Robertson ministry (1860–1861) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Robertson ministry or First Robertson ministry was the sixth ministry of the Colony of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, and was led by the Premier

Premiers of New South Wales

The Premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature...

, the Honourable John Robertson

John Robertson (Australian politician)

Sir John Robertson, KCMG was an Australian politician and Premier of New South Wales on five occasions. Robertson is best remembered for land reform and in particular the Robertson Land Acts of 1861, which sought to open up the selection of Crown land and break the monopoly of the...

. It was the first of five occasions that Robertson was Premier. Robertson was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

held in March 1856.

There was no party system in New South Wales politics until 1887. Under the constitution, ministers were required to resign to recontest their seats in a by-election when appointed. These by-elections are only noted when the minister was defeated; in general, he was elected unopposed.

This ministry covers the period from 9 March 1860 until 9 January 1861, when Robertson resigned his commission.

Composition of ministry

Portfolio	Minister	Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Premier Secretary for Lands	Hon. John Robertson MLA	9 March 1860	9 January 1861	days
Colonial Secretary Chief Secretary The Chief Secretary is the title of a senior civil servant in members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and, historically, in the British Empire. Prior to the dissolution of the colonies, the Chief Secretary was the second most important official in a colony of the British Empire after the...	Hon. Charles Cowper Charles Cowper Sir Charles Cowper, KCMG was an Australian politician and the Premier of New South Wales on five different occasions from 1856 to 1870.... MLA
Colonial Treasurer Treasurer of New South Wales The Treasurer of New South Wales, known from 1856–1959 as the Colonial Treasurer of New South Wales, is the minister in the Government of New South Wales responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising and is the head of the New South Wales Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in...	Hon. Elias Weekes Elias Weekes Elias Weekes was an Australian ironmonger and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1865 and 1880. He was also a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1856 and 1864... MLA
Secretary for Public Works	Hon. William Arnold William Arnold William Arnold was one of the founding settlers of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and with his sons was among the wealthiest people in the colony. He was raised and educated in England where he was the warden of St. Mary's, the parish church of Ilchester in southeastern... MLA
Attorney-General Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. John Hargrave John Hargrave (jurist) John Fletcher Hargrave was an Australian politician and judge.Hargrave was born to Joshua Hargrave and Sarah Hargrave at Greenwich, England. His father was a hardware merchant. He was educated at King's College, London in 1830 winning a certificate of honour for rhetoric... MLC

Composition of ministry

See also