The Division of Leichhardt 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 first proclaimed in 1949. It is one of Australia's largest electorates, covering an area stretching from Cairns to Cape York

Cape York Peninsula

Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...

 and the Torres Strait

Torres Strait

The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...

, including the Torres Strait Islands

Torres Strait Islands

The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands which lie in Torres Strait, the waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea but Torres Strait Island known and Recognize as Nyumaria.The islands are mostly part of...

.

About the electorate

The division is named after Ludwig Leichhardt

Ludwig Leichhardt

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a Prussian explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.-Early life:...

, an explorer and scientist.

Most of the electorate is almost uninhabited except for small Aboriginal communities, but the extreme southeast, consisting of the northern half of the Wet Tropics, with rich volcanic soils instead of the extraordinarily infertile lateritic sands and gravels of Cape York proper, is quite densely populated and includes urban Cairns. There are small, intensive sugar cane, banana

Banana

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

 and mango

Mango

The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...

 farms in this region, though they are prone to damage from drought

Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...

s and cyclones

Tropical cyclone

A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...

.

As of the 2010 Australian federal election, the electorate of Leichhardt

Leichhardt

Leichhardt may refer to:* Division of Leichhardt, electoral District for the Australian House of Representatives* Leichhardt Highway, a highway of Queensland, Australia* Leichhardt, New South Wales, inner-western suburb of Sydney, Australia...

 is no longer a bellwether

Bellwether

A bellwether is any entity in a given arena that serves to create or influence trends or to presage future happenings.The term is derived from the Middle English bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram leading his flock of sheep.The movements of...

 seat. It was a bellwether seat from the election of 1972 to 2010.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Tom Gilmore Tom Gilmore, senior Thomas Vernon "Tom" Gilmore was an Australian politician. Born in Wolfram, Queensland, he was educated at state schools before becoming a sugarcane and tobacco grower at Babinda. He served in the military 1942–47...	Country	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
	Henry Bruce	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... –1958
	Bill Fulton	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...	1958 Australian federal election, 1958 Federal elections were held in Australia on 22 November 1958. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 32 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election... –1975
	David Thomson David Thomson (Australian politician) David Scott Thomson is a former Australian politician. He was the National Country Party member for the House of Representatives seat of Leichhardt from the 1975 election until his defeat by John Gayler at the 1983 election...	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.... –1983
	John Gayler John Gayler John Gayler was an Australian politician. Born in Toowoomba, Queensland, he was a solicitor before entering politics. In 1983, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Leichhardt. He held the seat until his retirement in 1993.-References:...	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...	1983 Australian federal election, 1983 Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election, following a double dissolution... –1993
	Peter Dodd Peter Dodd Peter George Dodd was an Australian politician. Born in Sydney, he was a solicitor and trade union official before entering politics. In 1993, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for the Queensland seat of Leichhardt. He held the seat until his defeat in...	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
	Warren Entsch Warren Entsch Warren George Entsch is an Australian politician currently serving as a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Leichhardt in Queensland...	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...	1996–2007
	Jim Turnour Jim Turnour James Pearce "Jim" Turnour was the Australian Labor Party MP for the division of Leichhardt. He was first elected in the 2007 federal election...	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...	2007–2010
	Warren Entsch Warren Entsch Warren George Entsch is an Australian politician currently serving as a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Leichhardt in Queensland...	Liberal National	2010–present

Election results