Division of Mayo

The Division of Mayo is an Australian electoral division located in the East, South, South-East and South-West of Adelaide, South Australia. Established in the South Australian redistribution of 3 September 1984, the division is named after Helen Mayo, a social activist and the first woman elected to an Australian University Council. The 9,315 km² seat covers an area from Springton in the North to Goolwa in the South. It takes in the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island, including the towns of Bridgewater, Crafers, Echunga, Gumeracha, Hahndorf, Langhorne Creek, Lobethal, Macclesfield, Mount Barker, Myponga, Oakbank, Stirling, Strathalbyn, Victor Harbor, Woodside, Yankalilla, and part of Birdwood.

At its creation, Mayo was a rural based electorate that stretched from the seaside town of Victor Harbor to the Adelaide Hills. Mayo was created as a Liberal seat on a notionally safe 12.3 per cent two-party margin. Liberal Alexander Downer, fifth and last of the Downer family dynasty, won Mayo for the Liberals at the inaugural 1984 election and would hold the seat for 24 years.