 The ALP was strongest, and arguably unchallenged, in most seats north and west of the Yarra River—Melbourne's traditional cultural divide.In fact, the Liberals had not held a metropolitan seat in the western suburbs since 1996, when they lost the seat of Essendon.At the 1996 election, the Liberals also lost Ivanhoe (their remaining seat north of the Yarra—Eltham—was lost in 2002).