About Farrer

William Farrer

William James Farrer

The electorate of Farrer was named after William James Farrer, a distinguished agriculturalist who was the father of the Australian wheat industry.

Born in Docker, Westmorland, England, April 3, 1845, Farrer died on the 16th April 1906. Awarded a scholarship to Christs’ Hospital, London, he won gold and silver medals for mathematics before continuing his education at the University of Cambridge (BA 1868).

Arriving in Australia in 1870, he worked as a tutor at George Campbell’s sheep station, Duntroon (Canberra) and then qualified as a surveyor in New South Wales in 1875, working for the Department of Lands in the Dubbo, Nyngan, Cobar and Cooma districts between 1875-86.

In 1886 Farrer purchased "Lambrigg" on the Murrumbidgee River near where Canberra now stands and began private experiments on cross-breeding wheat from 1889. He was further employed as a wheat experimentalist for the Department of Agriculture in 1898. His best known wheat was “Federation”, which became the leading variety throughout Australia between 1910-25. His success was demonstrated in 1914, when of the 29 wheat varieties recommended for growing in New South Wales, 22 had been developed by him.

His wheats were not so much rust-resistant as rust escaping because of their early maturity. “Federation” was developed especially to tolerate Australia’s harsh climate, and was capable of withstanding diseases such as rust, while producing high yields.

Apart from having a Federal electorate named after him, William Farrer was also commemorated through the Farrer Memorial Medal for outstanding achievements in agricultural science, research and education and the Farrer Memorial Scholarship for postgraduate agricultural research. He also appeared on the first decimal $2 note, and is recognised on a variety of memorials, on stamps and as the namesake of schools, streets, institutions, a flour mill and a suburb in Canberra.

Farrer Electorate Facts

The Farrer electorate is a magnificent and diverse area of Australia. In 2006, changes to the electorate boundaries were announced and as of the 2007 Election, Farrer will border Victoria, South Australia and Queensland and will stretch from Holbrook in the East, along the Murray River and up to Tibooburra and Cameron's Corner in the far North West.

Farrer currently encompasses almost 250,000 square kilometres and incorporating  Broken Hill, Wentworth, Balranald, Wakool, Hay, Conargo, Murray, Urana, Deniliquin, Jerilderie, Berrigan, Corowa, Lockhart, Corowa, Greater Hume, Albury, a small portion of Central Darling Shire at Menindee and a large part of unincorporated NSW. As from the next Federal election Farrer boundaries will increase to including the whole of the Central Darling Shire and uncorporated NSW.

In all there are 16 local government areas within the electorate and parts of five NSW state electoral divisions.

Central to the life of the electorate is Australia’s mightiest river – the Murray – which forms the southern boundary. The western boundary is the entire NSW/South Australian border and the northern is the Queensland border.

Almost 95,000 constituents and their families call Farrer home, with a large rural population working the land and vibrant Albury as the regional city hub.  

Farrer incorporates many industries including large-scale irrigation areas such as Deniliquin and Wentworth. We produce rice, irrigated cereals, dairy products, wool, fat lambs and cattle as well as blueberries, citrus, vine crops and vegetables.

A wide variety of employment opportunities exist in the public and private sectors, rural and regional industries, as well as education and hospitality. 

The region is a very popular tourist destination with many wonderful towns and regions which are rich in culture and arts. For details on tourism events and places you will find details on the Council websites (a link is included on this website).

There is also a rich indigenous history associated with the region, with the Wiradjuri Aboriginal tribe calling much of the electorate home for thousands of years. In addition, the oldest human remains ever found in Australia were found at Lake Mungo, in the north west of the electorate.

 Farrer LGA Locator

There are three levels of Government in Australia – local, state and federal. Use this locator to find out which local government area and state division you belong to within Farrer.
 

Local Council State Seat Federal Seat

Local Council	State Seat	Federal Seat
Albury City	Albury	Farrer
Balranald Shire	Murray-Darling	Farrer
Berrigan Shire	Murray-Darling	Farrer
Conargo	Murray-Darling	Farrer
Corowa	Albury	Farrer
Deniliquin	Murray-Darling	Farrer
Greater Hume	Albury	Farrer
Lockhart	Wagga Wagga	Farrer
Jerilderie	Murray-Darling	Farrer
Murray	Murray-Darling	Farrer
Urana	Murray-Darling	Farrer
Wakool	Murray-Darling	Farrer
Wentworth	Murray-Darling	Farrer
Hay	Murray-Darling	Farrer
Broken Hill	Murray-Darling	Farrer
Central Darling	Murray-Darling	Farrer

The Farrer Electorate

The electorate of Farrer is bounded by the NSW electorates of Parkes and Riverina to the north and Hume and Eden-Monaro to the east.

The Murray River separates it from Victorian electorates of Indi, Murray and Mallee to the south, while across the western boundary and NSW-South Australia state border is the electorate of Grey.

Farrer Map 2010