Division of Forrest
The Division of Forrest is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia.History
The division was created in 1922 and is named for Sir John Forrest, the first Premier of Western Australia and a federal Cabinet minister. It is located in the south-western corner of the state and, as at the 2016 election, includes the towns of Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River, Augusta and Harvey.
Before the 1943 election, it was a Country Party seat, but since the 1949 election it has been held by the Liberals for all but one term. Labor has only held the seat for three terms, during the high-tide elections of 1943 and 1946, and in the midst of the Coalition's near-defeat of 1969. It reverted to the Liberals in 1972 even as Labor won government. The seat was marginal for most of the 1980s, but a 1990 redistribution made the seat much more secure for the Liberals, and Labor has not come close to winning it since.
Notable members include Nelson Lemmon, a minister in the Chifley Government, Gordon Freeth, a minister in the Menzies, Holt and Gorton governments, and Geoff Prosser, a minister in the Howard government.Members
