The Division of Balaclava was an

Australian electoral division Electorates (also known as electoral divisions or seats) of the Australian House of Representatives are single member electoral districts for the lower house of the Parliament of the Commonwealth. There are currently 150 electorates. Constitut ...

in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. It was named after the suburb of Balaclava, which in turn was named after a battlefield of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. It was based in the wealthy inner southern suburbs of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, including

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places Australia * Sandringham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Sandringham, Queensland, a rural locality * Sandringham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station * ...

. It was always a safe seat for the conservative parties, being held successively by

Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party, also known as the Protectionist Liberal Party or Liberal Protectionist Party, was an Politics of Australia, Australian political party, formally organised from 1887 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. T ...

, Nationalist Party,

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

and

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. For example, while the political systems ...

members. It was abolished and replaced by the

Division of Goldstein The Division of Goldstein () is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian Electoral Division in Victoria, Australia. The division was created in 1984, when the former Division of Balaclava was abolished. It is located i ...

in 1984.

Members

Election results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balaclava, Division Of 1901 establishments in Australia Constituencies established in 1901 Balaclava