page_title: Division of Cowan
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Division of Cowan / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Edith Cowan c. 1900
context_page_description: The Division of Cowan is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia.
context_section_description: The division was created in 1984 and is named for Edith Cowan, the first woman elected to an Australian Parliament. It is located in the northern suburbs of Perth, including the suburbs of Girrawheen, Greenwood, Landsdale and Marangaroo. It is a marginal seat, changing hands between the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party.
  At the 2007 election, the retirement of sitting member Graham Edwards resulted in Labor losing the seat to Luke Simpkins, the Liberal candidate. Simpkins retained Cowan by defeating Labor candidate Liz Prime and retained the seat at the 2010 and 2013 elections. A redistribution in 2015 saw Cowan undergo a significant boundary change which saw the Liberal margin drop from 7.5% to 4.5%. The redistribution saw Labor target the seat at the upcoming 2016 election. At that election the Labor candidate, Anne Aly, became the first Muslim woman elected to the House of Representatives by narrowly defeating Simpkins.
caption: Edith Cowan, the division's namesake
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