Division of Curtin

Curtin Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Curtin in Western Australia, as of the 2016 federal election.
Created	1949
MP	Julie Bishop
Party	Liberal
Namesake	John Curtin
Electors	100,365 (2019)
Area	98 km2 (37.8 sq mi)
Demographic	Inner Metropolitan

The Division of Curtin is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia.

History

John Curtin, the division's namesake

The division was created in 1949 and is named for John Curtin, who was Prime Minister of Australia from 1941 to 1945. Prior to its creation, much of this area was part of the Division of Fremantle, which Curtin represented for most of the time from 1928 to 1945. It is located in the wealthy beachside suburbs of Perth, including Claremont, Cottesloe, Mosman Park, Nedlands, Subiaco and Swanbourne.

It was created as a notional Labor seat. However, this area was located in naturally Liberal territory, and the Liberals won it resoundingly as part of their massive victory in the 1949 election, turning it into a safe Liberal seat in one stroke. It has been held comfortably by either a Liberal or a conservative independent since. The only time it was out of Liberal hands came when Allan Rocher won it in 1996 after losing his Liberal endorsement. Rocher was defeated at the 1998 election, when current member Julie Bishop reclaimed it for the Liberals.

Its most prominent member has been Paul Hasluck, who was a senior Cabinet minister in the Menzies and Holt governments and then Governor-General of Australia after leaving politics. Other prominent members include Victor Garland, a minister in the McMahon and Fraser governments, and Bishop, the former Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party (the first woman to hold this role) and a minister in the Howard, Abbott, and Turnbull governments. With a two-party preferred margin as of the 2016 election of 20.7%, it is currently the safest federal seat in Western Australia and the second-safest Coalition seat in metropolitan Australia.

Geography

Curtin covers an area west of Perth, bordered by the Indian Ocean in the west and the Swan River in the south. The suburbs include:

• Churchlands
• City Beach
• Claremont
• Cottesloe
• Crawley
• Daglish
• Dalkeith
• Doubleview
• Floreat
• Glendalough
• Herdsman
• Innaloo
• Jolimont
• Karrakatta
• Karrinyup (part)
• Mount Claremont
• Mosman Park
• Osborne Park (part)
• Nedlands
• Peppermint Grove
• Scarborough (part)
• Shenton Park
• Swanbourne
• Subiaco
• West Leederville
• Wembley
• Wembley Downs
• Woodlands

Members

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Paul Hasluck (1905–1993)	Liberal	10 December 1949 – 12 February 1969	Served as minister under Menzies, Holt, McEwen and Gorton. Resigned in order to become Governor-General of Australia
		Victor Garland (1934–)	Liberal	19 April 1969 – 22 January 1981	Served as minister under McMahon and Fraser. Resigned in order to become the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
		Allan Rocher (1936–2016)	Liberal	21 February 1981 – 7 August 1995	Previously a member of the Senate. Lost seat
			Independent	7 August 1995 – 3 October 1998
		Julie Bishop (1956–)	Liberal	3 October 1998 – present	Deputy Liberal Leader 2007-18. Served as minister under Howard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison. Incumbent

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Curtin

External links

• Division of Curtin - Australian Electoral Commission