Parkes ministry (1889–91)

The fifth Parkes ministry was the 26th ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the seventh Premier, the Honourable Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG. It was the fifth and final occasion that Parkes was Premier.[1]

Fifth Parkes ministry
26th Cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier Sir Henry Parkes and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed	8 March 1889
Date dissolved	22 October 1891
People and organisations
Head of state	Queen Victoria (represented by Lord Carrington and subsequently The Earl of Jersey)
Head of government	Sir Henry Parkes
No. of ministers	10
Member party	Free Trade Party
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	Protectionist Party
Opposition leader	George Dibbs
History
Predecessor	Second Dibbs ministry
Successor	Third Dibbs ministry

Having served in the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1854 and 1856, Parkes was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held in 1856, however resigned from Parliament later that year. He served in the Assembly on several occasions, between 1858 and 1870, being forced to resign on at least one occasion due to his personal insolvency. He came to power as Premier on the first occasion in 1872, serving as Premier for a period of three years. However, Parkes lost the confidence of the Assembly following Governor Robinson's decision to release of the bushranger Frank Gardiner led to the defeat of the ministry in 1875.[2]

John Robertson served as Premier between 1875 and 1877, before Robertson was defeated at the 1877 election. Parkes formed his second ministry in a challenging environment where both Parkes and Robertson shared equal representation in the Legislative Assembly and business was sometimes at a standstill.[3] Parkes' second term as Colonial Premier lasted just 147 days, with the Farnell ministry giving both Parkes and Robertson reprieve for 12 months, prior to Parkes and Robertson forming an alliance government in the third Parkes ministry.[1] The retirement of Robertson pitted Parkes against George Dibbs and after the governments of both Dibbs and Sir Patrick Jennings faltered under public debt,[2] Parkes formed his fourth ministry, lasting nearly two years.

Dibbs again formed government, but lasted for less than two months, before Parkes again formed government, where he agitated for the formation of a Commonwealth of Australia against a somewhat hostile New South Wales Colonial government. When the New South Wales Legislative Assembly voted in favour of a motion of no confidence against Parkes, he resigned from Parliament in October 1891.[2][3]

There was no party system in New South Wales politics until 1887.[4] Under the constitution, ministers were required to resign to recontest their seats in a by-election when appointed.[5] In the table below, these by-elections are only noted when the minister was defeated; in general, he was elected unopposed.

This ministry covers the period from 8 March 1889 until 22 October 1891.[1]

Composition of ministry

Portfolio	Minister	Party		Term start	Term end	Term length
Premier Colonial Secretary Registrar of Records	Hon. Sir Henry Parkes GCMG, MLA		Free Trade	8 March 1889	22 October 1891	2 years, 227 days
Colonial Treasurer Collector of Internal Revenue	Hon. William McMillan MLA		Free Trade		27 July 1891	2 years, 141 days
	Hon. Bruce Smith MLA		Free Trade	14 August 1891	22 October 1891	68 days
Attorney-General	Hon. George Simpson QC, MLC		Free Trade	8 March 1889		2 years, 227 days
Secretary for Lands	Hon. James Brunker MLA		Free Trade
Secretary for Public Works	Hon. Bruce Smith MLA		Free Trade		13 August 1891	2 years, 158 days
	Hon. James Young MLA		Free Trade	14 August 1891	22 October 1891	68 days
Minister of Justice	Hon. Albert Gould MLA		Free Trade	8 March 1889		2 years, 227 days
Minister of Public Instruction	Hon. Joseph Carruthers MLA		Free Trade
Secretary for Mines	Hon. Sydney Smith MLA		Free Trade
Secretary for Agriculture				28 February 1890		2 years, 235 days
Postmaster-General	Hon. Daniel O'Connor MLA		Free Trade	8 March 1889	22 October 1891	2 years, 227 days
Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. William Suttor Jr. MLC		Free Trade
Vice-President of the Executive Council				30 April 1889		2 years, 174 days

See also

• Henry Parkes – seventh Premier of New South Wales
• Self-government in New South Wales
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1887–1889
• First Parkes ministry (1872–1875)
• Second Parkes ministry (1877)
• Third Parkes ministry (1878–1883)
• Fourth Parkes ministry (1887–1889)

References

1. "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)". Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original (Excel spreadsheet) on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
2. Martin, A W. "Parkes, Sir Henry (1815–96)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 19 April 2019 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
3. Serle, Percival. "Sir Henry Parkes (1816–1896)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Project Gutenberg Australia. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
4. Green, Antony (20 October 2010). "Centenary of the First NSW Labor Government". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011.
5. "1904 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales. Government of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011.