Stuart South Australia—House of Assembly |
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Electoral district of Stuart (green) in South Australia
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State | South Australia |
Dates current | 1938–1993, 1997–present |
MP | Dan van Holst Pellekaan |
Party | Liberal Party of Australia (SA) |
Namesake | John McDouall Stuart |
Electors | 23,595 (2014) |
Area | 338,475 km2 (130,685.9 sq mi) |
Demographic | Rural |
Coordinates | 30°14′S 137°53′E / 30.233°S 137.883°ECoordinates: 30°14′S 137°53′E / 30.233°S 137.883°E |
Stuart is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. At 338,475 km², it covers the northeast part of the state extending from just north of the Barossa Valley all the way to the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales borders. The seat's main population centre is Port Augusta, however the seat spans from Kapunda, 80km north of Adelaide, up to the state borders, and includes the agricultural areas of Orroroo, Peterborough, Jamestown, Burra, Morgan and Leigh Creek. Stuart is the second-largest electorate by area in South Australia.
The electorate is named after John McDouall Stuart, who pioneered a route across through this area from the settled areas in the south to the port of Darwin in the north. This route later became the path of the overland telegraph and then The Ghan railway.
The electorate was created in the 1936 redistribution—taking effect at the 1938 election. It was one of the few country areas where the Australian Labor Party did well, and for most of its existence was a comfortably safe Labor seat. It became even safer in 1975, when it absorbed Port Pirie. It was abolished in 1993. Most of its territory, including Port Augusta, was merged with the neighbouring seat of Eyre, while Port Pirie was transferred to the revived Frome.