Electoral district of County of Northumberland

The Electoral district of County of Northumberland and from 1851, Northumberland and Hunter, was an electorate of the partially elected New South Wales Legislative Council, created for the first elections for the Council in 1843. The County of Northumberland was bounded by the part of the Hawkesbury River to the south, the Macdonald River to the south-west, and the Hunter River to the north, however the electoral district did not include the towns of East Maitland, West Maitland and Newcastle which made up the district of Northumberland Boroughs.[1] Polling took place at Gosford, Newcastle, East Maitland, Wollombi, Singleton and Watson's on the Macdonald River.[2] The County of Hunter was added to the district with the expansion of the Council in 1851 and elected two members.[3]

County of Northumberland New South Wales—Legislative Council
State	New South Wales
Created	1843
Abolished	1851
Namesake	Northumberland County, Hunter County

In 1856 the unicameral Legislative Council was abolished and replaced with an elected Legislative Assembly and an appointed Legislative Council. The district was represented by the Legislative Assembly electorate of Northumberland and Hunter.

Members

Northumberland (1843–1851)
Member 1	Term
William Foster [4]	Jun 1843 – Oct 1845
Henry Dangar [5]	Oct 1845 – Jun 1851
Northumberland and Hunter (1851–1856)
Member 1	Term	Member 2	Term
Henry Douglass [6]	Jul 1851 – Feb 1856	George Bowman [7]	Jul 1851 – Feb 1856

Election results

1843

1843 New South Wales colonial election, 19 June:
County of Northumberland [8]

Candidate		Votes	%
William Foster		unopposed

1845

1845 County of Northumberland by-election
27 October 1845 [9]

Candidate		Votes	%
Henry Dangar		95	67.38
Andrew Lang		46	32.62
Total votes		141	100.00
Voter turnout		39.50%

1848

1848 New South Wales colonial election, 31 July:
County of Northumberland [10]

Candidate		Votes	%
Henry Dangar (elected)		127	63.50
Charles Salmon Vallack		73	36.50
Total votes		200	100.00

1851

1851 New South Wales colonial election, 23 September:
Counties of Northumberland and Hunter [11]

Candidate		Votes	%
Henry Douglass		258	37.23
George Bowman		235	33.91
Daniel Egan		200	28.86
Total votes		693	100.00

See also

• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 1843–1851 and 1851-1856

References

1. "An Act to provide for the division of the Colony of New South Wales into Electoral Districts and for the Election of Members to serve in the Legislative Council.". Act No. 16 of 23 February 1843 (PDF). Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
2. "Polling places". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 July 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 28 May 2019 – via Trove.
3. "An Act to provide for the division of the Colony of New South Wales after the separation of the District of Port Phillip therefrom into Electoral Districts and for the Election of Members to serve in the Legislative Council.". Act No. 48 of 2 May 1851 (PDF). Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
4. "Sir William Foster". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
5. "Mr Henry Dangar (1796-1861)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
6. "Dr Henry Grattan Douglass, M.D. (1790-1865)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
7. "Mr George Bowman (1795-1878)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
8. "Northumberland election". The Australian. 19 June 1843. p. 3. Retrieved 23 May 2019 – via Trove.
9. "Northumberland election". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 1 November 1845. p. 2. Retrieved 29 May 2019 – via Trove.
10. "The elections: County of Northumberland". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 5 August 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via Trove.
11. "The elections: Northumberland and Hunter". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 1 October 1851. p. 2. Retrieved 30 May 2019 – via Trove.