The Division of Ballarat (Ballaarat until 1977) is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the provincial city of Ballarat.

At various times in its existence it has included towns such as Ararat

Ararat, Victoria

Ararat is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, about west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and the Wimmera...

, Daylesford

Daylesford, Victoria

Daylesford is a town located in the Shire of Hepburn, Victoria, Australia. It is a former goldmining town about 115 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. At the 2006 census, Daylesford had a population of 3,073...

, Maryborough

Maryborough, Victoria

-Education:Maryborough has three schools:*Highview Christian Community College*Maryborough Education Centre Years Prep–12*St Augustine's Primary School Grades Prep–6-Music:...

, and Stawell

Stawell, Victoria

Stawell , is a town in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia. The town is located in Shire of Northern Grampians Local Government Area, west-north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Stawell had a population of 6,035....

. The division currently takes in the regional City of Ballarat and the smaller towns of Bacchus Marsh

Bacchus Marsh, Victoria

Bacchus Marsh is an urban centre and suburban locality in Victoria, Australia located approximately west of Melbourne and west of Melton. The population of the urban area is estimated at over 17,000 people, while the central locality is home to 5,566 people...

, Ballan

Ballan, Victoria

Ballan is a small town in the state of Victoria, Australia located on the Werribee River north west of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Ballan had a population of 1,807.It is the main administrative centre for the Shire of Moorabool Local Government Area....

, Daylesford

Daylesford, Victoria

Daylesford is a town located in the Shire of Hepburn, Victoria, Australia. It is a former goldmining town about 115 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. At the 2006 census, Daylesford had a population of 3,073...

, Creswick

Creswick, Victoria

Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 129 km northwest of Melbourne, in Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census, Creswick had a population of 2,485...

, Trentham

Trentham, Victoria

Trentham is a small town in the Shire of Hepburn and Shire of Moorabool Local government area, Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Trentham had a population of 629.Located at an altitude of , the town is north-west of Melbourne.-History:...

 and Clunes

Clunes, Victoria

Clunes is a town in Victoria, Australia, located 36 kilometres north of Ballarat, in the Shire of Hepburn. At the 2006 census it had a population of 1,026.- History :...

.

Ballarat has always been a marginal seat, changing hands at intervals between the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 and the non-Labor parties. Its most prominent member has been Alfred Deakin

Alfred Deakin

Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...

, who was Prime Minister of Australia

Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...

 three times. Liberal

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 senator Michael Ronaldson

Michael Ronaldson

Michael John Clyde Ronaldson is an Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since July 2005, representing the state of Victoria....

 was the grandson of former member Archibald Fisken

Archibald Fisken

Archibald Clyde Wanliss Fisken CMG, OBE was an Australian politician. His grandson is Liberal Senator Michael Ronaldson.-Early life:...

. http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/1990/1990repsvic.txt

Ballarat also holds the title of closest seat result. The Nationalist MP won by a single vote in 1919.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...	Protectionist Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...	1901–1909
		Commonwealth Liberal Commonwealth Liberal Party The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....	1909–1913
	Charles McGrath Charles McGrath David Charles McGrath was an Australian politician. Originally a member of the Australian Labor Party, he joined Joseph Lyons in the split that led to the formation of the United Australia Party.-Early life:...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1913 Australian federal election, 1913 Federal elections were held in Australia on 31 May 1913. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Andrew Fisher was defeated by the opposition Commonwealth Liberal... –1919
	Edwin Kerby Edwin Kerby Edwin Thomas John Kerby was an Australian politician. Born in Ballarat, Victoria, he attended Granville College before becoming a mining engineer and electrical contractor. He served in World War I from 1914 to 1919...	Nationalist Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...	1919 Australian federal election, 1919 Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1919. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes defeated the opposition Australian... –1920
	Charles McGrath Charles McGrath David Charles McGrath was an Australian politician. Originally a member of the Australian Labor Party, he joined Joseph Lyons in the split that led to the formation of the United Australia Party.-Early life:...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1920–1931
		United Australia United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...	1931 Australian federal election, 1931 Federal elections were held in Australia on 19 December 1931. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election... –1934
	Archibald Fisken Archibald Fisken Archibald Clyde Wanliss Fisken CMG, OBE was an Australian politician. His grandson is Liberal Senator Michael Ronaldson.-Early life:...	United Australia United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...	1934 Australian federal election, 1934 Federal elections were held in Australia on 15 September 1934. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent United Australia Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons with coalition partner the Country Party led... –1937
	Reg Pollard Reg Pollard Reginald Thomas Pollard was an Australian politician.Pollard was born in Castlemaine, Victoria and educated at Woodend State School, West Melbourne Technical School and Workingmen's College. He worked as an agricultural labourer near Werribee and from 1912 to 1915 as a fitter in Melbourne...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1937 Australian federal election, 1937 Federal elections were held in Australia on 23 October 1937. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election... –1949
	Alan Pittard Alan Pittard Alan Crocker Pittard, OBE was an Australian politician. Born in Ballarat, Victoria, he attended Ballarat Grammar School before becoming a shoe retailer. He served on Ballarat City Council before serving in the military 1939-45. In 1949, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1949 Australian federal election, 1949 Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced... –1951
	Robert Joshua Robert Joshua Robert Joshua, MC was an Australian politician, and a key figure in the 1955 split in the Australian Labor Party which led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party and, subsequently, the Democratic Labor Party.-Early life:Joshua was born at Prahran, Victoria, to Edward Cecil Joshua, a...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1951 Australian federal election, 1951 Federal elections were held in Australia on 28 April 1951. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution called after the Senate rejected the Commonwealth Bank Bill... –1955
		Labor (Anti-Communist) Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) The Australian Labor Party was the name initially used by the right-wing group which split away from the Australian Labor Party in 1955, and which later became the Democratic Labor Party in 1957....	1955–1955
	Dudley Erwin Dudley Erwin Dudley Erwin was an Australian politician and briefly Minister for Air.During World War II, Erwin served as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Australian Air Force as a navigator in No. 31 Squadron and was involved in the South West Pacific. Prior to enter politics, he was an electrical radio...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1955 Australian federal election, 1955 Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1955. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 30 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies with coalition partner the Country Party... –1975
	Jim Short Jim Short (Australian politician) James Robert "Jim" Short is an Australian politician and diplomat.Born in Shepparton, Victoria, he attended the University of Melbourne before becoming a public servant with the Treasury Department...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1975 Australian federal election, 1975 Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election following a double dissolution of both Houses.... –1980
	John Mildren John Mildren John Barry Mildren was an Australian politician. Born in Colac, Victoria, he attended the University of Melbourne and then Texas A&M University. He became a teacher, later rising to senior lecturer and head of department at Ballarat College of Advanced Education...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1980 Australian federal election, 1980 Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 October 1980. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Malcolm Fraser with coalition partner the National Country Party led by Doug... –1990
	Michael Ronaldson Michael Ronaldson Michael John Clyde Ronaldson is an Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since July 2005, representing the state of Victoria....	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1990–2001
	Catherine King	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	2001–present

Election results