Cobar was an

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of the Legislative Assembly in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n state of

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 ...

which was named after the town of

Cobar Cobar is a town in Outback New South Wales, Australia, whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier Highwa ...

. It was first created in 1894 and abolished in 1920. Cobar was recreated in 1930 and abolished in 1968.

History

Prior to 1894 the town of Cobar was part of the district of Bourke which returned three members. Multi-member constituencies were abolished in the 1893 redistribution, resulting in the creation of 76 new districts, including Cobar. Bourke was reduced in size and parts were given to the new districts of Cobar and The Barwon. Cobar also absorbed parts of the abolished districts of The Bogan and

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

. The electoral district included all of the counties of Canbelego,

Robinson Robinson may refer to: People and names * Robinson (name) Fictional characters * Robinson Crusoe, the main character, and title of a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719 Geography * Robinson projection, a map projection used since the 19 ...

and Yanda as well as parts of the surrounding counties of Booroondarra, Cowper,

Flinders Flinders may refer to: Places Antarctica * Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula Australia New South Wales * Flinders County, New South Wales * Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour * Flinders, New South Wa ...

Gregory Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname *Gregory (The Walking Dead), fictional character from the walkin ...

, Oxley, Rankin, Werunda and

Woore Woore ( ) is a village and civil parish in the north east of Shropshire, England. The population of the village as recorded in the 2011 census is 633, and for the civil parish is 1,069. The civil parish extends to about 3,950 acres (1,600 hecta ...

. Cobar's economy was centered around copper mining, and the district also included

Nyngan Nyngan () is a town in the centre of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bogan Shire local government area within the Orana Region of central New South Wales. At the 2016 census, Nyngan had a population of 1,988 people. Nyngan is situated on th ...

which was established in 1883 as a stop on the

Main Western railway line The Main Western Railway (or Great Western Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains (Australia), Blue Mountains, and Central West, New South Wales, Central West regions. It is long, of which ...

on its way to Bourke. At its establishment in 1894 Cobar had 1,646 enrolled voters, slightly less than the average of 2,046. In 1904 the number of enrolled voters nearly doubled as women were given the right to vote while the number of members of the Legislative Assembly was reduced from 125 to 90 as a result of the

1903 New South Wales referendum A referendum concerning the reduction of the members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was put to voters on 16 December 1903, in conjunction with the 1903 federal election. The referendum was conducted on the basis of optional preferen ...

. Cobar absorbed parts of The Lachlan and parts of the abolished seats of The Barwon, Condoublin and

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 ...

. The combined effect of the changes meant that the number of enrolled voters in Cobar went from 3,501, to 6,488, an increase of 185%. The district was significantly expanded in 1913, absorbing most of The Darling, including the town of Bourke. Cobar was abolished in 1920, with the introduction of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

, and was absorbed by the expanded district of Sturt, along with Willyama to create a three-member electorate covering most of the Western Division of New South Wales. Proportional representation was abolished in 1927, with Bourke going to the re-created district of Namoi, while Cobar and Nyngan were in the re-created district of Lachlan. Cobar was re-created in 1930, and comprised part of the districts of Sturt, Lachlan and Namoi, including the towns of Cobar, Bourke,

Brewarrina Brewarrina (pronounced ''bree-warren-ah''; locally known as "Bre") is a town in north-west New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. It is east of Bourke and west of Walgett on the Kamilaroi Highway, a ...

, Byrock,

, White Cliffs and part 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 ...

. The 1949 redistribution saw Cobar absorb the entire district of Sturt, but lost Bourke and Nyngan to Castlereagh and South Broken Hill and

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 ...

to the re-constituted Sturt. Cobar, along with Sturt were abolished as a result of the 1966 redistribution, replaced by the new district of Broken Hill, which included all of the town, and the district extended from the border with Victoria on 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 ...

to the Queensland border in the north, including the towns of Wentworth and Wilcannia. The town of Cobar was absorbed by Castlereagh, which moved west, while south western part of the district was absorbed by the district of Temora.

Members for Cobar

Election results

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobar Former electoral districts of New South Wales Constituencies established in 1894 Constituencies disestablished in 1920 Constituencies established in 1930 Constituencies disestablished in 1968 1894 establishments in Australia 1920 disestablishments in Australia 1930 establishments in Australia 1968 disestablishments in Australia