Voting and electorates

This collection has lists of registered voters for State and Federal elections.

Who can vote

Before June 1859 Queensland was a part of New South Wales.

In 1843 only men owning freehold property exceeding £200 or leasing property with an annual value exceeding £20 could vote for members of the NSW Legislative Council

In 1851 the property qualification was halved to £100 and £10. Colonists could vote if they

• Owned freehold property exceeding £100 in the electorate
• Held licences from the government to depasture lands within the electorate
• Occupied houses exceeding an annual value of £10 in the electorate, and
• Owned leasehold property exceeding an annual value of £10, the leases of which at the date of registration had not less than 3 years to run.
• all adult males who had lived in the electorate for at least 6 months

The property qualification was retained and allowed a man to vote in every electorate where he had the necessary property.

Those who were not eligible to vote were police, serving members of the armed forces, paupers and prisoners.

For more details refer to NSW Electoral rolls guide

In June 1859 Queensland became a State. Voting rights were given to

• Adult men over 21 years old and
• 3 year residence qualification or
• 6 months if owner or lessee of a property.

The police and military were disqualified.

A voter could register and vote more than once if he held many properties.

In 1904 adult women and men could vote even if they did not own property.  However some non-European immigrants, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders still could not vote.

In 1924 compulsory voting introduced to improve the low rates of voter turnouts.

In 1962 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples could vote in federal elections. In 1965 they were granted voting rights in Queensland elections.

1973 the voting age is reduced to 18 years old.

For more details read Qld electoral and parliamentary history

You may find these details in the electoral rolls depending on the voting rules at the time:

• Name
• Nature of qualification
• Salary
• Voter registration date
• Residence / Address
• Age (removed from 1984 onwards)
• Occupation (removed from 1984 onwards)

This collection is a series of images of the electoral boundaries that have changed as the population has grown and moved around the State. There is already a large collection of physical maps in the map draws at the society’s rooms, but we are in the process of gathering and organising the digital collection.

• Maps with electoral boundaries
• Electorate name
• Cadastral maps are helpful, broken into County and Parishes
• And, military maps with boundaries and topographical features

Electoral map index (COMING SOON)

Gympie & Wide Bay map index (COMING SOON)

Signatories to the women’s suffrage petitions – Queensland petitions signed by women and men for women’s right to vote

AEC Tally Room Archive – Federal election results including national, state, divisional and candidate polling place from 2001 onwards.

ECQ Election results and statistics – State and local government election results

Local government area boundaries | Electoral Commission of Queensland – current boundaries. Can be searched by address.

State electorate boundaries | Electoral Commission of Queensland – current boundaries. can be searched by address.

Find my electorate – for current federal seats.