, the division's namesake The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the
original 65 divisions to be contested at the
first federal election. The division was named after the city of
Newcastle, around which the division is centred. It has been held by the Australian Labor Party for its entire existence. Historically, it has been one of that party's safest seats outside of the capital cities; the
Hunter Region is one of the few regions outside the capitals where Labor consistently does well. Labor has never tallied less than 58 percent of the
Two-party-preferred vote in a general election, and has only come close to losing it once, when it tallied 53 percent in a
1935 by-election, when the top two candidates were representing Labor and Labor (NSW). It is the only original division to be held by just one party since the first federal election. The Division of Newcastle has had just six members since 1901, the fewest of any of the original divisions. From 1901 to 1958, the seat was held by the Watkins family. The seat's first member,
David Watkins, held the seat until his death in 1935. The
ensuing by-election was won by his son,
David Oliver.
Allan Morris' brother
Peter Morris was also a Member of the House, holding the
Division of Shortland, which lies immediately to the south.
Charles Jones' brother
Sam was the member for
Waratah in the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly for much of the time that he was the member. The electoral district of Waratah lay within the boundaries of the Division of Newcastle. The seat's most prominent members were David Watkins, the second-longest serving member of the First Parliament, and
Charles Jones, a minister in the
Whitlam government. The current Member, since the
2013 federal election, is
Sharon Claydon. Following the
2022 Australian federal election, the division was the
safest Labor seat in the nation. ==Members==