Robertson ministry (1860–61)

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 formed	8 March 1860
Date dissolved	9 January 1861
People and organisations
Head of government	John Robertson
Head of state	Queen Victoria (represented by William Denison)
Number of ministers	5
Member party	unaligned
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	unaligned
Opposition leader	William Forster Charles Cowper
History
Predecessor	Forster ministry
Successor	Third Cowper ministry

The first Robertson ministry was the sixth ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the Honourable 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.

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 9 March 1860 until 9 January 1861, when Robertson resigned his commission.^[1][2]

Composition of ministry

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

See also

• John Robertson - fifth Premier of New South Wales
• Self-government in New South Wales
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1860–1864
• Second Robertson ministry (1868–1870)
• Third Robertson ministry (1875–1877)
• Fourth Robertson ministry (1877)
• Fifth Robertson ministry (1885–1886)

References

1. Serle, Percival. "Robertson, Sir John (1816-1891)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Project Gutenberg Australia. Retrieved 13 March 2007.
2. "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 2 January 2010.