Division of Corangamite

Corangamite Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Corangamite in Victoria, as of the 2019 federal election.
Created	1901
MP	Libby Coker
Party	Labor
Namesake	Lake Corangamite
Electors	111,638 (2019)
Area	5,441 km2 (2,100.8 sq mi)
Demographic	Provincial

The Division of Corangamite is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. It is named for Lake Corangamite, although the lake no longer falls within the division's boundaries.

The division is located in the Western district of Victoria covering 5,441 square kilometres (2,101 sq mi). It is a mixed electorate, including the growing surf coast area, the southern suburbs of Geelong as well as rural areas to the west. Starting at Queenscliff in the east, the electorate takes in the entire Bellarine Peninsula, then runs down the surf coast to include Aireys Inlet, Anglesea, Apollo Bay, Barwon Heads, Lorne, Ocean Grove, Wye River and Torquay. The electorate then extends north into the Golden Plains Shire, where it includes the towns of Bannockburn, Lethbridge and part of Meredith.^[1]

Since the 2019 federal election, the current Member for Corangamite is Libby Coker, a member of the Australian Labor Party.

History[]

Lake Corangamite (in the background), the division's namesake

Until the 1930s it was usually a marginal seat which leaned toward the conservative parties, but was won by the Australian Labor Party during high-tide elections. In 1918, it was the first seat won by what would become the Country Party.

It was held by the Liberals (and their immediate predecessor, the United Australia Party) without interruption from 1934 to 2007. A reasonably safe seat for most of the time from the 1950s to the 1990s, it became increasingly less safe from 1998 onward as successive redistributions pushed it further into Geelong. This resulted in the seat falling to Darren Cheeseman, the Labor candidate, by less than one percent at the 2007 federal election for the first time since 1929. Cheeseman was only the third Labor member ever to win the seat. Labor retained the seat in 2010 election against former journalist Sarah Henderson, making Cheeseman the first Labor MP to win re-election in the seat. Henderson sought a rematch in 2013, and won.

Henderson retained her seat in 2016 but a redistribution completed prior to the 2019 election pushed the seat further into Geelong. This resulted in the seat becoming notionally Labor, albeit with a very narrow margin. As Henderson failed to gain a swing towards her at the election, she lost the seat to the Labor candidate, Libby Coker. Coker's win in 2019 was historically significant, as it marked the first time that the non-Labor parties have been in government without holding Corangamite.

Prominent members include James Scullin, who later became the Prime Minister of Australia in 1929-32; Fraser Government Minister Tony Street, and longtime Liberal backbencher Stewart McArthur.^[2]

In 2018, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) published its report on the proposed redistribution of Victoria's federal divisions. The report proposed renaming Corangamite to Cox, after swimming instructor May Cox. Incumbent MP Sarah Henderson said the new name "has already prompted some ridicule on social media".^[3] In the commission's final determination, the decision was made to retain the name of Corangamite.^[4] In 2021, the AEC again proposed to rename Corangamite, this time to Tucker after Aboriginal activist Margaret Tucker, however in the final determination, the renaming proposal was also abandoned.^[5]

In July 2021, City of Greater Geelong Mayor and Bellairne Ward Councillor Stephanie Asher was preselected as the Liberal candidate for Corangamite. ^[6]

Members[]

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Chester Manifold (1852–1932)	Protectionist	29 March 1901 – 23 November 1903	Retired
		Gratton Wilson (1863–1948)	Free Trade	16 December 1903 – 1906	Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Villiers and Heytesbury. Lost seat
			Anti-Socialist	1906 – 26 May 1909
			Commonwealth Liberal	26 May 1909 – 13 April 1910
		James Scullin (1876–1953)	Labor	13 April 1910 – 31 May 1913	Lost seat. Later elected to the Division of Yarra in 1922
		Chester Manifold (1852–1932)	Commonwealth Liberal	31 May 1913 – 17 February 1917	Died in office
			Nationalist	17 February 1917 – 30 October 1918
		William Gibson (1869–1955)	Victorian Farmers' Union	14 December 1918 – 22 January 1920	Served as minister under Bruce. Lost seat
			Country	22 January 1920 – 12 October 1929
		Richard Crouch (1868–1949)	Labor	12 October 1929 – 19 December 1931	Previously held the Division of Corio. Lost seat
		William Gibson (1869–1955)	Country	19 December 1931 – 7 August 1934	Transferred to the Senate
		Geoffrey Street (1894–1940)	United Australia	15 September 1934 – 13 August 1940	Served as minister under Lyons, Page and Menzies. Died in office. Son is Tony Street
		Allan McDonald (1888–1953)	United Australia	21 September 1940 – 21 February 1945	Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Polwarth. Served as minister under Menzies and Fadden. Died in office
			Liberal	21 February 1945 – 10 June 1953
		Dan Mackinnon (1903–1983)	Liberal	29 August 1953 – 31 October 1966	Previously held the Division of Wannon. Retired
		Tony Street (1926–)	Liberal	26 November 1966 – 18 January 1984	Served as minister under Fraser. Resigned in order to retire from politics. Father was Geoffrey Street
		Stewart McArthur (1937–)	Liberal	18 February 1984 – 24 November 2007	Lost seat
		Darren Cheeseman (1976–)	Labor	24 November 2007 – 7 September 2013	Lost seat. Later elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of South Barwon in 2018
		Sarah Henderson (1964–)	Liberal	7 September 2013 – 18 May 2019	Lost seat. Later appointed to the Senate in 2019
		Libby Coker (1962–)	Labor	18 May 2019 – present	Incumbent

Election results[]

References[]

External links[]

• Division of Corangamite - Australian Electoral Commission
• https://web.archive.org/web/20101007120814/http://vtr.aec.gov.au/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-15508-207.htm

Coordinates: 38°14′35″S 143°49′16″E / 38.243°S 143.821°E / -38.243; 143.821