1889 New South Wales colonial election
The 1889 New South Wales colonial election was held between 1 February and 16 February 1889. This election was for all of the 137 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and it was conducted in 37 single-member constituencies, nineteen 2-member constituencies, ten 3-member constituencies and eight 4-member constituencies, all with a first past the post system.[1] Part 1 (section 13) of the Electoral Act of 1880 had awarded the right to vote to 'every male subject of Her Majesty of the full age of twenty-one years and absolutely free being a natural born or naturalized'.[2] The previous parliament of New South Wales was dissolved on 19 January 1889 by the Governor, Lord Carrington, on the advice of the Premier, George Dibbs.[1][3][4]
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All 137 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 69 Assembly seats were needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results of the election, showing winners in each seat. Seats without circles indicate the electorate returned one member. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dibbs had assumed office shortly before the election after the previous Premier, Sir Henry Parkes, lost a vote on the floor of the Assembly. Dibbs' Protectionists never commanded a majority on the floor of the Assembly in this period.
Key dates
edit| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 19 January 1889 | The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. |
| 25 January to 12 February 1889 | Nominations for candidates for the election closed. |
| 1 February to 16 February 1889 | Polling days. |
| 27 February 1889 | Opening of new Parliament. |
| 8 March 1889 | Fifth Parkes ministry sworn in. |
Results
edit|
New South Wales colonial election, 1 – 16 February 1889 [1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enrolled voters | ||||||
| Votes cast | 150,816 | Turnout | 59.93 | +1.69 | ||
| Informal votes | 2,641 | Informal | 1.72 | −0.02 | ||
| Summary of votes by party | ||||||
| Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | |
| Protectionist | 77,468 | 51.37 | +18.48 | 66 | +29 | |
| Free Trade | 73,348 | 48.63 | −12.12 | 71 | −8 | |
| Other | –6.36 | 0 | -8 | |||
| Total | 363,554 | 137 | ||||
Retiring members
editProtectionist
edit- Frederick Crouch MLA (Richmond)
- John Gale MLA (Murray)
- Robert Smith MLA (Macleay)
Free Trade
edit- Angus Cameron MLA (Kiama)
- William Cortis MLA (Bathurst)
- William Davis MLA (Canterbury)
- William Henson MLA (Canterbury)
- Isaac Ives MLA (St Leonards)
- Alexander Kethel MLA (West Sydney)
- William Martin MLA (Shoalhaven)
- George Matheson MLA (Glen Innes)
- John McElhone MLA (Upper Hunter)
- George Merriman MLA (West Sydney)
- Samuel Moore MLA (Inverell)
- Joseph Penzer MLA (Bogan)
- Fergus Smith MLA (West Macquarie)
- William Wilkinson MLA (Glebe)
- Alexander Wilson MLA (Bourke)
- George Withers MLA (South Sydney)
References
edit- ^ a b c Green, Antony. "1889 election totals". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ Electoral Act 1880 (NSW).
- ^ "Part 5B alphabetical list of all electorates and Members since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ "Former members of the New South Wales Parliament, 1856–2006". New South Wales Parliament. Retrieved 4 December 2019.