Electoral district of Gippsland South

The electoral district of Gippsland South (initially known as South Gippsland)^[1] is a Lower House electoral district of the Victorian Parliament.^[2] It is located within the Eastern Victoria Region of the Legislative Council.

Gippsland South Victoria—Legislative Assembly
Location of Gippsland South (dark green) in Victoria
State	Victoria
Created	1859
MP	Danny O'Brien
Party	National
Namesake	South Gippsland
Electors	42,564 (2018)
Area	8,232 km2 (3,178.4 sq mi)
Demographic	Rural
Electorates around Gippsland South: Narracan Narracan Morwell Gippsland East Bass Gippsland South Tasman Sea Bass Strait Bass Strait Bass Strait

Gippsland South extends along the state's coast from Venus Bay to Loch Sport^[3] and includes the country Victorian towns of Foster, Korumburra, Leongatha, Mirboo North, Port Albert, Port Welshpool, Rosedale, Sale and Yarram. The electorate includes all of South Gippsland Shire and the southern parts of Wellington Shire.^[3] Industries include agriculture, timber production and tourism. Dairying is the biggest agricultural contributor to the local economy.^[4] Wilsons Promontory National Park, Corner Inlet, and numerous lakes and islands along the coast and border are examples of natural features.

Its area was initially defined by the 1858 Electoral Act as: "Commencing at the mouth of Merryman's Creek^[a] on the Ninety Mile Beach; bounded on the north by Merryman's Creek to where the road from Tarraville to Rosedale crosses said creek near Bayless's pre-emptive right, thence by a line west fourteen degrees to Buneep; on the west by the counties of Evelyn and Mornington to Cape Patterson; and on the south and south-east by the sea-coast to the commencing point"^[5]

The Electoral Act Amendment Act of 1888 created new districts of Gippsland Central,Gippsland East and Gippsland West and reduced the size of Gippsland South (renaming it from South Gippsland) and Gippsland North.^[6]

It has never been won by the Labor Party, and has been in the hands of the National Party for all but two terms since 1929.

Sir Herbert Hyland held the seat for thirty years from 1929 until he died in office in 1970. He held many portfolios in government including Transport, Chief Secretary, State Development, Labour, Decentralisation and Transport and Prices. Hyland was knighted in 1952,^[6] and elected leader of the parliamentary Country Party in 1955.

The district is currently held by Nationals MP Danny O'Brien, who won the seat in a by-election in 2015 following the resignation of former Nationals leader Peter Ryan.

^a = now known as Merriman Creek