Electoral district of County of Durham

For other uses, see Durham (disambiguation) § Electoral districts.

The Electoral district of County of Durham was an electorate of the New South Wales Legislative Council at a time when some of its members were elected and the balance were appointed by the Governor.^[1] It was named after Durham County, which lies on the north side of the Hunter River.

County of Durham New South Wales—Legislative Council
Durham county in modern New South Wales
State	New South Wales
Created	1843
Abolished	1856
Namesake	Durham County
Coordinates	32°S 151°E

It was created by the 1843 Electoral Districts Act and initially returned one member.^[1] It returned two members with the expansion of the Council in 1851 to 54, 18 to be appointed and 36 elected.^[2] In 1856 the unicameral Legislative Council was abolished and replaced with an elected Legislative Assembly and an appointed Legislative Council. The district was represented by the Legislative Assembly electorate of Durham

Members

Election	Member	Term
1843	Richard Windeyer [3]	Jun 1843 – Dec 1847
1848 by	Stuart Donaldson [4]	Feb 1848 – Jan 1853
1848
1849 by			Member	Term
1851			Charles Cowper [5]	Sep 1851 – Feb 1856
1853 by	Alexander Park [6]	Feb 1853 – Feb 1856

Election results

1843

1843 New South Wales colonial election, 24 June:
County of Durham ^[7]

Candidate		Votes	%
Richard Windeyer		122	49.19
William Ogilvie		71	28.63
Andrew Lang		55	22.18
Total votes		248	100.00

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 1843 New South Wales colonial election § County of Durham.[edit]

1848 by-election

Richard Windeyer died in December 1847.^[3]

County of Durham by-election
19 February 1848 ^[8]

Candidate		Votes	%
Stuart Donaldson (elected)		113	59.47
Alexander Park		77	40.53
Total votes		190	100

1848

1848 New South Wales colonial election, 26 July:
County of Durham ^[9]

Candidate		Votes	%
Stuart Donaldson (elected)		Show of Hands
Andrew Lang

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 1848 New South Wales colonial election § County of Durham.[edit]

On 26 July 1848, the day prescribed for nominations, Stuart Donaldson and Andrew Lang were nominated. A show of hands was in favour of Donaldson and Lang demanded a poll. The returning officer had neglected to make any preparations for a poll and so declared Donaldson elected.^[9] Donaldson attempted to resign on 16 August.^[10] The election was declared void by the court of disputed returns and a new writ issued.^[11]

1849 by-election

On 26 July 1848, the day prescribed for nominations, Stuart Donaldson and Andrew Lang were nominated. A show of hands was in favour of Donaldson and Lang demanded a poll. The returning officer had neglected to make any preparations for a poll and so declared Donaldson elected.^[12] Donaldson attempted to resign on 16 August.^[13] The election was declared void by the court of disputed returns and a new writ issued.^[14]

County of Durham by-election
25 June 1849 ^[15]

Candidate		Votes	%
Stuart Donaldson (elected)		Unopposed

1851

1851 New South Wales colonial election, 24 September:
County of Durham ^[16]

Candidate		Votes	%
Stuart Donaldson		239	34.94
Charles Cowper		231	33.77
Adolphus Young		169	24.71
Edward Hunt		45	6.58
Total votes		684	100

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 1851 New South Wales colonial election § Durham.[edit]

1853 by-election

Stuart Donaldson resigned in January 1853.

County of Durham by-election
28 February 1853 ^[17]

Candidate		Votes	%
Alexander Park (elected)		unopposed

See also

• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 1843–1851 and 1851-1856

References

1. An Act to provide for the division of the Colony of New South Wales into Electoral Districts and for the Election of Members to serve in the Legislative Council (PDF) (16). 23 February 1843. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
2. An Act to provide for the division of the Colony of New South Wales after the separation of the District of Port Phillip therefrom into Electoral Districts and for the Election of Members to serve in the Legislative Council (PDF) (48). Australasian Legal Information Institute. 2 May 1851. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
3. "Mr Richard Windeyer (1806-1847)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
4. "Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson (1812-1867)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
5. "Sir Charles Cowper [1] (1807-1875)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
6. "Alexander Park (1808-1873)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
7. "The election". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 1 July 1843. p. 2. Retrieved 22 May 2019 – via Trove.
8. "Durham election". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 February 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 1 June 2019 – via Trove.
9. "Election for Durham". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 26 July 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via Trove.
10. "To the independent electors of Durham". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 August 1848. p. 1. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via Trove.
11. "Writ of election". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 78. 8 June 1849. p. 880. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via Trove.
12. "Election for Durham". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 26 July 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via Trove.
13. "To the independent electors of Durham". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 August 1848. p. 1. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via Trove.
14. "Writ of election". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 78. 8 June 1849. p. 880. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via Trove.
15. "The election for Durham". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 27 June 1849. p. 2. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via Trove.
16. "The elections: Durham". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 1 October 1851. p. 2. Retrieved 30 May 2019 – via Trove.
17. "The election for Durham". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 23 February 1853. p. 2. Retrieved 24 April 2019 – via Trove.

External links

• Hansard NSW Legislative Council Archived 22 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine