Central Province (Victoria)

Central Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council.^[2][3] 37°48′S 144°55′E

Central Province Victoria—Legislative Council
Central Province, 1855 map
State	Victoria
Created	1856
Abolished	1882
Electors	7506 (in 1856)[1]
Demographic	Metropolitan

Creation

Central was one of the six original upper house Provinces of the bi-cameral Victorian Parliament created in November 1856.^[2] The area of the province, centered on Melbourne was defined in the Victoria Constitution Act 1855.^[4] Central Province included the Electoral Districts of Melbourne, St Kilda, Collingwood, South Melbourne, Richmond and Williamstown as well as parts of other adjoining districts.^[5]

Abolition

Central Province was abolished in the redistribution of provinces in 1882. James Lorimer and William Edward Hearn transferred from Central to Melbourne Province; Theodotus Sumner transferred to North Yarra Province; James MacBain and James Graham transferred to South Yarra Province that year.^[3]

Members

These were members of the upper house province of the Victorian Legislative Council.^[2]

Members for Central Province

Year	Member 1		Party	Member 2		Party	Member 3		Party	Member 4		Party	Member 5		Party
1856		Nehemiah Guthridge			John Hood			Henry Miller[6]			John Pascoe Fawkner			John Hodgson
1858								Thomas Fellows
1858		Thomas à Beckett[7]
1859					George Cole
1860														William Henry Hull
1860
1862
1864
1866														James Graham[8]
1868								John O'Shanassy
1868
1869											Henry Walsh
1870
1871											Archibald Michie[9]
1872
1873											Theodotus Sumner[10]
1874								Frederick Sargood
1874
1876
1878		William Edward Hearn
1879					James Lorimer[11]
1880								James MacBain
1880

1856 election results

Candidate[1]	Votes[1]
Hodgson*	1204
Fawkner*	1196
Miller*	863
Hood*	736
Guthridge*	689
Smith	688
a'Beckett	598
Fellows	577
Wiklie	516
Mayne	439
Total	7506

First five elected.

References

1. "Election for the Central Province". South Australian Register. 3 September 1856. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
2. Edward Sweetman (1920). Constitutional Development of Victoria, 1851-6. Whitcombe & Tombs Limited. p. 182. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
3. "Re-Member (Former Members)". State Government of Victoria. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
4. "Victoria Constitution Act 1855" (PDF). p. 444. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
5. "Central Province and Electoral Districts of Melbourne, St Kilda, Collingwood, South Melbourne, Richmond and Williamstown" (map). State Library of Victoria. 27 November 1855. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
6. Mellor, Suzanne G. "Miller, Henry (1809–1888)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
7. "Victoria". Freeman's Journal. Sydney. 29 September 1858. p. 2. à Beckett won the September by-election, sworn-in in October
8. "The Central Province election". The Argus. Melbourne. 20 September 1866. p. 4. Graham was elected unopposed on 20 Sep 1866, sworn-in Jan 1867
9. "Central Province Election". The Argus. Melbourne. 22 June 1871. Michie was elected in June, sworn-in in August
10. "Central Province Election". The Argus. Melbourne. 1 April 1873. p. 5. Sumner won the 31 March by-election, sworn-in in May
11. "Central Province Election". The Argus. Melbourne. 12 May 1879. p. 8. Lorimer elected unopposed 12 May, sworn-in July