Colonial elections were held in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

from 9 April to 23 April 1890. All 54 seats in the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

were up for election. The

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

became an electorate for the House of Assembly, increasing the House to 54 members, elected from twenty seven 2-member districts. The divisions between the conservative and radical groups in the Assembly continued after the 1887 election, as did the instability. The Downer (conservative) government was defeated immediately after the election, and the Playford (radical) government was formed. After two years, the more radical Cockburn group replaced the Playford government, and took the parliament into the election. The incumbent government led by

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

John Cockburn defeated the opposition led by

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Thomas Playford II. Each district elected multiple members, with voters casting multiple votes. 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 lost sufficient support through a successful

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

at any time on the

floor of the house A legislative chamber or house is a deliberative assembly within a legislature which generally meets and votes separately from the legislature's other chambers. Legislatures are usually unicameral, consisting of only one chamber, or bicamera ...

, he would tender his resignation to the Governor of South Australia, 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. However, from the 1887 election there began a growing informal division between groups of members who were loosely described as ‘conservative’ and ‘radical’ by the press. The ‘conservatives’ found their leaders in

John Cox Bray Sir John Cox Bray (31 May 1842 – 13 June 1894) was a prominent South Australian politician and the first native-born Premier of South Australia (1881–1884). Early life and education John Cox Bray was born in East Adelaide, a son of Tom C ...

and John William Downer, while the ‘radicals’ were led by John Colton, Thomas Playford and John Cockburn. The leaders often contested government against their reported allies in loose alliances, producing an element of political ‘structure’ which began to see a trend emerge toward increased government stability. The

United Labor Party The South Australian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as South Australian Labor, is the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, originally formed ...

would be formed in 1891, while the

National Defence League The National Defence League (NDL) was an independent conservative political party, founded in 1891 by MLC Richard Baker in South Australia as an immediate response to the perceived threat from Labor. Though renamed the Australasian National Lea ...

would be formed later in the same year.

Notes

References

History of South Australian elections 1857-2006, volume 1: ECSAStatistical Record of the Legislature 1836-2007: SA ParliamentState and federal election results
in Australia since 1890 {{South Australian elections Elections in South Australia 1890 elections in Australia 1890s in South Australia April 1890 events

See also

Notes

References