Electoral district of Bourke

Bourke was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1880 to 1904, including the towns of Bourke and Cobar. It elected two members simultaneously between 1882 and 1889 increasing to three members until 1894, with each elector being able to vote for as many candidates as there were vacancies.^[1][2][3]

1892 map of Bourke electoral district

History

Bourke was created in 1880, one of 23 new districts,^[a] established under the Electoral Act 1880 (NSW)^[4] which was the first major redistribution since 1858.^[5] The district was formed from parts of The Bogan, Balranald and included the major towns of Bourke and Cobar. It included the pastoral district of Warrego as well as parts of the pastoral districts of Bligh, Wellington and Albert.^[4] It did not include any part of the Bourke County which was in The Murrumbidgee. Bourke was a key agricultural trading hub, owing to its position as a port on the Darling River,^[6] while Cobar's economy was centered around copper mining.^[7]

At its establishment in 1880 Bourke had the largest number of enrolled voters per seat with 3,478 voters returning a single member,^[8] compared with the state average of 1,549 for a country seat and 2,361 for an urban one,^[5] The Electoral Act 1880^[4] provided that a district would return a second member if the electoral roll reached 3,000, a third member upon reaching 5,000 and a fourth member on reaching 8,000.^[5] Bourke returned a second member from the 1882 election,^[9] and a third member from the 1889 election.^[10]

When multi-member constituencies were abolished in 1894,^[11] Bourke was reduced in size and parts were given to the new districts of Cobar and The Barwon.^[12]

The district was abolished in 1904 as a result of the 1903 New South Wales referendum, which reduced the number of members of the Legislative Assembly from 125 to 90.^[13] Bourke was absorbed by the new district of The Darling, along with parts of The Barwon and Wilcannia.^[14]

Members for Bourke

(1880–1882, 1 member)
Member		Party	Term
	Russell Barton	None	1880–1882
(1882–1889, 2 members)
Member		Party	Term	Member		Party	Term
	Russell Barton	None	1882–1886		Richard Machattie	None	1882–1885
					William Sawers	None	1885–1886
	Thomas Waddell	Free Trade	1887–1889		Alexander Wilson	Free Trade	1887–1889
(1889–1894, 3 members)
Member		Party	Term	Member		Party	Term	Member		Party	Term
	Thomas Waddell	Protectionist	1889–1891		William Willis	Protectionist	1889–1894		William Davis	Protectionist	1889–1891
	James Howe	Protectionist	1891–1891						Hugh Langwell	Independent Labor	1891–1894
	Thomas Waddell	Protectionist	1891–1894
(1894–1904, 1 member)
Member		Party	Term
	Edward Millen	Free Trade	1894–1898
	William Davis	Protectionist	1898–1901
		Progressive	1901–1904

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Bourke

1901 New South Wales state election: Bourke ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive	William Davis	unopposed
	Progressive hold

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 1901 New South Wales state election § Bourke.[edit]

Notes

1. The other new districts were Albury, Balmain, Boorowa, Durham, Forbes, Glen Innes, Gloucester, Grafton, Grenfell, Gundagai, Gunnedah, The Hastings and Manning, Inverell, The Macleay, Molong, The Namoi, Redfern, The Richmond, South Sydney, Tamworth, Tumut, Wentworth and Young.