Electoral district of Clarence

Clarence New South Wales—Legislative Assembly
State	New South Wales
Dates current	1859–1920 1927–present
MP	Chris Gulaptis
Party	The Nationals
Area	13,494.54 km^2 (5,210.3 sq mi)

Clarence is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales.

It includes all of the Clarence Valley Council including Grafton, Maclean, Yamba, Illuka, Junction Hill, Ulmarra, Coutts Crossing and Glenreagh, as well as all of the Richmond Valley Council including Casino, Coraki, Woodburn, Evans Head and Tatham.^[1]

History

Clarence was created in 1859, replacing Clarence and Darling Downs. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation in 1920, it was absorbed into Byron along with Lismore. In 1927, it was recreated.

It has historically been a safe National seat, having been held by that party for all but seven years in its current incarnation. However, Labor has won it at high-tide elections.

Members for Clarence

First incarnation (1859–1920)
Member		Party	Term
	Clark Irving	None	1859–1864
	John Laycock	None	1864–1866
	John Robertson	None	1866–1869
	Thomas Bawden	None	1869–1880
	Charles Fawcett	None	1880–1880
	John Purves	None	1880–1887
	John McFarlane	Protectionist	1887–1901
		Progressive	1901–1907
		Liberal Reform	1907–1915
	William Zuill	Liberal Reform	1915–1917
		Nationalist	1917–1920
Second incarnation (1927–present)
Member		Party	Term
	Alfred Pollack	Country	1927–1931
	Alfred Henry	Country	1931–1938
	Cecil Wingfield	Country	1938–1955
	Bill Weiley	Country	1955–1971
	Matt Singleton	Country	1971–1981
	Don Day	Labor	1981–1984
	Ian Causley	National	1984–1996
	Harry Woods	Labor	1996–2003
	Steve Cansdell	National	2003–2011
	Chris Gulaptis	National	2011–present

Election results

New South Wales state election, 2015: Clarence^[2][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	National	Chris Gulaptis	23,799	50.4	−13.0
	Labor	Trent Gilbert	13,431	28.5	+18.5
	Greens	Janet Cavanaugh	4,308	9.1	+2.4
	Independent	Debrah Novak	2,202	4.7	+4.7
	Christian Democrats	Carol Ordish	1,143	2.4	+0.6
	Independent	Bryan Robins	1,041	2.2	+2.2
	Independent	Christine Robinson	833	1.8	+1.8
	No Land Tax	Joe Lopreiato	427	0.9	+0.9
Total formal votes			47,184	96.9	−0.7
Informal votes			1,520	3.1	+0.7
Turnout			48,704	89.7	+0.4
Two-party-preferred result
	National	Chris Gulaptis	25,082	59.7	−22.2
	Labor	Trent Gilbert	16,947	40.3	+22.2
	National hold		Swing	−22.2

References

1. "Clarence". New South Wales Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
2. State Electoral District of Clarence: First Preference Votes, NSWEC.
3. State Electoral District of Clarence: Distribution of Preferences, NSWEC.