Robertson ministry (1885–86)

Fifth Robertson ministry
22nd cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier John Robertson and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed	22 December 1885
Date dissolved	25 February 1886
People and organisations
Head of government	John Robertson
Head of state	Queen Victoria (represented by The Lord Carrington)
Number of ministers	9
Member party	unaligned
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	unaligned
Opposition leader	Henry Parkes George Dibbs
History
Predecessor	First Dibbs ministry
Successor	Jennings ministry

The fifth Robertson ministry was the 22nd ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the Premier, the Honourable Sir John Robertson KCMG. It was the fifth and final occasion that Robertson was Premier. Robertson was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held in March 1856.

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 22 December 1885 until 25 February 1886, when Robertson's government faltered due to the destablishing influence of his old foe, Sir Henry Parkes.^[1] Robertson was succeeded as Premier by Sir Patrick Jennings, and retired from parliament in June 1886.^[2][3]

Composition of ministry

Portfolio	Minister	Term start	Term end	Term length
Premier Colonial Secretary	Hon. Sir John Robertson MLA	22 December 1885	25 February 1886	65 days
Colonial Treasurer	Hon. John Burns MLA
Minister of Public Instruction	Hon. James Young MLA
Minister of Justice	Hon. Louis Heydon MLA		4 February 1886	44 days
Attorney-General Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. George Simpson MLC		25 February 1886	65 days
Secretary for Lands	Hon. Gerald Spring MLA
Secretary for Public Works	Hon. Jacob Garrard MLA
Postmaster-General	Hon. Daniel O'Connor MLA
Secretary for Mines	Hon. Robert Vaughn MLA

See also

• John Robertson - fifth Premier of New South Wales
• Self-government in New South Wales
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1874–1877
• First Robertson ministry (1860–1861)
• Second Robertson ministry (1868–1870)
• Third Robertson ministry (1875–1877)
• Fourth Robertson ministry (1877)

References

1. Nairn, Bede. "Robertson, Sir John (1816 - 1891)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 13 March 2007.
2. Serle, Percival. "Robertson, Sir John (1816-1891)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Project Gutenberg Australia. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
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 20 March 2011.