Secretary for Lands and Works (New South Wales)

The Secretary for Lands and Works was one of the first ministries in the colonial administration of New South Wales following the establishment of responsible government in 1856.[1]

Secretary for Lands and Works of New South Wales
AppointerGovernor of New South Wales
Formation8 June 1856
First holderBob Nichols
Final holderJohn Robertson
Abolished30 September 1859
SuccessionSecretary for Lands
Secretary for Public Works

Role and responsibilities

Under the principles of responsible government, the minister was accountable to parliament not only for the decisions personally made by the minister but was also accountable for the performance of the department. While the first minister Bob Nichols was appointed on 6 June 1856, the department of Lands and Public Works was not formally established until 26 August 1856.[2] The department had three main functions:

  1. The administration of lands, including the Surveyor General, Chief Commissioner for Crown Lands, Commissioners for reporting Claims to Grants of Land, Commissioners of Crown Lands for the Gold Districts, Botanical Gardens and Domains, Inspectors of Diseased Sheep, Coal Fields and Coal Mines, Church and School Estates.
  2. The administration of public works which was responsible for railways, roads and electric telegraph; harbours and river navigation, the Civil Engineer (Dry Docks, Cockatoo Island) and the Colonial Architect and
  3. A Board of Works which oversaw how Treasury funds were spent on public works.[3]

The diversity of the ministers responsibilities included the government flock of Alpacas and Llamas.[4]

In 1859 the ministry was split into the Secretary for Lands and the Secretary for Public Works.[3]

List of Secretaries for Lands and Works
TitleMinister [1]PartyTerm startTerm endTime in officeNotes
Secretary for Lands and Works George Nichols No party 6 June 1856 25 August 1856 80 days [5]
Terence Murray 25 August 1856 2 October 1856 38 days [6]
John Hay 3 October 1856 7 September 1857 339 days [7]
Terence Murray 7 September 1857 12 January 1858 127 days [6]
John Robertson 13 January 1858 30 September 1859 1 year, 260 days [8]

References
  1. "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  2. "Appointments and employment". New South Wales Government Gazette (129). 26 August 1856. p. 2289. Retrieved 19 November 2020 – via Trove.
  3. "AGY-44 Department of Lands and Public Works". NSW State Records & Archives. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  4. "Parliamentary paper: the Alpacas". The Empire. 27 October 1859. p. 2. Retrieved 19 November 2020 – via Trove.
  5. "Mr George Robert Nichols (1809–1857)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  6. "Sir Terence Aubrey Murray (1810-1873)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  7. "Sir John Hay (1816-1892)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  8. "Sir John Robertson (1816–1891)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
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