Donaldson ministry

The Donaldson ministry was the first ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the Honourable Stuart Donaldson. Despite the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly being held in March 1856, it took over two months for Donaldson to form Government. It was sworn in on 6 June 1856, after the 1856 election and lasted just eighty days.

Donaldson ministry
First ministry of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier Stuart Donaldson and the Colony of New South Wales (1856–1859)
Date formed	6 June 1856 (1856-06-06)
Date dissolved	25 August 1856 (1856-08-25)
People and organisations
Head of state	Queen Victoria (represented by William Denison)
Head of government	Stuart Donaldson
No. of ministers	6
Member party	unaligned
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	unaligned
Opposition leader	Charles Cowper
History
Election(s)	1856
Successor	First 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. These by-elections are only noted when the minister was defeated; in general, he was elected unopposed.

This ministry covers the period from 6 June 1856 until on 25 August 1856, when Donaldson resigned his commission, having lost the confidence of the Assembly.[1]

Composition of ministry

Portfolio	Minister	Term start	Term end	Term length
Premier Colonial Secretary	Hon. Stuart Donaldson MLA	6 June 1856	25 August 1856	80 days
Colonial Treasurer	Thomas Holt MLA
Attorney-General	William Manning MLA
Solicitor-General	John Darvall MLA
Auditor-General Secretary for Lands and Works	George Nichols MLA
Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council	William Mayne MLC

1 2 3 4 5

1 Thomas Holt (Treasurer) 2 William M. Manning (Attorney-General) 3 Stuart Donaldson (Premier) 4 John Darvall (Solicitor-General) 5 George Nichols (Auditor-General)

Executive Council of New South Wales, 1856, photographed by Freeman Brothers

See also

• Self-government in New South Wales
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1856–1858

References

1. "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)". Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original (Excel spreadsheet) on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 2010-01-02.

 

Preceded by First responsible government	Donaldson ministry 1856	Succeeded by First Cowper ministry