Electoral district of Albert

Albert was a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Queensland which existed from 1887 to 1949 and 1959 to 2017.[1]

Albert
QueenslandLegislative Assembly
StateQueensland
Dates current1888–1950, 1960–2017
NamesakeAlbert River
Electors36,716 (2015)
Area235 km2 (90.7 sq mi)
Coordinates27°49′S 153°13′E / 27.817°S 153.217°E / -27.817; 153.217

Albert was named for the Albert River, which runs through the electorate and separates Logan City from City of Gold Coast. It was first created in a redistribution in 1887 ahead of the 1888 colonial election and continued to exist (with various boundary alterations) until 1949, when the Darlington and Southport electorates were created. In 1959, the electorate was established again. The 1971 and 1977 redistributions greatly reduced the area of the electorate and minor changes were made in 1991, including the loss of Carbrook in the north and coastal areas below Paradise Point in the south.[1]

Its consistently changing boundaries together with its existence in a high-growth area do not provide consistent political leanings over time, although it showed more inclination towards the Labor Party over time than any other Gold Coast seat.

The last Member for Albert, Mark Boothman, was first elected in the 2012 election.

Albert was removed in the 2017 electoral redistribution, its northern part being transferred into Logan and Macalister, its centre part transferred into Coomera, and its southern part transferred into the new electorate of Theodore.[2]

History

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Historically, the Gold Coast and Logan regions were sparsely populated agricultural areas,[3] and the Albert electorate covered the entire south-eastern corner of the state. Its representation broadly reflected the conservative leanings and rural interests of its population, and John Appel, who served in both the Second Kidston Ministry and Denham Ministry, participated in the formation of both the Queensland Farmers' Union from the rural caucus of the Liberal Party in 1915 and the subsequent Country Party in 1919.

The seat's boundaries evolved thus:[4]

It was split up in the 1949 redistribution ahead of the 1950 state election into Darlington, which included Redland, Logan, Beaudesert, Coomera, Jimboomba and Tamborine; and Southport which was limited to the Gold Coast and its hinterland.[4] Both seats remained safe for the Country Party; Plunkett opted to contest the seat of Darlington.

At the 1960 state election, the fast-growing Southport seat was split into Albert in the north and South Coast in the south.[4] Further urban growth pushed the seat progressively northwards.

Its boundaries, as at the 2009 election, took in mostly urban, semi-urban and industrial areas west of the Pacific Motorway extending from Mount Warren Park and Windaroo in southern Logan to Coomera and Oxenford in the outer northern Gold Coast.

Members for Albert

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First incarnation (1888–1950)
Member Party Term
  Thomas Plunkett Sr. Conservative 1888–1890
Ministerialist 1890–1896
Robert Collins Independent 1896–1899
Thomas Plunkett Sr. Opposition 1899–1903
Liberal 1903–1907
Kidstonites 1907–1908
John Appel Conservative 1908–1909
Liberal 1909–1915
Farmers' Union 1915–1917
National 1917–1919
Country 1919–1922
United 1922–1925
CPNP 1925–1929
Thomas Flood Plunkett CPNP 1929–1936
Country 1936–1950
Second incarnation (1960–2017)
Member Party Term
Cec Carey Country 1960–1969
Bill Heatley Liberal 1970–1971
Bill D'Arcy Labor 1972–1974
Ivan Gibbs National 1974–1989
John Szczerbanik Labor 1989–1995
Bill Baumann National 1995–2001
Margaret Keech Labor 2001–2012
Mark Boothman Liberal National 2012–2017

Election results

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Representatives of Queensland State Electorates 1860-2017" (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2012-2017: The 55th Parliament. Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  2. ^ Queensland Redistribution Commission (26 May 2017). "Determination of Queensland's Legislative Assembly Electoral Districts" (PDF). Queensland Government Gazette. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  3. ^ In 1933, the census counted the following populations in local government areas: Coolangatta, 1,828; Southport, 4,218; Beaudesert, 4,915; Beenleigh, 2,322; Cleveland, 2,398; Coomera, 1,152; Nerang, 3,730; Tamborine, 2,673; Tingalpa, 1,812; Waterford, 1,052. In the ensuing 15 years, the region described above only gained another 10,000 people. Source: Queensland Year Book, 1949, p.42.
  4. ^ a b c Queensland Government Gazettes: 1909, p.553; 1915, p.1104; 1929, p.1005; 1932, p.1517; 1947, p.927; 1950; p.1182 and 1187; 1960, p.1911 and 1919. Maps in Waterson, D.B. Biographical register of the Queensland Parliament, 1930-1980 Canberra: ANU Press (1982).
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