Hawthorn is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It was first proclaimed in 1888, taking effect at the 1899 election.
The seat is located in eastern Melbourne and is centred on the suburbs of Hawthorn and Hawthorn East. It also includes Camberwell and parts of Canterbury, Glen Iris, and Surrey Hills.
History Hawthorn has usually been a safe seat for the Liberal Party and its predecessors, having been held by a number of leaders and senior ministers. In the 1960s, the seat of Hawthorn included parts of working class Richmond, making it less secure for the Liberals than in recent decades.
With the exception of two occasions when Liberal MPs defected and sat as independents, it has only been held by non-Liberal MPs three times in its history: independent Leslie Hollins from 1940 to 1945, Labor-turned-Labor (Anti-Communist) MP Charles Murphy from 1952 to 1955, and Labor MP John Kennedy in 2018.
Kennedy's victory over Liberal MP John Pesutto at the 2018 state election was considered a shock, with Guardian Australia saying he had "little chance" going into the election. Pesutto was a panelist on ABC on election night when he was told on live television that he had lost his seat.
Pesutto re-contested Hawthorn at the 2022 state election, defeating Kennedy and teal independent candidate Melissa Lowe. He is the current member, as well as a former leader of the Victorian Liberal Party.
Notable former members for Hawthorn include former premiers Sir William McPherson and Ted Baillieu, as well as Walter Jona, a minister in the Hamer government.
Members for Hawthorn ImageMemberPartyTermNotes Charles Taylor Liberal 1 April 1889 – 1 September 1894 Robert Murray Smith 1 October 1894 – 1 October 1900 Robert Barbour Liberal 1 November 1900 – 1901 Ministerialist 1901 – 1 September 1902 George Swinburne Ministerialist 1 October 1902 – 1907 Independent 1907 – 1911 Liberal 1911 – 31 July 1913 William Murray McPherson Liberal 1 September 1913 – 1916 Premier of Victoria from 1928 until 1929 Economy 1916 – 1917 Nationalist 1917 – 1 August 1930 John Austin Gray Nationalist 27 September 1930 – 15 September 1931 Died in office United Australia 15 September 1931 – 6 May 1939 Les Tyack United Australia 10 June 1939 – 16 March 1940 Won by-election Leslie Hollins Independent 16 March 1940 – 10 November 1945 Fred Edmunds Liberal 10 November 1945 – 22 March 1949 Suspended (then expelled) from LCP party room for disloyalty. Briefly expelled as LCP member but readmitted and contested 1950 election without endorsement. Lost seat Liberal and Country 22 March 1949 – 10 February 1950 Independent Liberal 10 February 1950 – 31 March 1950 Independent 31 March 1950 – 1 April 1950 Independent Liberal 1 April 1950 – 13 May 1950 Les Tyack Liberal 13 May 1950 – 6 December 1952 Charles Murphy Labor 6 December 1952 – 30 March 1955 Labor (Anti-Communist) 30 March 1955 – 27 May 1955 Jim Manson Liberal 27 May 1955 – 31 May 1958 Peter Garrisson Liberal 31 May 1958 – 1963 Independent 1963 – 27 June 1964 Walter Jona Liberal 27 June 1964 – 2 March 1985 Phil Gude Liberal 2 March 1985 – 18 September 1999 Deputy Liberal leader from 1991–1999 Ted Baillieu Liberal 29 November 2014 Premier of Victoria from 2010 until 2013 John Pesutto Liberal 29 November 2014 – 24 November 2018 Lost seat John Kennedy Labor 24 November 2018 – 26 November 2022 Lost seat John Pesutto Liberal present Leader of the Opposition from 2022 until 2024. Incumbent
Election results
References
External links Electorate profile: Hawthorn District, Victorian Electoral Commission