The Division of Darling Downs was an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created at Federation in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It was abolished in 1984 when it was replaced by the Division of Groom. It was named for the Darling Downs region of Queensland, and consisted mainly of the city of Toowoomba and surrounding rural areas. The seat was safely conservative for its entire existence; it was always held by the Liberal Party and its predecessors or the Country Party. Its prominent members included Sir Littleton Groom, Cabinet minister and Speaker, and Arthur Fadden, Prime Minister of Australia in 1941.
The electorate's first member, William Henry Groom, died at the first Commonwealth Parliament meeting in Melbourne in 1901, and his death led to Australia's first by-election, which was won by his son, Littleton Groom, who went on to serve as Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives. The seat was abolished in 1984, largely being replaced by the Division of Groom.
Read more about Division Of Darling Downs: Members, Election Results
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“In this world, which is so plainly the antechamber of another, there are no happy men. The true division of humanity is between those who live in light and those who live in darkness. Our aim must be to diminish the number of the latter and increase the number of the former. That is why we demand education and knowledge.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
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—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin
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—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)