Electoral district of Wooroora

Wooroora was an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian colony (state from 1901) of South Australia.^[1]

Wooroora South Australia—House of Assembly
State	South Australia
Created	1875
Abolished	1938
Demographic	Rural

The electorate was created by the Electoral Districts Act 1872 of the South Australian parliament but it was not until the provincial election of 1875 that candidates were first elected to represent Woorooroo. The electorate stretched from Gulf St Vincent in the west to Riverton in the east, spanning the central and northern Adelaide Plains from the River Light in the south to Hoyleton and Auburn north of the Wakefield River, in the north.

The structure of the parliament was changed and its membership reduced by the Constitution Act Amendment Act, 1901. The new Wooroora district elected three members and comprised the former Wooroora and Light districts.^[2]

According to South Australian historian Geoff Manning, the name derives from an Aboriginal name for the area, the (central) Adelaide Plains, about 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of Adelaide (roughly where the Wakefield River crosses the plain).^[3]

The chief polling place was listed as Riverton, with subsidiary polling places at Humphrey's Springs (now Alma), Stockport, Port Wakefield, Balaklava, Auburn, Rhynie, Watervale, Tarlee, and Hoyleton.^[4] The electorate boundaries were defined as lands including the whole of the Hundreds of Goyder, Stow, Hall, Inkerman, Balaklava, Dalkey, and Alma as well as parts of the Hundreds of Dublin, Grace, Light, Gilbert, Upper Wakefield and Stanley.^[4] The number of members was set at two.^[4]

Members

Two members (1875–1902)
Member		Party	Term	Member		Party	Term
	H. E. Bright		1875–1884		James Pearce		1875–1875
					John Bosworth		1875–1884
	John Duncan		1884–1890		J. W. Castine		1884–1891
	H. C. Kelly		1890–1891
	Robert Kelly		1891–1893			Defence League	1891–1896
	James McLachlan, Sr.	Defence League	1893–1896
			1896–1902			National League	1896–1902

Three members (1902–1938)
Member		Party	Term	Member		Party	Term	Member		Party	Term
	Jenkin Coles	National League	1902–1910		David James	National League	1902–1910		F. W. Paech	National League	1902–1908
									Frederick Young	Farmers and Producers	1909–1910
		Liberal Union	1910–1911			Liberal Union	1910–1918			Liberal Union	1910–1915
	Oscar Duhst	Liberal Union	1912–1915
	Richard Layton Butler	Liberal Union	1915–1918						Albert Robinson	Liberal Union	1915–1924
	James McLachlan Jr.	Liberal Union	1918–1923		Allan Robertson	Labor	1918–1921
					Richard Layton Butler	Liberal Union	1921–1923
		Liberal Federation	1923–1930			Liberal Federation	1923–1938			Liberal Federation	1923–1924
									Allan Robertson	Labor	1924–1927
									Archie Cameron	Country	1927–1932
	Samuel Dennison	Country	1930–1932
		Liberal and Country	1932–1938			Liberal and Country	1932–1938			Liberal and Country	1932–1934
									Albert Robinson	Independent	1934–1938

References

1. "Statistical Record of the Legislature, 1836 - 2007" (PDF). Parliament of South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
2. The Constitution Act Amendment Act (SA)
3. Manning, Geoffrey. "Place Names - Wooroora". Manning Index of South Australian History. State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
4. "Electoral Districts Act (No 27 of 35 and 36 Vic, 1872)". South Australia Numbered Acts. Australasian Legal Information Institute. 1872. Retrieved 22 August 2018.

External links

• The 13 electorates from 1902 to 1915: The Adelaide Chronicle

34°01′38″S 138°41′08″E