Division of Melbourne Ports

Melbourne Ports
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Melbourne Ports in Victoria, as of the 2016 federal election
Created1901
Abolished2019
NamesakePort Melbourne
Electors102,283 (2016)
Area40 km2 (15.4 sq mi)
DemographicInner metropolitan

The Division of Melbourne Ports was an Australian federal electoral division in the inner south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was located to the south of Melbourne's central business district and covered an area of approximately 40 km2 around the north and north-eastern shores of Port Phillip Bay.

The electorate was created at the time of Australian Federation in 1901 and was one of the original 65 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the fact that, at the time of its creation, it was centred on Port Melbourne and Williamstown, both major ports.

The electorate, formerly working class, was much more demographically diverse on its final boundaries, with rapidly accelerating inner-city gentrification and high-density housing developments in later years. It included Port Melbourne, but also included a number of middle and upper middle class suburbs such as Albert Park, Balaclava, Caulfield, Elwood, Middle Park, Ripponlea, South Melbourne and St Kilda. It was notable for having one of Australia's larger Jewish populations, at 9.9%, much higher than the nationwide 0.4%. It also had a high proportion of atheists and agnostics, with 38.8% of residents answering "No Religion" in the 2016 census, compared to 30.1% nationwide.[1] It also had a large gay and lesbian community.

  1. ^ "2016 Census QuickStats: Melbourne Ports". Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.