Colonial elections were held in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

from 10 February to 1 March 1875. All 46 seats in the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the South Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament House in the st ...

were up for election. A redistribution was carried out in 1872 transforming the electoral geography. The new structure increased the number of electorates from 18 to 22, and the number of members from 36 to 46. The system returned to electorates containing different numbers of members - three 3-member electorates, 18 with two members, and

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

with one member. The instability of government continued, but it was a battle between two leaders.

Henry Ayers Sir Henry Ayers (now pron. "airs") (1 May 1821 – 11 June 1897) was the eighth Premier of South Australia, serving a record five times between 1863 and 1873. His lasting memorial is in the name Ayers Rock, also known as Uluru, which was en ...

who, from the Legislative Council, led more ministries than any other person in the history of SA, had defeated Arthur Blyth as soon as the Assembly met, one month after the 1871 election, re-shuffled his ministry after only 42 days, and then survived until he was defeated by Blyth in July 1873. Blyth remained in office and took the parliament to the full term. Since the inaugural 1857 election, no parties or solid groupings had been formed, which resulted in frequent changes of the Premier. If for any reason the incumbent

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

lost sufficient support through a successful

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

at any time on the

floor of the house A legislative chamber or house is a deliberative assembly within a legislature which generally meets and votes separately from the legislature's other chambers. Legislatures are usually unicameral, consisting of only one chamber, or bicamera ...

, he would tender his resignation to the Governor of South Australia, which would result in another member deemed to have the support of the House of Assembly being sworn in by the Governor as the next Premier. Informal groupings began and increased government stability occurred from the 1887 election. The

United Labor Party The South Australian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as South Australian Labor, is the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, originally formed ...

would be formed in 1891, while the

National Defence League The National Defence League (NDL) was an independent conservative political party, founded in 1891 by MLC Richard Baker in South Australia as an immediate response to the perceived threat from Labor. Though renamed the Australasian National Lea ...

would be formed later in the same year.

Notes

References

History of South Australian elections 1857-2006, volume 1: ECSAStatistical Record of the Legislature 1836-2007: SA Parliament
{{South Australian elections Elections in South Australia 1875 elections in Australia 1870s in South Australia February 1875 events March 1875 events

See also

Notes

References