Division of Dawson

The Division of Dawson is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. It was set up in 1949 and is named after Anderson Dawson, the first Labor Premier of Queensland and leader of the first parliamentary socialist government in the world. It is on the North Queensland coast, and includes the towns of Ayr, Bowen, Mackay, Proserpine and parts of Townsville.^[1]

Dawson Australian House of Representatives Division
Map Interactive map of boundaries (excluding outer islands)
Created	1949
MP	Andrew Willcox
Party	Liberal National
Namesake	Anderson Dawson
Electors	98,171 (2013)
Area	14,945 km2 (5,770.3 sq mi)
Demographic	Rural

Anderson (Andrew) Dawson

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Charles Davidson	Country	1949–1963
	George Shaw	Country	1963–1966
	Rex Patterson	Labor	1966–1975
	Ray Braithwaite	National	1975–1996
	De-Anne Kelly	National	1996–2007
	James Bidgood	Labor	2007–2010
	George Christensen	Liberal National	2010–present

Rex Patterson won the seat at a by-election for Dawson in 1966 following the death of George Shaw. Patterson became Minister for Northern Development, and later Minister for Agriculture in the Whitlam Government.

Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Dawson[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal National	Andrew Willcox	40,109	43.33	+0.38
	Labor	Shane Hamilton	22,650	24.47	+4.19
	One Nation	Julie Hall	12,289	13.27	+0.18
	Greens	Paula Creen	6,675	7.21	+2.70
	Katter's Australian	Ciaron Paterson	5,189	5.61	−0.71
	United Australia	Christian Young	3,713	4.01	−0.89
	Great Australian	Jim Jackson	1,948	2.10	+2.10
Total formal votes			92,573	95.86	+2.87
Informal votes			4,001	4.14	−2.87
Turnout			96,574	87.49	−3.30
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal National	Andrew Willcox	55,930	60.42	−4.19
	Labor	Shane Hamilton	36,643	39.58	+4.19
	Liberal National hold		Swing	−4.19

The sitting member, George Christensen, was elected as a Liberal National, but resigned from the party in 2022, subsequently joining One Nation and contested a Senate seat.

References

1. Australian Electoral Commission: Profile of the electoral division of Dawson (Qld) - Australian Electoral Commission
2. Dawson, QLD, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.

Other websites

• Division of Dawson (Qld) — Australian Electoral Commission

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