Evelyn – Victoria 2010

LIB 2.8%

Incumbent MP
Christine Fyffe, since 2006. Previously Member for Evelyn 1999-2002.

Geography
Eastern fringe of Melbourne. Evelyn covers western parts of Yarra Ranges Shire and eastern parts of Manningham council area. It includes the suburbs and towns of Coldstream, Gruyere, Lilydale, and Wonga Park.

History
Evelyn has existed as an electoral district since 1859. It has been held by the Liberal Party and its conservative predecessors for most elections since the emergence of modern political parties.

Evelyn was held by Ewen Cameron from 1874 to 1914. He held the seat first as a Conservative, and joined the Commonwealth Liberal Party. The Liberal Party’s James Rouget held the seat for one term, but was defeated in 1917 by William Everard, a conservative independent.

Everard held the seat until 1950, representing the Nationals, the United Australia Party and the Liberal Party, and again serving as an independent MP in the 1920s. Everard served as Speaker for one term in the 1930s, and briefly served as a minister in 1945.

Liberal MP Roland Leckie held the seat for one term from 1950 to 1952, losing to the ALP’s Phillip Connell. He held the seat for two terms, losing in 1958 to Russell Stokes of the Liberal Party.

Stokes held the seat for fifteen years, retiring in 1973.

The Liberal Party’s Jim Plowman won Evelyn in 1973. He served as Speaker from 1979 to 1982, and again from 1996 to 1999. He also served as a minister in the first term of the Kennett government. Plowman lost Evelyn in 1982 to the ALP’s Max McDonald. He won Evelyn back in 1985, and held it until his retirement in 1999.

Evelyn was won in 1999 by Christine Fyffe. She lost to the ALP’s Heather McTaggart in 2002, but won Evelyn back in 2006.

Candidates

• Peter Harris (Labor)
• Craig Jenkin (Country Alliance)
• Christine Fyffe (Liberal)
• David Szabo (Family First)
• Tania Giles (Greens)

Political situation
Evelyn is a very marginal seat, but will probably stay with the Liberal Party.

2006 result

2006 two-candidate-preferred result

Booth breakdown
Booths in Evelyn have been divided into two areas: the more heavily-populated west and the less-populated east. The Liberal Party won a 3.8% majority in the east, while the ALP won a slim 0.4% margin in the east. Both the Greens and Family First polled higher in the east of the seat.