The electoral district of Polwarth is an electoral district of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presid ...

. It is located in south-west rural Victoria, west of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, and covers the Colac and Corangamite local government areas (LGA), parts of the Moyne,

Golden Plains The Golden Plains Festival is held over three days during the Victorian Labour Day long-weekend on private farmland in Victoria, Australia. The nearest rural town is Meredith, which is between the regional cities of Geelong and Ballarat. The cl ...

and Surf Coast LGAs, and slivers of the Ararat and

Greater Geelong The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census. It ...

LGAs, running along the

Great Ocean Road The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage listed stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Allansford. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932 and dedicated ...

taking in Anglesea,

Cape Otway Cape Otway is a cape and a bounded locality of the Colac Otway Shire in southern Victoria, Australia on the Great Ocean Road; much of the area is enclosed in the Great Otway National Park. History Cape Otway was originally inhabited by the G ...

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until 1 ...

Aireys Inlet Aireys Inlet is a small coastal inlet and town located on the Great Ocean Road, southwest of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Aireys Inlet is located between Anglesea and Lorne, and joined with Fairhaven, Moggs Creek, and Eastern View to the ...

, Lorne, Wye River,

Apollo Bay Apollo Bay is a coastal town in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the eastern side of Cape Otway, along the edge of the Barham River and on the Great Ocean Road, in the Colac Otway Shire. The town had a population of 1,790 a ...

and

Port Campbell Port Campbell () is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Great Ocean Road, west of the Twelve Apostles, in the Shire of Corangamite. At the , Port Campbell had a population of 478. History The port and the town are nam ...

, covering the inland towns of

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The ...

, Colac, Camperdown and

Terang Terang is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Corangamite and on the Princes Highway south west of the state's capital, Melbourne. At the , Terang had a population of 1,824. At the 2001 census, ...

along the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former alignments of the hig ...

, and Inverleigh, Cressy, Lismore and

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many ce ...

on the

Hamilton Highway Hamilton Highway is a rural highway in western Victoria, Australia, linking Geelong and the town of Hamilton, through the localities of Inverleigh, Cressy, Lismore, Derrinallum, Darlington, Mortlake, and Penshurst. Glenelg Highway links ...

, and finally, includes the

Otway Ranges The Great Otway National Park is a national park located in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately southwest of Melbourne, in the Otway Ranges, a low coastal mountain range. It con ...

and

Lake Corangamite Lake Corangamite , a hypersaline endorheic lake, is located near Colac in the Lakes and Craters region of the Victorian Volcanic Plains of south-west Victoria, Australia. The lake's salinity levels have increased dramatically as the lake lev ...

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

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

parties. The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

has held the seat continuously since 1970, although the Nationals have provided strong challenges on occasions, such as at the 1999 election when election night figures suggested retired AFL Footballer

Paul Couch Paul Couch (19 July 1964 – 5 March 2016) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong in the Australian Football League. Football career Prior to playing with Geelong, Couch initially tried out with Fitzroy but was rejected for b ...

would win the seat. Ultimately, however, Couch failed to finish ahead of the Labor Party candidate and the Liberal candidate,

Terry Mulder Terence Wynn Mulder (born 16 August 1952) is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2015, representing the Colac-based electorate of Polwarth. He served as Minister for Publ ...

, won after receiving

preferences In psychology, economics and philosophy, preference is a technical term usually used in relation to choosing between alternatives. For example, someone prefers A over B if they would rather choose A than B. Preferences are central to decision the ...

from Couch. The 2014 Victorian election saw the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

retain his seat, with a 3.2% swing to Labor. Mulder resigned from parliament on 3 September 2015. The subsequent by-election, held on 31 October, saw

Richard Riordan Richard Joseph Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is an American investment banker, businessman, lawyer, and former Republican politician who was the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, from 1993 to 2001. Born in New York City and raised in New Rochelle, New Yo ...

elected as the new member.

Members for Polwarth

Election results

Historical maps

File:Polwarth, Victoria.png, Location of Polwarth in Victoria, circa 1889

References

External links

Electorate profile: Polwarth District, Victorian Electoral Commission
Electoral districts of Victoria (Australia) 1889 establishments in Australia Shire of Corangamite Shire of Colac Otway Surf Coast Shire {{VictoriaAU-gov-stub

Members for Polwarth

Election results

Historical maps

See also

References

External links