Division of Boothby

Boothby Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Boothby in South Australia, as of the 2016 federal election.
Created	1903
MP	Nicolle Flint
Party	Liberal
Namesake	William Boothby
Electors	107,323 (2016)
Area	130 km2 (50.2 sq mi)
Demographic	Outer Metropolitan

The Division of Boothby is an Australian electoral division in South Australia. The division was one of the seven established when the former Division of South Australia was redistributed on 2 October 1903 and is named for William Boothby (1829–1903), the Returning Officer for the first federal election.

The 130 km² seat currently extends from Clarence Gardens and Urrbrae in the north to Marino and part of Happy Valley in the south, including the suburbs of Aberfoyle Park, Belair, Blackwood, Brighton, Daw Park, Eden Hills, Flagstaff Hill, Marion, Mitcham, Seacliff, St Marys and Panorama.

Before 1949 and the creation of the Division of Sturt, Boothby covered most of the southern and eastern suburbs of Adelaide, and changed hands several times between the Liberal Party of Australia (and its predecessors) and the Australian Labor Party. The 1949 expansion of parliament saw parts of the southern portion transferred to the newly created Division of Kingston and parts of the eastern portion transferred to the newly created Division of Sturt. The redistribution prior to the 1949 election saw Boothby change from a marginal Labor seat on a 1.8 percent two-party margin to a marginal Liberal seat on a two percent two-party margin. However, as part of the massive Liberal victory in the 1949 election, the Liberals picked up a 9.3 percent two-party swing, turning it into a safe Liberal seat in one stroke. The Liberals have held the seat ever since, and for most of that time it has been fairly safe to safe for that party.