Mitchell 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 Australian state of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. It existed from 1983 to 2005 and, under the name Leschenault, continued until 2008.

History

Mitchell was created at the 1982 redistribution and was named for Sir James Mitchell

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

, former

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

(1919–1924; 1930–1933) and

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...

of Western Australia (1933–1951), who was born in Dardanup within the original boundaries of the electorate. It was first contested at the 1983 election. The district was initially a reasonably 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 based in the eastern and southern suburbs of the regional city of Bunbury, but as Bunbury grew, the seat contracted in size and moved northwards, centring on

Australind Australind is a town in Western Australia, located 12 km north-east of Bunbury, Western Australia, Bunbury's central business district. Its Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area is the Shire of Harvey. At the 20 ...

. The seat then switched to the Liberal Party's Dan Sullivan, who held it until its abolishment. At the 2003 redistribution, the seat was renamed as the Commissioners believed the name "Mitchell" had no connection to the seat as it now stood, and the Leschenault Inlet north and northeast of Bunbury was a clear geographic landmark. The 2007 redistribution, which came into effect at the 2008 election, saw the electorate abolished, with its former area being subsumed into Bunbury (Glen Iris, Pelican Point and Picton), Collie-Preston (Eaton) and Murray-Wellington (Australind, Kingston and Leschenault).

Geography

When it was first created, the seat included the suburbs of Carey Park, Eaton, Gelorup,

Glen Iris Glen Iris may refer to: *Glen Iris, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Glen Iris railway station *Glen Iris, Western Australia Glen Iris is a suburb of the City of Bunbury in the South West region of Western Australia. Glen Iris is located on ...

, Picton and

Withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

, and the towns of Boyanup, Burekup, Capel, Dardanup,

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

and

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

. Almost half of all votes taken were at Carey Park (70.8% ALP—1986) and

(72.1% ALP—1986). Australind at that time was within the Murray-Wellington electorate. After the 1994 redistribution, taking effect from the 1996 election, the seat contained the suburbs of

, most of Carey Park, College Grove, Eaton, Gelorup,

and Picton. After the 2003 redistribution, the seat contained the suburbs of

, Eaton,

, Leschenault and Picton, as well as the new development areas of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

and Pelican Point.

Members for Mitchell

Election results

References

External links

* {{Former electoral districts of Western Australia Mitchell James Mitchell (Australian politician)