The Division of Bonython was an Australian Electoral Division in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

between 1955 and 2004. The division was named for Hon Sir John Langdon Bonython KCMG, who was an Australian editor, newspaper proprietor, philanthropist, journalist and politician who served as a member of the inaugural federal Parliament. Bonython was abolished in 2004, after a redistribution triggered by a change in representation entitlement which saw South Australia's seats in the House of Representatives reduced to eleven.

History

When Bonython was created in 1955 it was a safe

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

seat, carved mostly from the Labor-leaning portions of the neighbouring

Division of Sturt The Division of Sturt is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in South Australia. It was proclaimed at the South Australian redistribution of 11 May 1949. Sturt was named for Captain Charles St ...

, and was thus a natural choice for Sturt's Labor incumbent,

Norman Makin Norman John Oswald Makin AO (31 March 188920 July 1982) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as Speaker of the House of Representatives (1929–1932), a cabinet minister dur ...

, to transfer in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

. Besides Makin, its most notable member was

Neal Blewett Neal Blewett, Order of Australia, AC (born 24 October 1933) is an Australian Australian Labor Party, Labor Party politician, diplomat and historian. He was the Australian House of Representatives, Member of the House of Representatives for Divis ...

, a minister in the Hawke and Keating Governments. Bonython's first 14 years saw vast boundaries simultaneously cover as far north as

Gawler Gawler, established in 1839, is the oldest country town in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the st ...

, as far south as

Magill Road Magill Road is a major arterial road in the South Australian capital of Adelaide, connecting its inner eastern suburbs past Magill, South Australia, Magill at the western foot of the Mount Lofty Ranges. It has been designated part of route B27. ...

at Norwood, and as far west as Ottoway. The seat would continue to cross south of

Grand Junction Road Grand Junction Road is the longest east–west thoroughfare in the Adelaide metropolitan area, traversing through Adelaide's northern suburbs approximately 8 kilometres north of the Adelaide city centre. Route Travelling from the Port Adelaide ...

until the creation of the

Division of Makin The Division of Makin () is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, electoral division for the Australian House of Representatives located in the northeastern suburbs of Adelaide. Makin was established in the South Australian r ...

at the pre-1984 redistribution. From creation until the 1984 expansion of parliament, Bonython was Labor's second safest seat in South Australia, behind the neighbouring

Division of Port Adelaide The Division of Port Adelaide was an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the States and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. The 181 km2 seat extended from St Kilda, South ...

directly west of Bonython. From 1984 until 1998, Bonython was Labor's safest seat in South Australia. The Liberals only came close to winning it once, in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

when they managed to hold Labor to only 52 percent of the two-party vote. Sturt1967

In its final configuration at the 2001 Election, it was based on the outer northern suburbs of

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

, Munno Para, Parafield,

Paralowie Paralowie is a suburb in the north of Adelaide, South Australia, north of the Adelaide city centre. It is predominantly a residential suburb. History On November 27, 1980, the suburb was officially named, drawing from the Aboriginal languages ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, and to the town of One Tree Hill in Adelaide's outskirts. The northern boundary being Gawler River with the

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

and Port Wakefield Road with the

the western boundary. Bonython was abolished for the 2004 Election due to the number of Divisions in South Australia being reduced to 11 following the 2003 redistribution. Apart from the south-west area between

Port Wakefield Road Port Wakefield Highway (and its southern section as Port Wakefield Road) is an important South Australian highway, connecting Adelaide to the Yorke Peninsula, Port Augusta, northern and western South Australia, the Northern Territory and Wester ...

and

Main North Road Main North Road is the major north–south arterial route through the suburbs north of the Adelaide City Centre in the city of Adelaide, South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, ...

which was shifted to the Division of Port Adelaide, the majority of the abolished Bonython was shifted to Division of Wakefield in the 2003 redistribution, transforming Wakefield from a safe Liberal seat to a notionally marginal Labor seat as a result. Port Adelaide and Wakefield were both abolished and replaced by Spence after a 2018 redistribution, on boundaries similar to those of Bonython at the time the latter was abolished.

Members

Election results

References

External links

SA boundary map, 1984: Atlas SABonython boundary map, 2001: AEC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Division Of Bonython Bonython Electoral divisions of Australia in South Australia