Parkes ministry (1889–1891)

The fifth Parkes ministry was the 26th ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the seventh Premier, Sir Henry Parkes. It was the fifth and final occasion that Parkes was Premier.^[1] The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but was not a formal position in the government until 1920. Instead the Premier was appointed to another portfolio, usually Colonial Secretary. 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 4 occasions due to his personal insolvency.^[a] 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]

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 (1889-03-08)
Date dissolved	22 October 1891 (1891-10-22)
People and organisations
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Governor	Lord Carrington / The Earl of Jersey
Premier	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

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, leading the newly established the Free Trade Party and holding office for nearly two years.

Parkes lost a vote on the floor of the Assembly in January 1889 and Dibbs assumed office. Parliament was dissolved on 19 January 1889 and an election was held in February. There was a significant swing to the Protectionists, gaining 29 seats,^[4] however it was insufficient to command a majority of the Legislative Assembly and Parkes resumed the premiership,^[2][1] where he agitated for the formation of a Commonwealth of Australia against a somewhat hostile New South Wales Colonial government. The July 1891 election saw the emergence of the Australian Labor Party, winning 35 seats, with no party having a majority. 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.^[2][3]

Under the constitution, ministers were required to resign to recontest their seats in a by-election when appointed.^[5] These by-elections were usually uncontested and on this occasion all of the ministers were re-elected unopposed.^[6]

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	Sir Henry Parkes		Free Trade	8 March 1889	22 October 1891	2 years, 228 days
Colonial Treasurer Collector of Internal Revenue	William McMillan				27 July 1891	2 years, 141 days
	Bruce Smith			14 August 1891	22 October 1891	69 days
Attorney General	George Simpson QC, MLC			8 March 1889		2 years, 228 days
Secretary for Lands	James Brunker
Secretary for Public Works	Bruce Smith				13 August 1891	2 years, 158 days
	James Young			14 August 1891	22 October 1891	69 days
Minister of Justice	Albert Gould			8 March 1889		2 years, 228 days
Minister of Public Instruction	Joseph Carruthers
Secretary for Mines / Secretary for Mines and Agriculture [b]	Sydney Smith
Postmaster-General	Daniel O'Connor [c]
Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	William Suttor Jr. MLC
Vice-President of the Executive Council				30 April 1889		2 years, 175 days

Ministers were members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

See also

• New South Wales portal
• Politics portal

• • Members of Legislative Assembly
  • (1889–1891)
  • (1891–1894)
• • Members of Legislative Council
  • (1889–1891)
  • (1891–1894)
• • Parkes ministries
  • First (1872–1875)
  • Second (1877)
  • Third (1878–1883)
  • Fourth (1887–1889)

Notes

1. Henry Parkes resigned due to financial difficulties in 1856 (Sydney City), 1858 (Cumberland (North Riding)), 1870 (Kiama) and 1871 (Kiama). He would again resign due to financial difficulties in 1887 (St Leonards).
2. The title of the Secretary for Mines was changed to Secretary for Mines and Agriculture from 28 February 1890.^[7]
3. Daniel O'Connor was defeated at the 1891 election for West Sydney and was appointed to the Legislative Council on 29 July 1891.^[1]

References

1. "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
2. 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.
3. Serle, Percival (1949). "Parkes, Sir Henry (1816–1896)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
4. Green, Antony. "1889 election totals". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
5. Twomey, Anne (2004). The Constitution of New South Wales. Federation Press. pp. 442. ISBN 9781862875166. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
6. Green, Antony. "By-elections 1889-91". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
7. "Designation of Secretary for Mines". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 116. 28 February 1890. p. 1783. Retrieved 27 June 2021 – via Trove.

 

Preceded by Second Dibbs ministry	Fifth Parkes ministry 1889–1891	Succeeded by Third Dibbs ministry