Parkes ministry (1887–89)

Fourth Parkes ministry
24th cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales

Premier Sir Henry Parkes and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed 20 January 1887 (1887-01-20)
Date dissolved 16 January 1889 (1889-01-16)
People and organisations
Head of government Sir Henry Parkes
Head of state Queen Victoria (represented by Lord Carrington)
Number of ministers 10
Member party Free Trade Party
Status in legislature Minority government
Opposition party Protectionist Party
Opposition leader George Dibbs
History
Predecessor Jennings ministry
Successor Second Dibbs ministry

The fourth Parkes ministry was the 24th ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the seventh Premier, the Honourable Sir Henry Parkes, KCMG. It was the fourth of five occasions that Parkes was Premier.[1]

Having served in the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1854 and 1856, Parkes was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held in 1856, however resigned from Parliament later that year. He served in the Assembly on several occasions, between 1858 and 1870, being forced to resign on at least one occasion due to his personal insolvency. He came to power as Premier on the first occasion in 1872, serving as Premier for a period of three years. However, Parkes lost the confidence of the Assembly following Governor Robinson's decision to release of the bushranger Frank Gardiner led to the defeat of the ministry in 1875.[2]

John Robertson served as Premier between 1875 and 1877, before Robertson was defeated at the 1877 election. Parkes formed his second ministry in a challenging environment where both Parkes and Robertson shared equal representation in the Legislative Assembly and business was sometimes at a standstill.[3] Parkes' second term as Colonial Premier lasted just 147 days, with the Farnell ministry giving both Parkes and Robertson reprieve for 12 months, prior to Parkes and Robertson forming an alliance government in the third Parkes ministry.[1]

The retirement of Robertson pitted Parkes against George Dibbs and after the governments of both Dibbs and Sir Patrick Jennings faltered under public debt,[2] Parkes formed this, his fourth ministry.

There was no party system in New South Wales politics until 1887.[4] Under the constitution, ministers were required to resign to recontest their seats in a by-election when appointed.[5] In the table below, these by-elections are only noted when the minister was defeated; in general, he was elected unopposed.

This ministry covers the period from 20 January 1887 until 16 January 1889.[1]

Composition of ministry

Portfolio Minister Term start Term end Term length
Premier
Colonial Secretary		 Hon. Sir Henry Parkes KCMG, MLA 20 January 1887 16 January 1889 1 year, 362 days
Vice-President of the Executive Council 6 March 1887 45 days
Colonial Treasurer Hon. John Burns MLA 16 January 1889 1 year, 362 days
Attorney-General Hon. William Foster MLA 18 May 1887 118 days
Hon. Bernhard Wise MLA 27 May 1887 7 February 1888 256 days
Hon. George Simpson MLA 10 February 1888 16 January 1889 341 days
Secretary for Lands Hon. Thomas Garrett MLA 20 January 1887 19 January 1888 364 days
Hon. Sir Henry Parkes MLA 26 July 1888 23 August 1888 28 days
Hon. James Brunker MLA 29 August 1888 16 January 1889 140 days
Secretary for Public Works Hon. John Sutherland MLA 20 January 1887 1 year, 362 days
Minister of Justice Hon. William Clarke MLA
Minister of Public Instruction Hon. James Inglis MLA
Secretary for Mines Hon. Francis Abigail MLA
Postmaster-General Hon. Charles Roberts MLA
Representative of the Government in Legislative Council Hon. Julian Salomons MLC
Vice-President of the Executive Council 7 March 1887 1 year, 315 days

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)" (Excel spreadsheet). Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  2. 1 2 Martin, A. W. "Parkes, Sir Henry (1815–96)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  3. ↑ Serle, Percival. "Sir Henry Parkes (1816–1896)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Project Gutenberg Australia. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  4. ↑ Green, Antony (20 October 2010). "Centenary of the First NSW Labor Government". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "1904 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales (Government of New South Wales). Archived from the original on 20 July 2011.
Preceded by
Jennings ministry		 Fourth Parkes ministry
1887–1889 		Succeeded by
Second Dibbs ministry
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