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The Division of Batman was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It took its name from John Batman, one of the founders of the city of Melbourne. The division was created in 1906, replacing the Division of Northern Melbourne, and was abolished in 2019 and replaced by the Division of Cooper.[1]

Key Information

The division was located in Melbourne's northern suburbs, comprising the entire City of Darebin and parts of City of Yarra and City of Whittlesea at the time of abolition. Held by Labor for all but 10 years of its history, Batman traditionally had been a safe Labor seat. However, the Greens made the seat a contest beginning with the 2010 election, where they reduced Labor from a 26.0% margin to a 7.9% margin. Though Labor increased their margin against the Greens to 10.6% in 2013, the Greens reduced Labor's margin to just 1.0% in 2016. At the 2018 Batman by-election however, Labor increased their margin to 4.4% against the Greens.[2]

Boundaries

[edit]

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.[3]

When the division was created in 1906, it included Fitzroy, Fitzroy North and Clifton Hill. It then expanded to include Collingwood, Carlton North and Princes Hill in 1913. In 1922, the division was massively expanded to the north-east to include the entire City of Northcote and City of Preston (which were previously in the Division of Bourke), while losing Collingwood, Carlton North, Princes Hill and part of Fitzroy. It then lost Clifton Hill, part of Fitzroy North and the remainder of Fitzroy in 1937.[4]

In 1949, the division was massively shrunk in area size, losing its northern two thirds. These northern areas in the City of Preston and part of City of Northcote became the new Division of Darebin.[5] It also lost its last remaining areas in Fitzroy North and no longer included any areas that it included in 1906. However, Batman was expanded into the east past the Darebin Creek to include Ivanhoe, Ivanhoe East and Eaglemont within the City of Heidelberg. The division then had minor changes in its boundaries until 1977, with gains in Clifton Hill again as well as the Heidelberg area. In 1977, it was massively expanded towards the north-east to include some of City of Preston and more of City of Heidelberg, extending up to La Trobe University and Macleod.[4]

In 1984, the eastern half of the division (majority of which was within City of Heidelberg) became the new Division of Jagajaga, while the division regained some areas west of Plenty Road such as Reservoir.[4][6] Since then, the division underwent further minor boundary changes, while still mostly based in the City of Northcote and City of Preston (both of which merged to become City of Darebin in 1994). Parts of the City of Northcote such as Alphington did not become part of the City of Darebin but became part of City of Yarra. However, these areas continued to be within the Division of Batman.

In 2003, the division became co-extensive with the City of Darebin, losing the areas of Coburg North (within City of Moreland, now Merri-bek) and Alphington. In 2010, to the south, it re-gained Alphington and part of Clifton Hill (within City of Yarra) up to the Yarra River and Eastern Freeway. To the north, it also gained parts of Thomastown or Bundoora, which were in the City of Whittlesea, up to the Metropolitan Ring Road.[4]

The Division of Cooper replaced Batman in 2018. The new division had similar boundaries to Batman, but did not include Thomastown and Bundoora, and also included the part of Coburg North that Batman lost in 2003.[4][7]

At the time of abolition, it covered an area of approximately 66 square kilometres (25 sq mi) from Thomastown/Bundoora in the north to Clifton Hill in the south, with Merri Creek providing the vast majority of the western boundary and Darebin Creek, parts of Macleod and Plenty Road in Bundoora providing the eastern boundary. The suburbs of Alphington, Clifton Hill, Fairfield, Kingsbury, Northcote, Preston, Reservoir, and Thornbury; and parts of Bundoora, Macleod, and Thomastown were in this division.[1]

History

[edit]
John Batman, the division's namesake

When it was created it covered the inner suburbs of Carlton and Fitzroy, but successive boundary changes moved it steadily northwards, ending with it including Northcote, Preston, Reservoir and Thornbury.

Located in Labor's traditional heartland of north Melbourne, Batman had been in Labor hands for all but two terms since 1910, and without interruption since 1969. It was held by Brian Howe from 1977 to 1996, a senior minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, and also Deputy Prime Minister 1991–95. Howe was succeeded at the 1996 election by Martin Ferguson, moving to Parliament after six years as President of the ACTU. Ferguson served as a senior Labor frontbencher, and a minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments, before resigning from the ministry in March 2013 after the failed challenge to Gillard's leadership. He was succeeded at the 2013 election by former Senator David Feeney, who had been a parliamentary secretary in the Rudd and Gillard governments.[8]

The 2PP vote has historically been stronger for the ALP in the north of the electorate, and the Greens vote stronger in the south. The north and south of the electorate are divided by Bell Street, Preston, which has been referred to as the "hipster-proof fence" or "Quinoa curtain".[9]

In 2018, as a result of the 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis, Feeney resigned and decided not to seek pre-selection to run at the ensuing by-election. The 2018 Batman by-election held on 17 March saw the election of Labor's Ged Kearney.[2]

In June 2018, the Australian Electoral Commission announced that, at the 2019 Australian federal election, the division would be re-named Cooper, after Aboriginal community leader and activist William Cooper.[10]

Members

[edit]
Image Member Party Term Notes
  Jabez Coon
(1869–1935) 		Protectionist 12 December 1906 –
26 May 1909 		Lost seat
  Liberal 26 May 1909 –
13 April 1910
  Henry Beard
(1864–1910) 		Labor 13 April 1910 –
18 December 1910 		Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Jika Jika. Died in office
  Frank Brennan
(1873–1950) 		8 February 1911 –
19 December 1931 		Served as minister under Scullin. Lost seat
  Samuel Dennis
(1870–1945) 		United Australia 19 December 1931 –
15 September 1934 		Lost seat
  Frank Brennan
(1873–1950) 		Labor 15 September 1934 –
31 October 1949 		Retired
  Alan Bird
(1906–1962) 		10 December 1949 –
21 July 1962 		Died in office
  Sam Benson
(1909–1995) 		1 September 1962 –
31 August 1966 		Expelled from Labor. Retired[11]
  Independent 31 August 1966 –
29 September 1969
  Horrie Garrick
(1918–1982) 		Labor 25 October 1969 –
10 November 1977 		Lost preselection and retired
  Brian Howe
(1936–) 		10 December 1977 –
2 March 1996 		Served as minister and Deputy Prime Minister under Hawke and Keating. Retired
  Martin Ferguson
(1953–) 		2 March 1996 –
5 August 2013 		Served as minister under Rudd and Gillard. Retired
  David Feeney
(1970–) 		7 September 2013 –
1 February 2018 		Previously a member of the Senate. Election results declared void due to dual citizenship. Did not contest subsequent by-election
  Ged Kearney
(1963–) 		17 March 2018 –
11 April 2019 		Transferred to the Division of Cooper after Batman was abolished in 2019

Election results

[edit]
Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Batman
This section is an excerpt from 2018 Batman by-election § Results.[edit]
2018 Batman by-election[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Ged Kearney 36,840 43.14 +7.87
Greens Alex Bhathal 33,725 39.49 +3.26
Conservatives Kevin Bailey 5,471 6.41 +6.41
Animal Justice Miranda Smith 2,528 2.96 +1.29
Rise Up Australia Yvonne Gentle 2,217 2.60 +2.60
Independent Teresa van Lieshout 1,245 1.46 +1.46
Liberty Alliance Debbie Robinson 1,186 1.39 +1.39
Sustainable Australia Mark McDonald 951 1.11 +1.11
Adrian Whitehead 745 0.87 +0.87
People's Party Tegan Burns 496 0.58 +0.58
Total formal votes 85,404 93.79 +1.57
Informal votes 5,650 6.21 −1.57
Turnout 91,054 81.40 −8.28
Two-candidate-preferred result
Labor Ged Kearney 46,446 54.38 +3.35
Greens Alex Bhathal 38,958 45.62 −3.35
Labor hold Swing +3.35
Alluvial diagram showing the full preference distribution of results at the by-election.
Alluvial diagram of the full preference distribution

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Division of Batman

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
The Division of Batman was a federal electoral division in the Australian House of Representatives, representing inner northern suburbs of in the state of Victoria from 1901 until its renaming in 2019. Named for (1801–1839), an early explorer and settler credited with founding the settlement that became through a 1835 treaty with local elders, the division encompassed areas such as Brunswick, , and Preston. It was a longstanding for the Australian Labor Party, which held it continuously since 1910 except for brief interruptions, producing notable figures including trade unionist Frank Brennan and former resources minister Martin Ferguson. The division's political history featured competitive by-elections, such as the 2018 contest triggered by David Feeney's resignation amid citizenship issues, where Labor's narrowly retained the seat against a strong Greens challenge in a preferential voting system that highlighted shifting progressive voter preferences. In 2018, the Australian Electoral Commission renamed it the Division of Cooper after activist William Cooper, responding to campaigns citing John Batman's prior involvement in Tasmania's —a violent conflict—and criticisms of the as an exploitative deal using goods like blankets and axes rather than fair compensation, though British authorities invalidated such private agreements. This change reflected broader debates over commemorating colonial figures amid unverified claims of Batman's direct role in specific massacres, prioritizing recognition of Indigenous contributions over historical settlement narratives.

Geography and Demographics

Boundaries and Location

The Division of Batman was an Australian federal electoral division located in the inner northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. It encompassed an area of approximately 66 square kilometres. The division's boundaries extended northward to Thomastown and Bundoora, southward to Clifton Hill, with the vast majority of the western boundary following the Merri Creek, and the eastern boundary defined by the Darebin Creek along with portions of Macleod and Plenty Road in Bundoora. These boundaries, as gazetted following the 2010 redistribution and effective through the division's existence until its abolition in 2019, included the suburbs of Alphington, parts of Bundoora, Clifton Hill, parts of Coburg North, Fairfield, Kingsbury, parts of Macleod, Northcote, Preston, Reservoir, parts of Thomastown, and Thornbury. The electorate primarily lay within the City of Darebin local government area, with extensions into adjacent municipalities such as the City of Whittlesea and City of Banyule.

Population Characteristics

As of the , the Division of Batman had a of 161,964 residents. The sex distribution showed 48.4% male and 51.6% female, with a age of 36 years, reflecting a relatively young urban demographic compared to the national of 38 years. Aboriginal and Islander people comprised 0.8% of the , numbering 1,279 individuals. The electorate exhibited ethnic diversity shaped by post-World War II migration waves. The most common ancestries reported were English (17.7%), Australian (15.8%), Italian (10.0%), Irish (8.3%), and Greek (6.2%), with respondents able to select multiple ancestries. English was spoken at home by 56.3% of residents, followed by Italian (6.3%), Greek (6.1%), Mandarin (3.8%), (2.9%), and Vietnamese (2.2%), indicating significant non-English-speaking households from European and Middle Eastern backgrounds. Religiously, 35.6% reported no , 23.7% identified as Catholic, 10.0% did not state a , 9.0% were Eastern Orthodox, and 4.3% were Muslim, underscoring a secular trend alongside established migrant religious communities. Socioeconomic indicators pointed to a mixed profile with pockets of advantage amid working-class roots. Educational attainment was relatively high, with 33.3% of people aged 15 years and over holding a bachelor degree or higher, and 16.5% completing as their highest qualification. The largest occupation groups were professionals (31.3%) and clerical and administrative workers (12.9%), with an rate of 7.0%. Median weekly personal income stood at $660, family income at $1,815, and household income at $1,443, above the national household median of $1,438 but reflecting income disparities in an inner-metropolitan area. included 30.7% owner-occupied outright, 27.6% with a , and 38.0% rented, with households dominated by couples with children (44.5%) and couples without children (37.6%). These characteristics highlighted Batman's evolution from industrial migrant suburbs to a gentrifying locale attracting educated professionals, though persistent rental prevalence and unemployment suggested underlying economic challenges.

Historical Background

Establishment and Early Development

The Division of Batman was first contested at the as part of a redistribution of Victoria's electoral divisions, which increased the state's representation in the from 9 to 10 seats. It covered working-class suburbs in Melbourne's inner north, including Northcote, Preston, and , areas characterized by industrial development and immigrant populations in the early . In its inaugural election on 12 December 1906, Jabez Coon of the won with 5,210 first-preference votes against Labor's , amid a turnout of 48.84% from 30,590 enrolled voters. Coon held the seat until 1910, reflecting the division's initial marginal status in a period of flux between , , and emerging Labor forces. However, the Australian Labor Party captured Batman in the 1910 election and defended it in subsequent contests, including Frank Brennan's victory in 1914 with 7,464 votes. This shift marked the onset of Batman's evolution into a reliably Labor-leaning electorate, driven by its blue-collar demographic and union influence, though minor boundary adjustments occurred in redistributions such as without altering its core industrial character.

Namesake: John Batman and Founding Context

John Batman (1801–1839) was an Australian settler, pastoralist, and explorer whose expedition initiated European settlement in the Port Phillip District, now Victoria. Born on 21 January 1801 in Parramatta, New South Wales, to a former convict father, Batman relocated to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in the 1820s, where he accumulated landholdings and participated in efforts to suppress Aboriginal resistance during the Black War, including as a bounty hunter targeting Indigenous people. In May 1835, Batman, representing the Port Phillip Association—a syndicate of Tasmanian businessmen seeking new grazing lands—sailed from Launceston with a party including guides and interpreters. Landing near Indented Head, the group explored inland, reaching the estuary by early June. On 6 June 1835, Batman negotiated and signed deeds with eight and elders, exchanging European goods such as 40 pairs of blankets, tomahawks, knives, scissors, and other items (valued at roughly £40) for purported ownership of two large tracts totaling about 600,000 acres, encompassing the and regions. Batman selected the Yarra site for settlement, declaring it ideal for a village, and left a small party to establish a base before returning to report his claims. The colonial authorities in Sydney and London rejected Batman's treaties as invalid, upholding the terra nullius doctrine that negated Indigenous land title and reserved acquisition to the Crown; Governor Richard Bourke formally proclaimed the Port Phillip lands as Crown territory in September 1836, nullifying private deals. Nonetheless, Batman's initiative spurred unregulated pastoral expansion, with squatters rapidly occupying the area, leading to the official founding of Melbourne in 1837. Batman himself resided at a camp on Batman Hill (now central Melbourne) until illness forced his return to Tasmania, where he died on 6 May 1839 from effects possibly linked to tertiary syphilis. The federal Division of Batman, first proclaimed for the 1906 election and encompassing inner-northern Melbourne suburbs, derived its name from John Batman's designation as the "Founder of Melbourne" due to his pioneering role in selecting and claiming the settlement site, reflecting the electorate's proximity to early colonial hubs.

Boundary Redistributions

The Division of Batman was subject to periodic boundary redistributions conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, aimed at ensuring each division had approximately equal numbers of electors, typically within 10% of the state quota, while considering community interests and geographic features. These redistributions reflected population growth and shifts in northern Melbourne's suburbs. The division was established following the 1948 redistribution to address increased representation needs after Victoria's entitlement rose. In the 1968 redistribution, boundaries were adjusted due to population movements, with changes affecting multiple Victorian divisions including Batman, though specific suburb transfers for Batman are detailed in the commissioners' report. The 2010 redistribution, finalized and gazetted on 24 December 2010, modified Batman's boundaries to better align with enrolment quotas, incorporating elements from adjacent divisions like Scullin while transferring outer areas to divisions such as Jagajaga. Historical maps from this period illustrate the division's extent, bounded roughly by the Merri and Darebin Creeks. The final redistribution affecting Batman occurred in 2018 as part of the 2017-2018 process, where boundaries were largely preserved but the name changed to the Division of Cooper following public objections to the original namesake; minimal alterations ensured continuity in the inner-northern suburban coverage including Preston, Reservoir, and Northcote. Earlier redistributions in 1955, 1977, 1990, 1996, and 2004 similarly fine-tuned the division's footprint to accommodate urban expansion, though detailed suburb-level changes are archived in respective AEC reports.

Political Representation

Members of Parliament

The Division of Batman elected 10 members to the Australian House of Representatives between its establishment at the 1906 federal election and its abolition ahead of the 2025 federal election, following a redistribution that renamed it the Division of Cooper. The seat was initially held by non-Labor parties before becoming a stronghold for the from 1914 onward, reflecting strong working-class support in its inner-northern suburbs. The inaugural member was Jabez Coon of the , who served from 1906 to 1910. George Wise, initially as an independent and later aligning with the Commonwealth Liberal Party, represented the division from 1910 to 1914. Frank Brennan () held the seat for a record 35 years from 1914 to 1949, serving as Attorney-General in multiple Labor governments and noted for his advocacy on issues. Brennan's successor, Alan Bird (Australian Labor Party), served from 1949 until his death in 1962. Sam Benson (Australian Labor Party) won the subsequent by-election and held the seat until 1969. Horrie Garrick (Australian Labor Party) represented Batman from 1969 to 1977. John Mountford (Australian Labor Party) followed from 1977 to 1990, during which the division underwent boundary changes but retained its Labor dominance. Martin Ferguson (Australian Labor Party) served from 1990 to 2013, including roles as Minister for Resources and Energy in the Rudd and Gillard governments. David Feeney (Australian Labor Party) held the seat from 2013 until his resignation in 2018 amid dual citizenship issues under Section 44 of the Constitution. Ged Kearney (Australian Labor Party), a former union leader, won the 2018 and continued as member until the division's abolition in 2024.
MemberPartyTerm
Jabez CoonProtectionist1906–1910
George WiseIndependent / Liberal1910–1914
Frank BrennanLabor1914–1949
Alan BirdLabor1949–1962
Sam BensonLabor1962–1969
Horrie GarrickLabor1969–1977
John MountfordLabor1977–1990
Martin FergusonLabor1990–2013
David FeeneyLabor2013–2018
Labor2018–2024

Election Results and Voting Patterns

The Division of Batman consistently returned candidates from its creation in 1906 until abolition, with only brief interruptions by non-Labor representatives in the early and a single independent win in 1966. Post-World War II, it emerged as a safe Labor seat against the Liberal Party, with two-party preferred margins frequently surpassing 10 percentage points; for example, Labor achieved 59.8% of the two-party vote in 1954. This pattern reflected strong support from working-class voters, union members, and post-war migrants in suburbs like Preston and , where Labor's platform on and public services resonated. From the , voting patterns shifted as the Australian Greens overtook Liberals as Labor's primary challenger, driven by rising first-preference support in gentrifying inner areas such as Brunswick and Northcote, home to increasing numbers of younger, university-educated professionals. Labor's first-preference vote declined amid this competition, but retained seats through preferential voting, with Liberal preferences and those from minor parties flowing disproportionately to Labor over Greens. The following table summarizes key recent federal outcomes:
ElectionLabor Primary (%)Greens Primary (%)Liberal Primary (%)Two-Candidate Preferred (Labor Margin vs. Opponent)
2013 Federal41.326.422.521.2% vs. Greens
2016 Federal35.336.219.92.1% vs. Greens
2018 By-election43.139.5N/A (Liberals did not contest)8.8% vs. Greens
The 2018 , triggered by David Feeney's , highlighted these dynamics: fell to 82.4% from 91.6% in 2016, and while Greens candidate Alex Bhathal led early on first preferences, Labor's prevailed after preferences from eliminated candidates, including Liberals-by-proxy minor parties, favored Labor by margins sufficient to secure victory. This outcome underscored Batman's evolution from a traditional Labor to a contest between Labor's machine organization and grassroots progressive mobilization, with booth-level variations showing Labor dominance in migrant-heavy northern booths and Greens strength in southern hipster enclaves. Informal voting remained low, averaging under 6% across elections, consistent with high compliance in urban seats.

Abolition and Legacy

Reasons for Abolition and Renaming to Cooper

The renaming of the Division of Batman to the Division of Cooper occurred as part of the Australian Electoral Commission's (AEC) redistribution of Victorian federal divisions, finalized on 13 July 2018 and effective for the 2019 federal election, during which the electorate's boundaries were also adjusted to account for changes. The augmented Electoral Commission, comprising the Electoral Commissioner, the Australian Electoral Officer for Victoria, the Surveyor-General, and state Redistribution Committee members, unanimously recommended retiring the name "Batman" after considering over 300 public submissions, many of which objected to honoring due to his documented role in against Aboriginal people during Tasmania's (1825–1832). Batman's participation in government-sanctioned "roving parties"—paramilitary groups tasked with capturing or killing Aboriginal resistors—included leading an 1829 expedition at where 15 Aboriginal people were killed, as recorded in colonial dispatches; Governor George Arthur later noted Batman had "much slaughter to account for." These actions contributed to the near-extirpation of Tasmania's full-descent Aboriginal population, estimated to have declined from around 4,000–6,000 in to fewer than 200 by 1835 through combined warfare, disease, and displacement. Submissions to the AEC, including from Darebin City Council and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, argued that Batman no longer met the naming guideline of recognizing persons of "outstanding service to the nation," given his frontier violence overshadowed his 1835 treaty attempt with Wurundjeri elders in Victoria—which involved exchanging goods for land use rights but was rejected by British authorities as invalid under doctrine. The campaign framed the rename as , aligning with broader institutional efforts since the 1990s to reassess colonial namings amid heightened awareness of frontier massacres, where at least 49 such events in Victoria alone killed over 1,000 Aboriginal people between 1788 and 1930. Critics of retaining "Batman," including local Aboriginal advocates, emphasized causal links between such historical figures and ongoing disparities, though historical records also credit Batman with pioneering paid land arrangements atypical of squatter practices that escalated conflicts elsewhere. The new name honors William Cooper (1861–1941), a activist from the electorate's area who founded the Australian Aborigines' League in 1934 and led the 1938 Day of Mourning protest against the sesquicentennial of , marking an early assertion of Aboriginal political agency. Cooper's 1938 petition to King George VI sought full citizenship for Aboriginal people and drew international notice for protesting Nazi before a synagogue, predating widespread Allied responses. This choice reflected AEC preferences for names evoking positive national contributions, particularly from underrepresented groups, amid submissions proposing Cooper as a counterpoint to Batman's legacy; no boundary abolition occurred, but the rename symbolized a shift from colonial founders to Indigenous leaders in electoral nomenclature. The decision drew limited opposition, primarily from those viewing it as selective historical revisionism, but proceeded without legal challenge.

Controversies Surrounding the Name Change

The proposed renaming of the Division of Batman elicited debate over the suitability of honoring , an early settler credited with negotiating the founding treaty for in 1835 but accused by critics of prior involvement in frontier violence against Aboriginal people in (Tasmania). In February 2017, Darebin City Council, encompassing much of the electorate, voted to lobby the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) for a change, arguing that Batman no longer met the criterion of "outstanding service" due to historical reassessments portraying him as complicit in massacres and the invalidation of his treaty by colonial authorities. Proponents, including local indigenous activists and council members, cited Batman's role as a leader of the Port Phillip Association, which sought land through what they described as coercive means, and unverified claims of his participation in killings during convict hunts in the 1820s. Opposition to the renaming centered on preserving historical recognition of Batman's pioneering role in establishing settlement at , with then-Labor leader acknowledging in 2017 that "there can be debate about what the contribution of was," implying not all viewed him solely through a lens of culpability. Critics, including some historians and conservative commentators, argued that allegations of massacres lacked conclusive primary evidence and reflected a selective reinterpretation driven by contemporary sensitivities rather than balanced , potentially erasing figures integral to Australia's development. The AEC's public consultation process received submissions both supporting retention of the name for its longstanding association with Melbourne's origins and advocating alternatives like Cooper to honor activist William Cooper, who petitioned against indigenous disenfranchisement in 1937. The AEC's augmented commission unanimously endorsed the rename to Cooper on June 20, 2018, as part of the 2017-2018 Victorian redistribution, framing it as rectifying an outdated honor amid evolving understandings of colonial , though without detailing the volume of opposing submissions. This decision aligned with broader Australian trends of reassessing electorate and place names tied to figures—such as proposals for other divisions like McMillan—but drew implicit critique in media analyses as emblematic of tensions over legacy, where institutional bodies like councils and the AEC prioritized indigenous narratives over traditional commemorations. No widespread public protests ensued, but the process highlighted divisions in source credibility, with advocacy groups and left-leaning local governments amplifying contested accounts of Batman's actions while downplaying archival ambiguities in Tasmania's records.

References

  1. https://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/vic/batman.htm
  2. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-02/batman-treaty-melbourne-aboriginal-victoria-history-colonisation/104199610
  3. https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Elections/2018/271/ByDivision/Batman
  4. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/20/melbourne-electorate-of-batman-renamed-after-indigenous-activist
  5. https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/federal-seat-of-batman-to-be-renamed-after-indigenous-rights-leader-william-cooper/08nn2k846
  6. https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2018/06/20/batman-william-cooper-aec
  7. https://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/federal_elections/2016/profiles/vic/batman.htm
  8. https://www.aec.gov.au/Electorates/Redistributions/2010/vic/final-report.htm
  9. https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2016/CED203
  10. https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Elections/1906/204/Elected
  11. https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Elections/1906/204/ByDivision/Batman
  12. https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Elections/1914/207/Elected
  13. https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Elections/1910/205/ByDivision/Batman
  14. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/batman-john-1752
  15. https://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/colonial-melbourne/pioneers/batmans-early-days
  16. https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/6775
  17. https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/search-discover/galleries/founding-port-phillip
  18. https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2013/11/on-this-day-annulment-of-the-batman-treaty/
  19. https://results.aec.gov.au/13745/website/HouseDivisionProfile-13745-199.htm
  20. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27508311
  21. https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstreams/d0d4ebce-d493-4627-89d3-ead2f1e4cb87/download
  22. https://www.aec.gov.au/electorates/redistributions/2010/vic/files/vic-redistribution-report-24122010.pdf
  23. https://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/vic/files/2010/2010-aec-a4-map-vic-batman.pdf
  24. https://www.aec.gov.au/Electorates/Redistributions/2017/vic/essential.htm
  25. https://www.aec.gov.au/redistributions/
  26. https://www.aec.gov.au/elections/federal_elections/2007/profiles/Batman.htm
  27. https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Parliamentarian/JSC
  28. https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Parliamentarian/JP5
  29. https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Elections/1969/228/Elected
  30. https://handbook.aph.gov.au/voting/elections/2016/402/members-elected
  31. https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Parliamentarian/LTU
  32. https://handbook.aph.gov.au/voting/elections/1954/222/division/Batman
  33. https://results.aec.gov.au/17496/website/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-17496-199.htm
  34. https://results.aec.gov.au/20499/website/HouseDivisionPage-20499-199.htm
  35. https://results.aec.gov.au/21751/Website/HouseDivisionPage-21751-199.htm
  36. https://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/supplementary_by_elections/2018/batman.htm
  37. https://www.aec.gov.au/about_aec/research/files/analysis-of-informal-voting-2016.pdf
  38. https://www.aec.gov.au/redistributions/2017/vic/final-report/files/vic-2018-final-report.pdf
  39. https://www.darebin.vic.gov.au/files/assets/public/v/1/community-and-pets/documents/aecelectoraterenamingbatmantocooperfaqs.pdf
  40. https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-evidence-for-the-tasmanian-genocide-86828
  41. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-05/victoria-colonisation-history-yoorrook-aboriginal-massacres/103658322
  42. https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/bye-bye-batman-melbourne-founders-name-to-be-erased-from-electorate-history-20170216-guepuj.html
  43. https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-when-theres-a-lot-in-a-name-bean-survives-a-legacy-war-99325
  44. https://www.aec.gov.au/media/media-releases/2018/07-03.htm
  45. https://quadrant.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/August-2023-online-special.pdf
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