Electoral district of Rodney

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

Rodney Victoria—Legislative Assembly
Location in Victoria, 1856
State	Victoria
Created	1856
Abolished	2014
Electors	36,437 (2010)
Area	7,808 km2 (3,014.7 sq mi)
Demographic	Rural
Coordinates	36°20′S 144°55′E

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 1		Party	Term
	John Baragwanath	Unaligned	1856–1857
	John Everard	Liberal	1858–1859
	Wilson Gray	Liberal	1860–1862
	John MacGregor	Unaligned	1862–1874
	Simon Fraser	Ministerial[4]	1874–1883	Member 2		Party	Term
					Duncan Gillies	Ministerial[4]	1877–1889
	James Shackell	Conservative/Ministerial[5]	1883–1892		William Webb	Ministerial[5]	1889–1897
	Timothy Murphy	Liberal	1892–1894
	Andrew White	Unaligned	1894–1897
	John Mason	Liberal	1897–1902		John Morrissey	Liberal	1897–1904
	Samuel Lancaster	Conservative	1904–1904
	Hugh McKenzie	Independent	1904–1917
		Commonwealth Liberal
		Nationalist
	John Allan	Country	1917–1936
	William Dunstone	Country	1936–1944
	Richard Brose	Country	1944–1964
	Russell McDonald	Country	1964–1973
	Eddie Hann	Country	1973–1975
		National Country	1975–1982
		National	1982–1989
	Noel Maughan	National	1989–2006
	Paul Weller	National	2006–2014

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Rodney

2010 Victorian state election: Rodney

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Paul Weller	20,524	62.71	+22.55
	Labor	Vanessa Langford	5,290	16.16	−1.97
	Country Alliance	Gino D'Angelo	3,697	11.30	+11.30
	Family First	Serena Moore	1,872	5.72	+2.33
	Greens	Ian Christoe	1,348	4.12	+0.92
Total formal votes			32,731	95.59	+0.82
Informal votes			1,509	4.41	−0.82
Turnout			34,240	93.97	−0.34
Two-party-preferred result
	National	Paul Weller	24,947	76.16	+21.96
	Labor	Vanessa Langford	7,809	23.84	+23.84
	National hold		Swing	+21.96

See also

• Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
• List of members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly

External links

• Electorate profile: Rodney District, Victorian Electoral Commission

References

1. "Electoral district of Rodney" (map). State Library of Victoria. 1855. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
2. "State Electoral districts of Rodney and Murray Valley" (map). State Library of Victoria. 1956. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
3. "No change to Murray Plains". Gannawarra Times. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
4. "The New Victorian Legislative Assembly". South Australian Register. 19 May 1877. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
5. "The General Election". Gippsland Times. Trove. 29 March 1889. Retrieved 7 June 2013.

• "Re-Member (Former Members)". State Government of Victoria. Retrieved 21 April 2013.