The Secretary for Lands and Works was one of the first ministries in the colonial administration of
New South Wales
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, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
following the establishment of
responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...
in 1856.
Role and responsibilities
Under the principles of responsible government, the minister was accountable to parliament not only for the decisions personally made by the minister but was also accountable for the performance of the department. While the first minister
Bob Nichols was appointed on 6 June 1856, the department of Lands and Public Works was not formally established until 26 August 1856. The department had three main functions:
# The administration of lands, including the
Surveyor General
A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post.
The following surveyor ge ...
, Chief Commissioner for Crown Lands, Commissioners for reporting Claims to Grants of Land, Commissioners of Crown Lands for the Gold Districts, Botanical Gardens and Domains, Inspectors of Diseased Sheep, Coal Fields and Coal Mines, Church and School Estates.
# The administration of public works which was responsible for railways, roads and electric telegraph; harbours and river navigation, the Civil Engineer (Dry Docks, Cockatoo Island) and the
Colonial Architect and
#A Board of Works which oversaw how Treasury funds were spent on public works.
[ ]
The diversity of the ministers responsibilities included the government flock of
Alpaca
The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successfu ...
s and
Llama
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...
s.
In 1859 the ministry was split into the
Secretary for Lands and the
Secretary for Public Works.
List of Secretaries for Lands and Works
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secretary for Lands and Works
Defunct government positions of New South Wales