The Farnell ministry was the eighteenth ministry of the
Colony of New South Wales
The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...
, and was led by
James Farnell. Farnell was first elected to the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly in
1860
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France.
* January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...
.
The eighth parliament had been a challenging environment, where neither
Sir John Robertson nor
Sir Henry Parkes had been able to maintain the confidence of the Legislative Assembly. The
1877 election did not resolve the issue with neither Robertson nor Parkes obtaining a majority. Instead the government was formed by Farnell as a compromise Premier.
The title of
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
was widely used to refer to the Leader of the Government, but was not a formal ministerial office 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.
Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and on this occasion a poll was required for
Yass Plains (
Michael Fitzpatrick) and he was easily re-elected. The six other ministers, James Farnell (
St Leonards),
Henry Cohen (
West Maitland
Maitland () is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. It is on the New England ...
),
Joseph Leary (
The Murrumbidgee),
John Sutherland John Sutherland may refer to:
Politicians
* John Sutherland (New South Wales politician) (1816–1889), member of the NSW Legislative Assembly and Council
* John Sutherland (Canadian senator) (1821–1899), Canadian Senator from Manitoba
* John S ...
(
Paddington),
William Suttor Jr.
William Henry Suttor (4 November 1834 – 20 October 1905) was an Australian politician and pastoralist.
He was born at Brucedale near Bathurst to William Henry Suttor and Charlotte Augusta Ann Francis. He was educated at Parramatta and t ...
(
East Macquarie) and
John Burns (
The Hunter), were re-elected unopposed.
This ministry covers the period from 18 December 1877 until 20 December 1878, when Farnell resigned following his inability to gain safe passage of a land bill through Parliament. Sir Henry Parkes succeeded Farnell as Leader of the Government.
Composition of ministry
Ministers are members of the
Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.
See also
*
James Farnell - eighth Premier of New South Wales
*
Self-government in New South Wales
*
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1877–1880
References
{{Ministries of New South Wales
New South Wales ministries
1877 establishments in Australia
1878 disestablishments in Australia