Electoral district of Rodney

The Electoral district of Rodney was a Victorian Legislative Assembly electorate in Northern Victoria.

Rodney
VictoriaLegislative Assembly
Location in Victoria, 1856
StateVictoria
Created1856
Abolished2014
Electors36,437 (2010)
Area7,808 km2 (3,014.7 sq mi)
DemographicRural
Coordinates36°20′S 144°55′E / 36.333°S 144.917°E / -36.333; 144.917

The Rodney District covered an area of 7,808 square kilometres, including the towns of Echuca, Rochester, Nathalia, Cohuna, Heathcote, Gunbower, Kyabram, Rushworth and Stanhope.

At inception in 1856, the district boundaries include the Murray River and Goulburn River in the north and east; and the Campaspe River in the west.[1] By 1956 the district had expanded further westward to include Cohuna.[2]

In 2014, it was abolished and became part of the electoral district of Murray Plains.[3]

Electoral history

Until its abolition, Rodney was one of only four electorates (along with Brighton, Richmond and Williamstown) to have been contested at every election since 1856. It was held by the Victorian Farmers Union/Country/National Party from 1917. John Allan, who was the first Country Party Member for the district, became Australia's first Country Party Premier in 1924.

In the 2006 election, Paul Weller won the seat for the National Party with a margin of 4.39% against the Liberals. The Liberal Party did not run in this electorate in the 2010 election, leaving the Nationals with a much higher lead against the other parties.

Members for Rodney

Member 1PartyTerm
 John BaragwanathUnaligned1856–1857
 John EverardLiberal1858–1859
 Wilson GrayLiberal1860–1862
 John MacGregorUnaligned1862–1874
 Simon FraserMinisterial[4]1874–1883Member 2PartyTerm
 Duncan GilliesMinisterial[4]1877–1889
 James ShackellConservative/Ministerial[5]1883–1892 William WebbMinisterial[5]1889–1897
 Timothy MurphyLiberal1892–1894
 Andrew WhiteUnaligned1894–1897
 John MasonLiberal1897–1902 John MorrisseyLiberal1897–1904
 Samuel LancasterConservative1904–1904
 Hugh McKenzieIndependent1904–1917
 Commonwealth Liberal
 Nationalist
 John AllanCountry1917–1936
 William DunstoneCountry1936–1944
 Richard BroseCountry1944–1964
 Russell McDonaldCountry1964–1973
 Eddie HannCountry1973–1975
 National Country1975–1982
 National1982–1989
 Noel MaughanNational1989–2006
 Paul WellerNational2006–2014

Election results

2010 Victorian state election: Rodney
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
NationalPaul Weller20,52462.71+22.55
LaborVanessa Langford5,29016.16-1.97
Country AllianceGino D'Angelo3,69711.30+11.30
Family FirstSerena Moore1,8725.72+2.33
GreensIan Christoe1,3484.12+0.92
Total formal votes32,73195.59+0.82
Informal votes1,5094.41-0.82
Turnout34,24093.97-0.34
Two-party-preferred result
NationalPaul Weller24,94776.16+21.96
LaborVanessa Langford7,80923.84+23.84
National holdSwing+21.96

See also

References