The Division of Murray was an Australian Electoral Division 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 ...

. It was located in the north of the state, adjoining the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...

, which forms Victoria's border with

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 ...

. It included the towns of

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative cen ...

Cobram Cobram is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is on the Murray River which forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales. Cobram along with the nearby towns of Numurkah and Yarrawonga is part of Shire of Moira and is the administrative cen ...

Yarrawonga Yarrawonga is a town in the Shire of Moira Local government in Australia, local government area in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. In the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census, Yarrawonga had a population of 8,661 people. ...

Boort Boort () is a town in Victoria, Australia, located next to Lake Boort, in the Shire of Loddon. The town is known for its native birdlife. Main sources of employment are retail, olive processing and tourism. Agriculture is a major industry a ...

and Bridgewater. In 2018 the division was renamed the

Division of Nicholls The Division of Nicholls is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian Electoral Division in the States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, which was contested for the first time at th ...

, coming into effect at the 2019 federal election.

Boundaries

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...

. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned. When the division was created in 1949, it replaced parts of the

Division of Indi The Division of Indi ( ) is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the states and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The division is located in the north-east o ...

around the

area and parts of the

Division of Bendigo The Division of Bendigo is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the states and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was ...

around the

and Rochester areas. However, Indi and Bendigo only began to cover those areas 12 years earlier in 1937, when the

Division of Echuca The Division of Echuca was an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. After 1919, it was a safe sea ...

was abolished. The new division of Murray shared similar areas and boundaries with the division of Echuca prior to the latter's abolition.

History

The Division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 election. It was named after the Murray River, which itself was named after

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Secretary of State for War and the Colonies The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet-level position responsible for the army and the British colonies (other than India). The Secretary was supported by an Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. Hist ...

Sir George Murray. It was first held by

John McEwen Sir John McEwen (29 March 1900 – 20 November 1980) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as the 18th prime minister of Australia from 1967 to 1968, in a caretaker capacity following the disappearance of prime minister Harold Ho ...

, who was the last member for Echuca until 1937, and member for Indi between 1937 and 1949. Both Echuca and Indi had covered similar areas to the Division of Murray during those times. McEwen served as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

after the disappearance of Harold Holt, and subsequently became the inaugural

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

under

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician, farmer and airman who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971. He held office as the leader of the leade ...

. His successor in the seat, Bruce Lloyd, went on to serve as deputy leader to three successive Nationals leaders -

Ian Sinclair Ian McCahon Sinclair (born 10 June 1929) is an Australian former politician who served as a Member of Parliament for 35 years, and was leader of the National Party from 1984 to 1989. He served as either a minister or opposition frontbencher ...

Charles Blunt Charles William Blunt (born 19 January 1951) is a former Australian politician who served as leader of the National Party of Australia from 1989 to 1990. Early life Blunt was born in Sydney and graduated from the University of Sydney with a de ...

and

Tim Fischer Timothy Andrew Fischer (3 May 1946 – 22 August 2019) was an Australian politician and diplomat who served as leader of the National Party of Australia, National Party from 1990 to 1999. He was the tenth Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, d ...

. Murray was in the hands of either the Liberal or

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

parties for its entire existence. At the time of its abolition, it was the third-safest

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

-held seat in Australia, with a 20-point swing required for

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 ...

to win it. In 2018 the division was renamed the

, coming into effect at the 2019 federal election.

Members

Election results

References

External links

Division of Murray - Australian Electoral Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Division of Former electoral divisions of Australia Constituencies established in 1949 Constituencies disestablished in 2019 1949 establishments in Australia 2019 disestablishments in Australia