Electoral district of Clarence

For the abolished district in Tasmania, see Electoral district of Clarence (Tasmania).

Clarence is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales.

Clarence New South Wales—Legislative Assembly
Interactive map of district boundaries from the 2023 state election
State	New South Wales
Dates current	1859–1920 1927–present
MP	Richie Williamson
Party	The Nationals
Namesake	Clarence River
Electors	57,265 (2023)
Area	13,494.54 km2 (5,210.3 sq mi)
Demographic	Rural
Electorates around Clarence: Lismore Lismore Ballina Northern Tablelands Clarence Pacific Ocean Northern Tablelands Oxley Pacific Ocean

It includes all of the Clarence Valley Council including Grafton, Maclean, Yamba, Illuka, Junction Hill, Ulmarra, Coutts Crossing and Glenreagh, as well as all of the Richmond Valley Council including Casino, Coraki, Woodburn, Evans Head and Tatham.^[1]

History

Clarence was created in 1859, replacing the New South Wales part of Clarence and Darling Downs. With the introduction of proportional representation in 1920, it was absorbed into Byron along with Lismore. It was recreated in 1927.

It has historically been a safe National seat, having been held by that party for all but seven years in its current incarnation. However, Labor has won it at high-tide elections.

Members for Clarence

First incarnation (1859–1920)
Member		Party	Term
	Clark Irving [2]	None	1859–1864
	John Laycock [3]	None	1864–1866
	John Robertson [4]	None	1866–1869
	Thomas Bawden [5]	None	1869–1880
	Charles Fawcett [6]	None	1880–1880
	John Purves [7]	None	1880–1887
	John McFarlane [8]	Protectionist	1887–1901
		Progressive	1901–1907
		Liberal Reform	1907–1915
	William Zuill [9]	Liberal Reform	1915–1917
		Nationalist	1917–1920
Second incarnation (1927–present)
Member		Party	Term
	Alfred Pollack [10]	Country	1927–1931
	Alfred Henry [11]	Country	1931–1938
	Cecil Wingfield [12]	Country	1938–1955
	Bill Weiley [13]	Country	1955–1971
	Matt Singleton [14]	Country	1971–1981
	Don Day [15]	Labor	1981–1984
	Ian Causley [16]	National	1984–1996
	Harry Woods [17]	Labor	1996–2003
	Steve Cansdell [18]	National	2003–2011
	Chris Gulaptis [19]	National	2011–2023
	Richie Williamson	National	2023–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Clarence

2023 New South Wales state election: Clarence^[20][21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	Richie Williamson	24,247	49.6	+3.0
	Labor	Leon Ankersmit	10,700	21.9	+0.9
	Greens	Greg Clancy	3,739	7.6	−0.3
	Legalise Cannabis	Mark Rayner	3,708	7.6	+7.6
	Independent	Debrah Novak	3,433	7.0	+7.0
	Independent	Nicki Levi	1,320	2.7	+2.7
	Sustainable Australia	George Keller	1,061	2.2	+0.6
	Independent Indigenous	Brett Duroux	725	1.5	+1.5
Total formal votes			48,933	96.2	−0.5
Informal votes			1,911	3.8	+0.5
Turnout			50,844	88.8	−0.7
Two-party-preferred result
	National	Richie Williamson	26,475	64.3	−0.2
	Labor	Leon Ankersmit	14,731	35.7	+0.2
	National hold		Swing	−0.2

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2023 New South Wales state election (Legislative Assembly) § Clarence.[edit]