Colonial elections were held in South Australia from 29 March to 30 April 1878. All 46 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The three years after the 1875 election continued the instability of government.

Arthur Blyth Sir Arthur Blyth (19 March 1823 – 7 December 1891) was Premier of South Australia three times; 1864–65, 1871–72 and 1873–75. Early life The son of William Blyth and his wife, Sarah Wilkins, he was born at Birmingham, England on 21 ...

was replaced by James Boucaut only two months after the 1875 election. He re-shuffled his ministry in March 1876, but survived only 73 days before defeat by

John Colton John Colton may refer to: *John Colton (politician) (1823–1902), Australian politician, Premier of South Australia and philanthropist * John Colton (bishop) (c. 1320–1404), statesman and cleric in Ireland *John Colton (screenwriter) John Colt ...

. Boucaut returned in 1877, and took the parliament into the 1878 election in April. 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 lost sufficient support through a successful motion of no confidence at any time on the floor of the house, he would tender his resignation to the

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gene ...

, 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 would be formed in 1891, while the National Defence League would be formed later in the same year.

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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 1878 elections in Australia 1870s in South Australia April 1878 events

See also

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