectionist) who did not contest the election.

References

  1. ^ "1880 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales. NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
  2. ^ "1904 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales. NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Part 5B alphabetical list of all electorates and Members since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  5. ^ Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Wentworth". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  6. ^ Green, Antony. "1901 Wentworth". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
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