The Minister for Railways was a ministry first established in 1916 in the nationalist ministry of

William Holman William Arthur Holman (4 August 1871 – 5 June 1934) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1913 to 1920. He came to office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), Labor Party, ...

and abolished in 1929. It was known as the Minister for Railways and State Industrial Enterprises in the Second Fuller ministry between 1922 and 1925.

Role and responsibilities

The first public railway line in New South Wales was the Sydney–Parramatta Railway which opened on 26 September 1855. Railways were operated by

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of differe ...

which was under the supervision of a single Commissioner for Railways until 1888, 3 commissioners until 1907, before returning to a Chief Commissioner from 1907. The

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

had ministerial responsibility for railways. The portfolio of Minister for Railways was created in the Holman Nationalist ministry and had operational responsibility for the railways while the Secretary for Public Works had responsibility for authorising expenditure on any new lines or extensions that exceeded £20,000. The separation however was only at a department level as the portfolio was always held by the Secretary for Public Works. In the second Fuller ministry the portfolio of Labour and Industry was divided up, with the Minister for Railways receiving the additional responsibilities for state industrial enterprises. The portfolio returned to be the Minister for Railways from the first Lang ministry. On 16 April 1929

Ernest Buttenshaw Ernest Albert Buttenshaw (23 May 187626 June 1950) was an Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1917 until 1932. He was a member of the Nationalist Party of Australia until 1920, when he helped to esta ...

, the Secretary for Public Works and Minister for Railways, became Acting Premier during the absence of

Thomas Bavin Sir Thomas Rainsford Bavin, (5 May 1874 – 31 August 1941) was an Australian lawyer and politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1927 to 1930. He was born in New Zealand and arrived in Australia at the age of 15, where he stud ...

and resigned the railways portfolio. The ministerial office was not filled and instead the railways department was administered by the Treasurer. The operation of railways remained the responsibility of the Treasurer in the third Lang ministry until 22 March 1932 when it became the responsibility of the

Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

List of ministers

References

{{Government of New South Wales

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...