Parkes ministry (1887–89)

The fourth Parkes ministry was the 24th ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the seventh Premier, the Honourable Sir Henry Parkes, KCMG. It was the fourth of five occasions that Parkes was Premier.[1]

Fourth Parkes ministry
24th Cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier Sir Henry Parkes and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed	20 January 1887
Date dissolved	16 January 1889
People and organisations
Head of state	Queen Victoria (represented by Lord Carrington)
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	Jennings ministry
Successor	Second 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 this, his fourth ministry.

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]

This ministry covers the period from 20 January 1887 until 16 January 1889.[1]

Composition of ministry

Portfolio	Minister	Term start	Term end	Term length
Premier Colonial Secretary	Hon. Sir Henry Parkes KCMG, MLA	20 January 1887	16 January 1889	1 year, 362 days
Vice-President of the Executive Council			6 March 1887	45 days
Colonial Treasurer	Hon. John Burns MLA		16 January 1889	1 year, 362 days
Attorney-General	Hon. William Foster MLA		18 May 1887	118 days
	Hon. Bernhard Wise MLA	27 May 1887	7 February 1888	256 days
	Hon. George Simpson MLA	10 February 1888	16 January 1889	341 days
Secretary for Lands	Hon. Thomas Garrett MLA	20 January 1887	19 January 1888	364 days
	Hon. Sir Henry Parkes MLA	26 July 1888	23 August 1888	28 days
	Hon. James Brunker MLA	29 August 1888	16 January 1889	140 days
Secretary for Public Works	Hon. John Sutherland MLA	20 January 1887		1 year, 362 days
Minister of Justice	Hon. William Clarke MLA
Minister of Public Instruction	Hon. James Inglis MLA
Secretary for Mines	Hon. Francis Abigail MLA
Postmaster-General	Hon. Charles Roberts MLA
Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. Julian Salomons MLC
Vice-President of the Executive Council		7 March 1887		1 year, 315 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, 1885–1887
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1887–1889
• First Parkes ministry (1872–1875)
• Second Parkes ministry (1877)
• Third Parkes ministry (1878–1883)
• Fifth Parkes ministry (1889–1891)

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. Australian National University. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
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.