| Bowman AustralianHouse of RepresentativesDivision | |
|---|---|
  Interactive map of boundaries since the2019 federal election | |
| Created | 1949 |
| MP | Henry Pike |
| Party | Liberal[a] |
| Namesake | David Bowman |
| Electors | 122,978 (2025) |
| Area | 536 km2 (207.0 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Outer metropolitan |
TheDivision of Bowman is anAustralian Electoral Division inQueensland. The current MP isHenry Pike of theLiberal Party.
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by theAustralian 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.[1]
Bowman’s boundaries are largely consistent with those ofRedland City, includingCleveland andNorth Stradbroke Island.[2]
The division was created in 1949 and is named forDavid Bowman, an early leader of theAustralian Labor Party, in Queensland. The seat consists of the entirety ofRedland City, located in the eastern suburbs ofBrisbane, and includes the suburbs ofCapalaba,Cleveland,Redland Bay,Birkdale,Thorneside,Alexandra Hills,Thornlands,Mount Cotton,Ormiston,Wellington Point andVictoria Point. The division also incorporates various islands ofMoreton Bay includingCoochiemudlo Island, the inhabited southernBay Islands (Russell, Karragarra,Macleay and Lamb) and the big tourist destination ofNorth Stradbroke Island.
It is generally aresidential electorate with some crops, poultry, variouslight industries andtourism.
Bowman has traditionally been a highly marginal seat, regularly changing hands between the Australian Labor Party and theLiberal Party. Notably, the electorate has been won by the party with the largest nationaltwo party preferred vote at every election from1954 to2001 (except1990). However, in the2004 election, an energetic campaign by DrAndrew Laming, and an electoral redistribution (due to the creation of the newDivision of Bonner, leading veteran Bowman MPCon Sciacca to contest this new seat), saw Bowman returned to the Liberal Party by a significant margin (59.12% 2PP). The division was then considered by pollsters such asAntony Green to be a fairly safe Liberal seat.
In the2007 election, the electorate experienced a strong swing of 8.86% towards the Australian Labor Party; the incumbent Laming held the seat by 0.04%, or 64 votes. This made it second only toMcEwen as the most marginal seat in the country, although the 2009 electoral redistribution in Queensland saw the margin notionally reduced further, to effectively 0.005%, making Bowman Australia's most marginal seat at the time.[3] Laming went on to retain the seat comfortably for theLiberal National Party of Queensland in:2010, regaining ground with a 9.51% swing towards him;2013, despite a 6.35% swing against him; and2016, when all parties saw a positive swing in Bowman (for the first time since1955), due to the absence of aPalmer United Party candidate.
| Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Malcolm McColm (1914–1966) | Liberal | 10 December 1949 – 9 December 1961 | Lost seat | |
 | Jack Comber (1919–1992) | Labor | 9 December 1961 – 30 November 1963 | Lost seat | |
.jpg) | Wylie Gibbs (1922–) | Liberal | 30 November 1963 – 25 October 1969 | Lost seat | |
 | Len Keogh (1931–2007) | Labor | 25 October 1969 – 13 December 1975 | Lost seat | |
 | David Jull (1944–2011) | Liberal | 13 December 1975 – 5 March 1983 | Lost seat. Later elected to the Division ofFadden in1984 | |
| Len Keogh (1931–2007) | Labor | 5 March 1983 – 5 June 1987 | Lost preselection and retired | |
.jpg) | Con Sciacca (1947–2017) | 11 July 1987 – 2 March 1996 | Served as minister underKeating. Lost seat | ||
| Andrea West (1952–2010) | Liberal | 2 March 1996 – 3 October 1998 | Lost seat | |
| Con Sciacca (1947–2017) | Labor | 3 October 1998 – 31 August 2004 | Did not contest in2004. Failed to win the Division ofBonner | |
 | Andrew Laming (1966–) | Liberal[b] | 9 October 2004 – 11 April 2022 | Lost preselection and retired | |
 | Henry Pike[a] (1987–) | 21 May 2022 – present | Incumbent |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal National | Henry Pike | 42,777 | 39.61 | −2.76 | |
| Labor | Darcy Brown | 34,247 | 31.71 | +2.51 | |
| Greens | Kristie Lockhart | 12,689 | 11.75 | −1.27 | |
| One Nation | Matthew Knight | 7,650 | 7.08 | −0.61 | |
| Trumpet of Patriots | Gary Williamson | 3,924 | 3.63 | +3.63 | |
| Independent | Shaun Holloway | 3,375 | 3.13 | +3.13 | |
| Family First | David Todd | 3,325 | 3.08 | +3.08 | |
| Total formal votes | 107,987 | 96.44 | −0.65 | ||
| Informal votes | 3,986 | 3.56 | +0.65 | ||
| Turnout | 111,973 | 91.08 | +0.57 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal National | Henry Pike | 56,615 | 52.43 | −3.08 | |
| Labor | Darcy Brown | 51,372 | 47.57 | +3.08 | |
| Liberal Nationalhold | Swing | −3.08 | |||
27°34′48″S153°14′31″E / 27.580°S 153.242°E /-27.580; 153.242