The 1856 New South Wales colonial election was held between 11 March and 19 April 1856. This election was for all of the 54 seats in the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...
and it was conducted in 18 single-member constituencies, 13 2-member constituencies, two 3-member constituencies and one 4-member constituency, all with a
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
system.
This was not a
secret ballot and voters were required to write their name and address on the ballot paper.
Only men aged over 21 who owned at least a certain amount of land or had above a certain income, could vote. If a man fulfilled these requirements in multiple constituencies, then he was allowed to cast a vote in each. This was known as plural voting.
Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
men were allowed to vote in theory (there was no specific law against them voting), but in practice they were generally not aware of the process, not encouraged to enrol, and were mostly excluded and unable to participate in the election. In 1856, the
Australian frontier wars were ongoing between various Aboriginal First Nations and the NSW government and colonists.
This was the first election held since the introduction of self-government in New South Wales. The resulting parliament, devoid of anything resembling party structure, ran for two weeks before
Stuart Donaldson
Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson (16 December 1812 – 11 January 1867) was the first Premier of the Colony of New South Wales.
Early life
Donaldson was born in London, England. He entered his father's firm at the age of 15 and was sent first t ...
assumed the premiership, and struggled to deliver stable government during its term.
Key dates
Results
See also
*
*
Candidates of the 1856 New South Wales colonial election
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Results of the 1856 New South Wales colonial election
The 1856 New South Wales colonial election was to return 54 members of Legislative Assembly composed of 34 electoral districts with 18 returning 1 member, 13 returning 2 members, two returning 3 members and one returning 4 members, all with a ...
References
{{New South Wales elections
Elections in New South Wales
New South Wales Colonial Election, 1856
New South Wales Colonial Election, 1856
New South Wales Colonial Election, 1856
1850s in New South Wales