Stuart ministry
Cabinet nameStuart ministry
Cabinet number20th
Jurisdictionthe Colony of New South Wales
Date formed5 January 1883
Date dissolved6 October 1885
Government headAlexander Stuart
State headQueen Victoria
MonarchQueen Victoria
GovernorLord Augustus Loftus
Members number10
Political partyunaligned
Legislature statusMinority government
Opposition partyunaligned
Opposition leaderHenry Parkes
PreviousThird Parkes ministry
SuccessorFirst Dibbs ministry

The Stuart ministry was the 20th ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by Sir Alexander Stuart. Stuart was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1874.

The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but not enshrined in formal use until 1920.

There was no party system in New South Wales politics until 1887.[1] Under the constitution, ministers in the Legislative Assembly were required to resign to recontest their seats in a by-election when appointed.[2] Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and on this occasion a poll was required for East Sydney where George Reid was easily re-elected and Newtown where Henry Copeland was narrowly defeated. Copeland was able to return to the assembly the following week due to a vacancy at East Sydney. The 6 other ministers, Sir Alexander Stuart (Illawarra), George Dibbs (St Leonards), Henry Cohen (West Maitland), James Farnell (New England), Francis Wright (Redfern) and Joseph Abbott (Gunnedah ), were re-elected unopposed. The minister subsequently appointed, William Trickett (Paddington) was also re-elected unopposed.[3]

In January 1884 the Committee of Elections and Qualifications held that an error in the drafting of the constitution meant that George Reid could not be validly appointed Minister of Public Instruction, and declared his seat vacant.[4] Reid was defeated in the resulting by-election in February 1884.[3]

This ministry covers the period from 5 January 1883 until 6 October 1885. Suffering a paralytic stroke whilst in office, William Dalley was acting Premier from late 1884, with Dalley deciding to send a contingent of troops to the Sudan. Stuart resumed his duties in May 1885 before resigning in October due to continued ill health. His Treasurer, George Dibbs, succeeded Stuart as Premier.[5][6][7]

Composition of ministry

PortfolioMinisterTerm startTerm endTerm length
Premier
Colonial Secretary		Sir Alexander Stuart[a]5 January 18836 October 18852
Colonial TreasurerGeorge Dibbs
Minister of Public InstructionGeorge Reid6 March 18841
William Trickett2 May 18846 October 18851
Minister of JusticeHenry Cohen5 January 18832
Attorney General
Representative of the Government in Legislative Council		William Dalley MLC[a]
Secretary for LandsJames Farnell
Secretary for Public WorksHenry Copeland28 March 188382 days
Francis Wright28 May 18836 October 1885862 days
Postmaster-General5 January 188327 May 1883142 days
William Trickett28 May 18831 May 1884339 days
James Norton MLC2 May 18846 October 18851
Secretary for MinesJoseph Abbott5 January 18832
Vice-President of the Executive CouncilSir Patrick Jennings31 July 1883207 days
  1. ^ Due to the illness of Sir Alexander Stuart, in addition to his other responsibilities, William Dalley was also charged with the duties of Colonial Secretary from 7 October 1884 to 11 May 1885.

Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

See also

References

  1. ^ Green, Antony (20 October 2010). "Centenary of the First NSW Labor Government". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived 10 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ Twomey, Anne (2004). The Constitution of New South Wales. Federation Press. pp. 442. ISBN 9781862875166. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  3. ^ "By-elections 1882-85". 1882. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  4. ^ Twomey (2004), pp. 433–4.
  5. ^
  6. ^
  7. ^