Electoral district of Cook

File:QLD - Cook 2008.png

Electoral map of Cook 2008

Cook is an electoral district in Queensland, Australia.

Cook covers the vast Cape York Peninsula north of Cairns, including the resort town of Port Douglas and the Torres Strait Islands. It is named after British navigator James Cook, who charted the coast and landed on Possession Island – one of the Torres Strait islands – in 1770.

History

1883 election

In the 1883 election, there were four candidates for the (then) two-member electorate. They were:

• Thomas Campbell
• Frederick Cooper (one of the sitting members)
• John Hamilton
• Charles Lumley Hill (a former member in Gregory)

Cooper and Hamilton were elected, but there were allegations of "ballot stuffing", specifically that there were too many votes cast at the California Gully and Halpin's Creek polling stations given the number of electors. The unsuccessful candidates, Campbell and Hill, petitioned to overturn the ballot. In December 1883, arrests were made in connection with the ballot stuffing. On 4 March 1884, the Elections and Qualifications Committee determined that Frederick Cooper should not be elected and that Thomas Campbell should be elected instead.

1884 by-election

On 4 August 1885, Thomas Campbell resigned after having been declared insolvent. Charles Lumley Hill won the resulting by-election on 16 September 1885.

1888 election

At the 1888 election, Cook returned to being a single-member electorate. Of the two sitting members, Hamilton contested the seat but Hill did not, saying that he was retiring from politics. However, Hill did not retire, but instead contested the election in Port Curtis, but he was unsuccessful. Hamilton was elected in Cook.

Members for Cook

First incarnation (1876–1878, 1 member)
Member		Party	Term
Template:Australian party style|	William Edward Murphy	Unaligned	1876–1878
Second incarnation (1878–1888, 2 members)
Member		Party	Term
Template:Australian party style|	John Walsh	Unaligned	1878–1883
Template:Australian party style|	Frederick Cooper	Unaligned	1878–1884
Template:Australian party style|	John Hamilton	Ministerialist	1883–1888
Template:Australian party style|	Thomas Campbell	Unaligned	1884–1885
Template:Australian party style|	Charles Lumley Hill	Unaligned	1885–1888
Third incarnation (1888–present, 1 member)
Member		Party	Term
Template:Australian party style|	John Hamilton	Ministerialist	1888–1904
Template:Australian party style|	John Hargreaves	Ministerialist	1904–1907
Template:Australian party style|	Henry Douglas	Ministerialist / Opposition / Independent Opposition / Ministerialist / Liberal	1907–1915
Template:Australian party style|	Henry Ryan	Labor	1915–1929
Template:Australian party style|	James Kenny	Country and Progressive National	1929–1935
Template:Australian party style|	Harold Collins	Labor	1935–1950
Template:Australian party style|	Carlisle Wordsworth	Country	1950–1953
Template:Australian party style|	Bunny Adair	Labor	1953–1957
Template:Australian party style|		Queensland Labor	1957–1963
Template:Australian party style|		Independent	1963–1969
Template:Australian party style|	Bill Wood	Labor	1969–1972
Template:Australian party style|	Edwin Wallis-Smith	Labor	1972–1974
Template:Australian party style|	Eric Deeral	National	1974–1977
Template:Australian party style|	Bob Scott	Labor	1977–1989
Template:Australian party style|	Steve Bredhauer	Labor	1989–2004
Template:Australian party style|	Jason O'Brien	Labor	2004–2012
Template:Australian party style|	David Kempton	Liberal National	2012–2015
Template:Australian party style|	Billy Gordon	Labor	2015
Template:Australian party style|		Independent	2015–2017
Template:Australian party style|	Cynthia Lui	Labor	2017–2024
Template:Australian party style|	David Kempton	Liberal National	2024–present

External links

• Electorate profile (Antony Green, ABC)
• — 1931 history of the electorate