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Division of Fremantle facts for kids

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Fremantle
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Fremantle 2010.png
Division of Fremantle (green) in Western Australia
Created 1901
MP Melissa Parke
Party Labor
Namesake Fremantle
Electors 93,378 (2010)
Area 201 km2 (77.6 sq mi)
Demographic Inner Metropolitan

The Division of Fremantle is an area in Western Australia that votes for a member of the Australian Parliament. It was one of the first 75 voting areas created for Australia's very first federal election in 1901.

This area is named after the city of Fremantle. The city itself was named after Captain Charles Fremantle. He was the captain of HMS Challenger. This ship brought the first settlers to Western Australia.

The Division of Fremantle includes the southern parts of Perth. It also covers suburbs like Cockburn, Coolbellup, Palmyra, Fremantle, and Rottnest Island.

Originally, this division included Perth's southwestern suburbs. Since 1949, the boundaries have changed. This has made it a very safe seat for the Australian Labor Party. This means the Labor Party usually wins elections easily in this area.

Who Has Represented Fremantle?

Member Party Term
  Elias Solomon Free Trade 1901–1903
  William Carpenter Labor 1903–1906
  William Hedges Western Australian 1906–1909
  Commonwealth Liberal 1909–1913
  Reginald Burchell Labor 1913–1916
  National Labor 1916–1917
  Nationalist 1917–1922
  William Watson Independent 1922–1928
  John Curtin Labor 1928–1931
  William Watson United Australia 1931–1934
  John Curtin Labor 1934–1945
  Kim Beazley (senior) Labor 1945–1977
  John Dawkins Labor 1977–1994
  Carmen Lawrence Labor 1994–2007
  Melissa Parke Labor 2007–present

Many important Labor Party members have represented Fremantle. The most famous was John Curtin. He was the Prime Minister of Australia from 1941 to 1945. The Prime Minister is the leader of the Australian government.

Other well-known members include Kim Beazley (senior). He was a minister in the government led by Gough Whitlam. A minister is a senior member of the government in charge of a specific department.

John Dawkins was also a minister. He served in the governments led by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. Carmen Lawrence was another important member. She was the former Premier of Western Australia. A Premier is the leader of a state government in Australia. She also served as a minister in the Keating Government.

The current representative for Fremantle is Melissa Parke. Before becoming a politician, she worked as a lawyer for the United Nations.

Fremantle and the Prime Minister

Preceded by
Darling Downs
Division represented by the Prime Minister
1941–1945
John Curtin
Succeeded by
Capricornia

This section shows that the Division of Fremantle was represented by a Prime Minister. This happened when John Curtin was the Prime Minister of Australia from 1941 to 1945.



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