South Barwon is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. The Victorian Legislative Assembly is elected from 88 single-member electorates called districts. The Legislative Assembly, or lower house is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Located in a mixed urban and rural area south of the Barwon River, it covers an area of 621km², including the Geelong suburbs of Belmont and Grovedale, Waurn Ponds and part of Highton, the coastal centres of Torquay and Barwon Heads, and the rural towns of Barrabool, Bellbrae, Connewarre, Gnarwarre, Modewarre, Moriac and Mount Moriac. The Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of MCite/Citephp.--> Geelong (dʒəˈlɔŋ is the second largest city in the state Belmont is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Grovedale is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Waurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Highton also refers to the highest level of Aristos in the Saga of the Skolian empire by Catherine Asaro. Torquay is a township in Victoria, Australia, which faces Bass Strait, 21 km Barwon Heads is a coastal township on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Connewarre, Victoria, Australia, is located in southern Australia in an area that is sparsely populated Moriac is a rural town in Victoria, Australia, located approximately west of Geelong. The electorate had a population of 52,241 as of the 2001 census. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.
South Barwon was created in 1976 as a predominantly rural seat which was considered safe for the conservative Liberal Party of Australia. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. It was won by Liberal Aurel Smith, formerly the member for Bellarine, upon its inception, and retained for the party by Harley Dickinson upon Smith's retirement in 1982. The Electoral district of Bellarine is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Dickinson held the seat until 1992, when he quit the party and attempted to retain the seat as an independent, but lost to endorsed Liberal candidate and former television newsreader Alister Paterson. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) The seat underwent significant demographic change during Paterson's tenure, with major population growth in the traditionally Labor-voting areas of Torquay, Barwon Heads and southern Geelong, causing the seat to become progressively less safe for the Liberal Party. These changes came to a head at the 2002 election, when Labor nominated popular former Geelong mayor Michael Crutchfield as its candidate, and amidst a statewide landslide victory, succeeded in taking South Barwon for the first time in its history. Michael Crutchfield (born December 12 1961) is an Australian politician Crutchfield has had a mixed record as local member, being locally blamed for controversial decisions over the siting of the Marshall railway station and Geelong road bypass, but was re-elected with little difficulty at the 2006 state election. Marshall railway station is located in Marshall, a Suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
Members for South Barwon
| Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aurel Smith | Liberal Party of Australia | 1976-1982 | |
| Harley Dickinson | Liberal Party of Australia/Independent | 1982-1992 | |
| Alister Paterson | Liberal Party of Australia | 1992-2002 | |
| Michael Crutchfield | Australian Labor Party | 2002-present |
References
- District profile from the Victorian Electoral Commission
- District map from the Victorian Electoral Commission (PDF)