Division of Cowper

The Division of Cowper is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.

Cowper
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Cowper in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election.
Created1901
MPPat Conaghan
PartyNationals
NamesakeSir Charles Cowper
Electors124,507 (2019)
Area7,296 km2 (2,817.0 sq mi)
DemographicRural

History
Sir Charles Cowper, the division's namesake

The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 65 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named after Sir Charles Cowper, an early Premier of New South Wales.[1]

Except for one brief break, the seat has been held by the National Party (previously known as the Country Party) and its predecessors since 1919.[1] Its most prominent member has been Sir Earle Page, former leader of the Country Party and interim Prime Minister of Australia in 1939. He represented Cowper from 1919 to 1961, longer than any other MP who represented one seat for his entire career. It has usually been a fairly safe National Party seat, and became more so when its more urbanised area (including Page's hometown of Grafton) was shifted to the newly created Division of Page in 1984.

The division is located on the north coast of New South Wales, and on its current boundaries takes in the towns of Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Macksville and Nambucca Heads.

In February 2016, New South Wales federal electoral districts were redistributed. The northern parts of Cowper, from Sapphire Beach to Red Rock were shifted to the division of Page. Since the 2019 election, the member for Cowper has been Pat Conaghan, representing the National Party of Australia.

Members
Image Member Party Term Notes
  Francis Clarke
(1857–1939)		 Protectionist 30 March 1901 –
16 December 1903		 Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Hastings and Macleay. Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Deakin. Lost seat
  Henry Lee
(1856–1927)		 Free Trade 16 December 1903 –
1906		 Lost seat
  Anti-Socialist 1906 –
12 December 1906
  John Thomson
(1862–1934)		 Protectionist 12 December 1906 –
26 May 1909		 Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Manning. Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Hughes. Lost seat
  Commonwealth Liberal 26 May 1909 –
17 February 1917
  Nationalist 17 February 1917 –
13 December 1919
  (Sir) Earle Page
(1880–1961)		 Farmers and Settlers' Association 13 December 1919 –
22 January 1920		 Served as minister under Bruce, Lyons, Menzies and Fadden. Served as Prime Minister in 1939. Lost seat
  Country 22 January 1920 –
9 December 1961
  Frank McGuren
(1909–1990)		 Labor 9 December 1961 –
30 November 1963		 Lost seat
  Ian Robinson
(1925–2017)		 Country 30 November 1963 –
2 May 1975		 Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Casino. Transferred to the Division of Page
  National Country 2 May 1975 –
16 October 1982
  Nationals 16 October 1982 –
1 December 1984
  Garry Nehl
(1934–)		 Nationals 1 December 1984 –
8 October 2001		 Retired
  Luke Hartsuyker
(1959–)		 Nationals 10 November 2001 –
11 April 2019		 Served as minister under Turnbull. Retired
  Pat Conaghan
(1971–)		 Nationals 18 May 2019 –
present		 Incumbent

Election results
Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Cowper
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2019 Australian federal election in New South Wales § Cowper[edit]
2019 Australian federal election: Cowper[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
National Pat Conaghan 49,668 47.07 +1.10
Independent Rob Oakeshott 25,847 24.49 −1.80
Labor Andrew Woodward 14,551 13.79 +0.18
Greens Lauren Edwards 6,264 5.94 −0.73
United Australia Alexander Stewart 3,188 3.02 +3.02
Christian Democrats Ruth Meads 2,383 2.26 −1.16
Animal Justice Kellie Pearce 2,176 2.06 +2.06
Independent Allan Green 1,451 1.37 +1.37
Total formal votes 105,528 92.22 −2.63
Informal votes 8,898 7.78 +2.63
Turnout 114,426 92.03 −0.20
Two-party-preferred result
National Pat Conaghan 65,302 61.88 −0.70
Labor Andrew Woodward 40,266 38.12 +0.70
Two-candidate-preferred result
National Pat Conaghan 59,932 56.79 +2.23
Independent Rob Oakeshott 45,596 43.21 −2.23
National hold Swing+2.23
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References
  1. Profile of the Electoral Division of Cowper, Australian Electoral Commission, retrieved 9 May 2012
  2. Cowper, NSW, Tally Room 2019, Australian Electoral Commission.


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