The Parker ministry was the third 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 Henry Parker. Parker was elected in the first free elections for 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 ...

held in March 1856 and, following the failure of the Donaldson and Cowper Governments to maintain the confidence of the Assembly, was asked to form Government. 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 Government, but not enshrined in formal use 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. Henry Parker narrowly won the by election for Parramatta.

John Darvall Sir John Bayley Darvall (19 November 1809 – 28 December 1883) was an Australian barrister, politician and beneficiary of slavery. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1844 and 1856 and again between 1861 and 1863 ...

comfortably won the by-election for Cumberland North Riding, and William Manning comfortably won the by-election for Cumberland South Riding, Stuart Donaldson was defeated at the by election for Sydney Hamlets, however he re-gained a seat in the parliament at the November by-election for Cumberland South Riding, Only

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was Un ...

( Murrumbidgee) was re-elected unopposed. This ministry covers the period from 3 October 1856 until on 7 September 1857, when Parker resigned his commission, having lost an electoral bill. During this period, there was a slight re-arrangement to the ministry, following the resignation of William Manning on account of ill-health, with John Darvall promoted to

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and Edward Wise being appointed to the junior role of Solicitor-General.

Composition of ministry

Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

Notes

References

{{Ministries of New South Wales New South Wales ministries 1856 establishments in Australia 1857 disestablishments in Australia

Composition of ministry

See also

Notes

References