The Division of Capricornia is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the Tropic of Capricorn

Tropic of Capricorn

The Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, marks the most southerly latitude on the Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent.Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five...

, which runs through the Division. It is located on the central Queensland coast and its centre has always been the city of Rockhampton

Rockhampton, Queensland

Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....

. On its current boundaries it also includes the towns of Mount Morgan

Mount Morgan, Queensland

Mount Morgan is a town located in central Queensland, Australia. It is situated on the Dee River, 38 kilometres south of the city of Rockhampton, and is 680 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane. The Burnett Highway passes through the town...

 and Yeppoon

Yeppoon, Queensland

Yeppoon is a coastal resort town situated in Central Queensland, Australia. Located on Keppel Bay, at the 2006 census, Yeppoon had a population of 13,284.-Geography:...

.

The first election saw Alexander Paterson, with 51% of votes, narrowly elected over the ALP

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...

 candidate Wallace Nelson

Wallace Nelson

Wallace Alexander Nelson was a Western Australian politician. He represented the electorate of Hannans from 1904 to 1905 in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly...

. For most of its subsequent history it has been a fairly safe seat for the ALP.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Alexander Paterson	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	1901–1903
	David Thomson	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...	1903–1906
	Edward Archer Edward Archer Edward Walker Archer was an Australian politician.Archer gained election to the Australian House of Representatives electoral Division of Capricornia on an Anti-Socialist platform on 12 December 1906, serving until 13 April 1910.Later, Archer switched to state politics, serving as member for the...	Anti-Socialist	1906–1909
		Commonwealth Liberal Commonwealth Liberal Party The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....	1909–1910
	William Higgs William Higgs William Guy Higgs was an Australian politician.William Higgs was born on 18 January 1862 at Wingham, New South Wales, the son of a Cornish storekeeper, William Guy Higgs....	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...	1910 Australian federal election, 1910 Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 April 1910. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election... –1920
		Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	1920–1920
		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...	1920–1922
	Frank Forde Frank Forde Francis Michael Forde PC was an Australian politician and the 15th Prime Minister of Australia. He was the shortest serving Prime Minister in Australia's history, being in office for only eight days.-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...	1922 Australian federal election, 1922 Federal elections were held in Australia on 16 December 1922. 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 lost its majority... –1946
	Charles Davidson Charles Davidson Sir Charles William Davidson KBE was an Australian politician. He attended Townsville Grammar School in 1912 and 1913. He served in World War I and on his return was a dairy farmer and later grew sugar cane. During World War II, he served in the 42nd Battalion of the Australian Army in New...	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...	1946 Australian federal election, 1946 Federal elections were held in Australia on 28 September 1946. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election... –1949
	Henry Pearce Henry Pearce (Australian politician) Henry George Pearce was an Australian politician. Born in Rockhampton, Queensland, he attended state schools before becoming a retail manager, and then a full time secretary with the Central Queensland Red Cross. In 1949, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Liberal...	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... –1961
	George Gray George Gray (Australian politician) -Early life:Gray claimed to have been born at Hay, New South Wales on 2 October 1903 to bank manager George Henry Gray and his wife Priscilla Maud Kerr. He grew up near Orange and was educated at Burwood Public School in Sydney, then becoming a grocer's assistant at Thornleigh...	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...	1961 Australian federal election, 1961 Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 December 1961. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 31 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election... –1967
	Doug Everingham Doug Everingham Douglas Nixon "Doug" Everingham is a former Australian politician and minister.Everingham graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Sydney in 1946 and worked in public and private hospitals and as a family doctor.Everingham was elected the Australian Labor Party...	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...	1967–1975
	Colin Carige Colin Carige Colin Lawrence Carige, , Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1975 to 1977, representing the Division of Capricornia. He held the seat for the National Country Party....	National National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...	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.... –1977
	Doug Everingham Doug Everingham Douglas Nixon "Doug" Everingham is a former Australian politician and minister.Everingham graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Sydney in 1946 and worked in public and private hospitals and as a family doctor.Everingham was elected the Australian Labor Party...	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...	1977 Australian federal election, 1977 Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1977. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election.... –1984
	Keith Wright Keith Wright (Australian politician) Keith Webb Wright is a former Australian politician and convicted rapist. Born in Toowoomba, Queensland, he was educated at the University of Queensland and Kelvin Grove Teachers College in Brisbane before becoming a teacher and author....	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...	1984–1993
		Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	1993–1993
	Marjorie Henzell Marjorie Henzell Marjorie Madeline Henzell, , Australian politician.Henzell was elected to represent the Division of Capricornia in the Australian House of Representatives, and served as the member from 13 March 1993 until 2 March 1996. Henzell was the first woman elected to represent this electorate, and held the...	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...	1993–1996
	Paul Marek Paul Marek Paul Marek, , Australian politician, was the National Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2 March 1996 until 3 October 1998, representing the Division of Capricornia, Queensland.-References:...	National National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...	1996–1998
	Kirsten Livermore Kirsten Livermore Kirsten Fiona Livermore , Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 1998, representing the Division of Capricornia, Queensland....	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...	1998–present

Election results