Southern District was an electoral district for the Legislative Council of South Australia from 1882 until 1975. Prior to the passing of the Constitution Act Further Amendment Act 1881, the Legislative Council was 18 members elected by people from across the entire Province. From 1975, the Council returned to being elected from the entire state (the province had become a state of Australia in 1901).
At its creation in 1882, the Southern District consisted of seven electoral districts for the South Australian House of Assembly - Onkaparinga, Noarlunga, Mount Barker, Encounter Bay, Albert, Victoria and East Torrens.[1] It covered the area of the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu Peninsula and the south east of South Australia.
Members
editWhen created, the district was to elect six members to the Legislative Council which had been increased to 24 members, six from each of four districts. Transitional arrangements meant that members were only to be elected from the new districts as the terms of the existing members expired.[1] From 1891, all members of the Council were elected by districts. All Southern District seats were filled from the 1890 by-election.
The Constitution Act Amendment Act 1901 reduced the size of the parliament, and Southern District then elected four members from the area of new enlarged Assembly districts of Victoria and Albert, Alexandra and Murray which covered roughly the same area, but with variation in the Adelaide Hills.[2]
| Date of change | Member | Member | Member | Member | Member | Member |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 May 1885 | W. A. E. West-Erskine (resigned 1891) | Richard Chaffey Baker (re-elected 1891, retired 1897) | ||||
| 7 July 1885 by-election | Samuel Tomkinson (retired 14 Apr 1904) | |||||
| 12 May 1888 | James Garden Ramsay (died, vacancy declared 5 June 1890) | John Hannah Gordon (Resigned 16 December 1892) | ||||
| 28 June 1890 by-election | Friedrich Eduard Heinrich Wulf Krichauff (retired 1894) | |||||
| 23 May 1891 | Andrew Alexander Kirkpatrick | |||||
| 11 July 1891 by-election | John Lancelot Stirling (re-elected 1900, vacated by Act 1902) | |||||
| 15 April 1893 by-election | John Hannah Gordon (Filled the vacancy created by his own resignation? re-elected 1900, vacated by Act 1902) | |||||
| 19 May 1894 | Gregor McGregor (seated in federal parliament 1901) | Sir Edwin Thomas Smith (vacated by Act, 1902) | ||||
| 22 May 1897 | Alexander Wallace Sandford (vacated by Act 1902) | Sir Richard Chaffey Baker (seated in Federal parliament, 1901) | ||||
| 19 May 1900 | ||||||
| 8 June 1901 by-election | Alfred von Doussa | George Riddoch |
From the 1902 double dissolution election, most districts only elected 4 members, for staggered terms twice as long as those of the lower house. Legislative Council elections are held at the same time as House of Assembly elections.