The Division of Barrier 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 ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. 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 for the

Barrier Ranges The Barrier Ranges or sometimes the Barrier Range and historically the Stanley's Barrier Range, is a mountain range that comprises a series of hills and higher grounds in the far western region of New South Wales, Australia, surrounding the city o ...

near the city of

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

in western New South Wales. In 1901, it included Broken Hill,

Wilcannia Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. Located on the Darling River, the town was the third largest inland port in the country during the river boat era of the mid-19th c ...

, White Cliffs and

Tibooburra Tibooburra (pronounced or ) is a town in the Far West, New South Wales, far northwest of New South Wales, Australia, located from the state capital, Sydney. It is most frequently visited by tourists on their way to Sturt National Park or ...

and the surrounding pastoral areas. In 1906, it gained

Menindee Menindee (derived from Minandichi, the original Indigenous name for Lake Menindee, and frequently but erroneously spelled "Menindie") is a small town in the far west of New South Wales, Australia, in Central Darling Shire, on the banks of the Da ...

, Wentworth from

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

and in 1913, it gained

Balranald Balranald is a town within the Local government in Australia, local government area of Balranald Shire, in the Murray (New South Wales), Murray region of far south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town of Balranald is located where the ...

and

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the western Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the inte ...

from Riverina. It was abolished in 1922 with Broken Hill, Wentworth and Balranald being transferred to Darling and Deniliquin transferred to Riverina. It was a very safe seat for the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

, although both its members left the ALP at the end their terms: Josiah Thomas to join the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

, and

Michael Considine Michael Patrick Considine (c. 26 January 1885 – 2 November 1959) was an Ireland, Irish-born Australian politician and unionist. He represented the seat of Division of Barrier, Barrier in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Repres ...

(a radical

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

) to sit as an independent.

Members

Election results

References

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