Robertson ministry (1860–61)

The first Robertson ministry was the sixth ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by John Robertson. It was the first of five occasions that Robertson was Premier. Robertson was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held in March 1856.

First Robertson ministry
6th Cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier John Robertson and the Colony of New South Wales (1860–1862)
Date formed8 March 1860 (1860-03-08)
Date dissolved9 January 1861 (1861-01-09)
People and organisations
Head of stateQueen Victoria (represented by William Denison)
Head of governmentJohn Robertson
No. of ministers5
Member partyunaligned
Status in legislatureMinority government
Opposition partyunaligned
Opposition leader
History
PredecessorForster ministry
SuccessorThird Cowper ministry

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. Under the constitution, ministers were required to resign to recontest their seats in a by-election when appointed.[1] Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and on this occasion John Robertson (The Upper Hunter), William Arnold (The Paterson) and Elias Weekes (West Maitland) were all re-elected unopposed.[2]

This ministry covers the period from 9 March 1860 until 9 January 1861, when Robertson resigned his commission.[3][4]

Composition of ministry
Portfolio Minister Term start Term end Term length
Premier
Secretary for Lands		 John Robertson MLA 9 March 1860 9 January 1861 306 days
Colonial Secretary Charles Cowper MLC / MLA [lower-alpha 1]
Colonial Treasurer Elias Weekes MLA
Secretary for Public Works William Arnold MLA
Attorney General
Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council		 John Hargrave MLC

 

  1. Charles Cowper was a member of the Legislative Council until the election in December 1860 when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the member for East Sydney.[5]

See also

References
  1. Twomey, Anne (2004). The Constitution of New South Wales. Federation Press. pp. 442. ISBN 9781862875166. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. Green, Antony. "1859-60 by-elections". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  3. Serle, Percival (1949). "Robertson, Sir John (1816–1891)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  4. "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  5. "Sir Charles Cowper [1] (1807–1875)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 15 December 2020.

 

Preceded by
Forster ministry		 First Robertson ministry
1860–1861		 Succeeded by
Third Cowper ministry
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