1859 New South Wales colonial election

1859 New South Wales colonial election

9 June 1859 – 7 July 1859
All 80 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 41 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Charles Cowper William Forster Party Government Opposition Leader's seat East Sydney Queanbeyan Seats won 34[1][2] 27[1][2]
Results of the election, showing winners in each seat. Seats without member charts indicate the electorate returned one member.
Premier before election Charles Cowper Elected Premier Charles Cowper[3]

The 1859 New South Wales colonial election was held between 9 June and 7 July 1859. This election was for all of the 80 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and it was conducted in 58 single-member constituencies, seven 2-member constituencies and two 4-member constituencies, all with a first past the post system.[4] Suffrage was limited to adult white males. The previous parliament of New South Wales was dissolved on 11 April 1859 by the Governor, Sir William Denison, on the advice of the Premier, Charles Cowper.

There was no recognisable party structure at this election; instead the government was determined by a loose, shifting factional system. Reporters from the Maitland Mercury recognised 22 members as being part of the government, while 17 members were part of the opposition. Other members were either not sitting, not recognised by the reporters, or a member of the crossbench.[1]

Key dates

Date	Event
11 April 1859	The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.
7 June to 26 June 1859	Nominations for candidates for the election closed.
9 June to 7 July 1859	Polling days.
30 August 1859	Opening of new Parliament.

Results

Main article: Results of the 1859 New South Wales colonial election

New South Wales colonial election, 9 June 1859 – 7 July 1859 [4] Legislative Assembly << 1858–1860 >>
Enrolled voters		78,231
Votes cast		52,153		Turnout	52.54 [a]	+9.45
Informal votes		26		Informal	0.08	+0.08
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
Total		52,153			80

1. There were 15 uncontested districts and turnout is based on the roll of 65,630 for the contested districts.[4]

Parliament structure based on Reporters from the Maitland Mercury.[1]

Government	Opposition	Crossbench
William Arnold	Gilbert Eliott	William Cape
James Atkinson	William Forster	Edward Close
Lyttleton Bayley	James Hart	Stephen Dark
James Byrnes	John Hay	Edward Flood
John Campbell	Arthur Hodgson	William Handcock
Charles Cowper	Nicolas Hyeronimus	Clark Irving
William Dalley	Samuel Lyons	Robert Jamison
Daniel Cooper	William Macleay	Andrew Loder
John Douglas	James Martin	George Lord
Daniel Egan	Augustus Morris	Randolph Nott
John Garrett	Terence Murray	Henry Parkes
John Hargrave	William Piddington	William Roberts
Richard Jones	John Plunkett	William Windeyer
John Lang	William Russell	Robert Wisdom
John Laycock	Saul Samuel
Alexander McArthur	Edward Sayers
George Oakes	William Wild
John Richardson
John Robertson
Henry Rotton
Alexander Scott
Elias Weekes

References

1. "OPENING OF PARLIAMENT". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. Vol. XVII, no. 1760. New South Wales, Australia. 1 September 1859. p. 2. Retrieved 27 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY". Empire. No. 2, 442. New South Wales, Australia. 25 July 1859. p. 4. Retrieved 31 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "The Sydney Morning Herald". The Sydney Morning Herald. Vol. XL, no. 6623. New South Wales, Australia. 30 August 1859. p. 4. Retrieved 28 May 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
4. Green, Antony. "1859 election totals". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 September 2019.

• "Former members of the New South Wales Parliament, 1856-2006". New South Wales Parliament.

See also

• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1859–1860
• Candidates of the 1859 New South Wales colonial election