1891 New South Wales colonial election

The 1891 New South Wales colonial election was held in the then colony of New South Wales between 17 June to 3 July 1891. This election was for all of the 141 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and it was conducted in 35 single-member constituencies, 20 2-member constituencies, 10 3-member constituencies and nine 4-member constituencies, all with a first past the post system. Part 1 (section 10) of the Electoral Act of 1880 set the qualification for election on "every male subject of Her Majesty of the full age of twenty-one years and absolutely free being a natural born or naturalized subject".^[1] Seven seats were uncontested. The previous parliament of New South Wales was dissolved on 6 June 1891 by the Governor, The Earl of Jersey, on the advice of the Premier, Sir Henry Parkes.

1891 New South Wales colonial election

← 1889 17 June 1891 – 3 July 1891 1894 →
All 141 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 71 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader George Dibbs Sir Henry Parkes Steering Committee of 5 [a] Party Protectionist Free Trade Labor Leader since 17 January 1889 1886 July 1891 Leader's seat Murrumbidgee St Leonards Last election 66 seats 71 seats First election Seats won 52 seats 44 seats 35 seats Seat change 14 27 35 Percentage 36.50% 36.49% 20.62% Swing 14.87 12.14 20.62
Results of the election, showing winners in each seat. Seats without circles indicate the electorate returned one member.
Premier before election Sir Henry Parkes Free Trade Elected Premier Sir Henry Parkes Free Trade

The election saw the first appearance of the Labor Party (then known as the Labour Electoral League of New South Wales), which won 35 seats, taking a significant number of votes and seats from both of the previous two major parties in the Assembly, and giving Labour the balance of power.^[2] The main political parties in New South Wales, the Protectionist Party and the Free Trade Party both lost seats to Labour. Parkes held on as Premier until October 1891 when he again lost a vote in the Legislative Assembly, causing Parkes to resign as Premier and leader of the Free Trade Party.^[3] George Dibbs (Protectionist) became Premier after he arranged for support for his government from Labour.^[4]

Key dates

Date	Event
6 June 1891	The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.
15 to 24 June 1891	Nominations for candidates for the election closed.
17 June to 3 July 1891	Polling days.
14 July 1891	Opening of new Parliament.

Results

The Legislative Assembly after the election.

New South Wales colonial election, 3 July 1891 [5] Legislative Assembly << 1889–1894 >>
Enrolled voters
Votes cast		180,449		Turnout	64.40	+4.87
Informal votes		3,680		Informal	2.00	+0.28
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Protectionist	65,866	36.5	-18.8	52	−14
	Free Trade	65,850	36.5	−16.0	44	−27
	Labor	37,216	20.6	+20.6	35	+35
	Ind. Free Trade	6,684	3.7	+3.7	4	+4
	Ind. Protectionist	3,627	2.0	+2.0	4	+4
	Independent Labor	759	0.4	+0.4	1	+1
	Independent	445	0.25	+0.25	1	+1
Total		202,042			141

Popular vote Protectionist   36.50% Free Trade   36.49% Labor   20.62% Ind. Free Trade   3.70% Ind. Protectionist   2.01% Ind. Labor   0.42% Independent   0.25% Parliamentary seats Protectionist   52 Free Trade   44 Labor   35 Ind. Free Trade   4 Ind. Protectionist   4 Ind. Labor   1 Independent   1

Retiring members

This section is an excerpt from Candidates of the 1891 New South Wales colonial election § Retiring Members.[edit]

Protectionist

• William Alison MLA (Bogan)
• Wyman Brown MLA (Sturt)
• Myles McRae MLA (Morpeth)
• Alfred Stokes MLA (Forbes)

Free Trade

• Charles Garland MLA (Carcoar)
• Thomas Garrett MLA (Camden)
• Alexander Hutchison MLA (Canterbury)
• Joseph Mitchell MLA (Illawarra)
• John Shepherd MLA (Paddington)
• Edwin Turner MLA (Gunnedah)
• James Wilshire MLA (Canterbury)
• Francis Woodward MLA (Illawarra)

Independent

• Adolphus Taylor MLA (West Sydney)
• Cecil Teece MLA (Goulburn)

See also

• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1891–1894
• Candidates of the 1891 New South Wales colonial election

Notes

1. The members of the Labour steering committee were George Black, Joseph Cook, Jack FitzGerald, Thomas Houghton and William Sharp.^[b][c]
2. "The Labor Caucus". The Evening News. 14 July 1891. p. 5. Retrieved 6 October 2021 – via Trove.
3. "The Labour representatives in Parliament". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 July 1891. p. 5. Retrieved 6 October 2021 – via Trove.

References

1. Electoral Act of 1880, s.10
2. So Monstrous a Travesty, Ross McMullen. Scribe Publications 2004. p.4.
3. Martin, A W. "Parkes, Sir Henry (1815–96)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
4. Mansfield, Bruce E. "Dibbs, Sir George Richard (1834–1904)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
5. Green, Antony. "1891 election totals". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 19 September 2019.

Bibliography

• "Former members of the New South Wales Parliament, 1856-2006". New South Wales Parliament.