# Electoral district of Ballarat West

The Electoral district of Ballarat West (initially spelt Ballaarat West) was an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly in Australia. It existed from 1859 to 1927 and from 1992 to 2014.
The original seat was created for the second election to the Legislative Assembly in 1859. In 1927, it was merged with Ballaarat East to form a single Ballaarat electorate.
Its second implementation occurred in 1992, when it replaced Ballarat North. Unlike Ballarat East, which had a rural character, Ballarat West was mostly urban, and included much of Ballarat proper and its southern and western suburbs.
The seat was replaced by Wendouree in 2014.

## Members for Ballarat West

Three members from 1877 to 1889.
First incarnation (1859–1927) :
| Member 1 | Party | Term | Member 2 | Party | Term | | | | |
| John Bailey | Unaligned | 1859–1861 | Robert Serjeant | Unaligned | 1859–1861 | | | | |
| Duncan Gillies | Unaligned | 1861–1868 | William Collard Smith | Unaligned | 1861–1864 | | | | |
| Duncan Gillies | Unaligned | 1861–1868 | Robert Lewis | Unaligned | 1864 | | | | |
| Duncan Gillies | Unaligned | 1861–1868 | William Vale | Unaligned | 1864–65, 1865–69 | | | | |
| Charles Jones | Unaligned | 1868–69, 1869, 1869–71 | John James | Unaligned | 1869–1870 | | | | |
| Charles Jones | Unaligned | 1868–69, 1869, 1869–71 | Sir Archibald Michie | Unaligned | 1870–1871 | | | | |
| Joseph Jones | Unaligned | 1871–1875 | William Collard Smith | Unaligned | 1871–1892 | | | | |
| George Fincham | Unaligned | 1875–1886 | William Collard Smith | Unaligned | 1871–1892 | Member 3 | Member 3 | Party | Term |
| George Fincham | Unaligned | 1875–1886 | William Collard Smith | Unaligned | 1871–1892 | | Henry Bell | Unaligned | 1877–1886 |
| Charles Jones | Unaligned | 1886–1889 | William Collard Smith | Unaligned | 1871–1892 |
| Charles Jones | Unaligned | 1886–1889 | William Collard Smith | Unaligned | 1871–1892 | | Richard Vale | Unaligned | 1886–1889 |
| Joseph Kirton | Unaligned | 1889–1894 | William Collard Smith | Unaligned | 1871–1892 | | | | |
| William Collard Smith | Unaligned | 1894 | Richard Vale | Unaligned | 1892– | | | | |
| Joseph Kirton | Unaligned | 1894–1904 | "    " | " | –1902 | | | | |
| Joseph Kirton | Unaligned | 1894–1904 | Charles Shoppee | Ministerialist | 1902–1904 | | | | |
| Harry Bennett | Labour | 1904–1907 | | | | | | | |
| Joseph Kirton | Unaligned | 1907–1908 | | | | | | | |
| Andrew McKissock | Labour | 1908–1911 | | | | | | | |
| Matthew Baird | Commonwealth Liberal | 1911–1917 | | | | | | | |
| Matthew Baird | Economy | 1917–1918 | | | | | | | |
| Matthew Baird | Nationalist | 1918–1927 | | | | | | | |
Second incarnation (1992–2014) :
| Member | Party | Term |
| Paul Jenkins | Liberal | 1992–1999 |
| Karen Overington | Labor | 1999–2010 |
| Sharon Knight | Labor | 2010–2014 |

## Election results

2010 Victorian state election: Ballarat West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Craig Coltman | 17,230 | 43.60 | +5.66 |
| | Labor | Sharon Knight | 16,446 | 41.62 | −5.49 |
| | Greens | Leon Dwyer | 3,876 | 9.81 | −0.08 |
| | Family First | Dale Butterfield | 1,284 | 3.25 | −1.78 |
| | Country Alliance | Carl Wesley | 681 | 1.72 | +1.72 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 39,517 | 95.78 | −0.56 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,740 | 4.22 | +0.56 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,257 | 93.84 | +1.55 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Labor | Sharon Knight | 20,175 | 51.05 | −5.55 |
| | Liberal | Craig Coltman | 19,342 | 48.95 | +5.55 |
| | Labor hold | Labor hold | Swing | −5.55 | |