Martin ministry (1863–65)

First Martin ministry
8th cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier James Martin and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed	16 October 1863
Date dissolved	2 February 1865
People and organisations
Head of government	James Martin
Head of state	Queen Victoria (represented by Sir John Young)
Number of ministers	7
Member party	unaligned
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	unaligned
Opposition leader	Charles Cowper
History
Outgoing election	1864–65
Predecessor	Third Cowper ministry
Successor	Fourth Cowper ministry

The first Martin ministry was the eighth ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and first occasion of being led by the Honourable James Martin, QC.

Martin was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held in 1856. He came to power as Premier after Charles Cowper's government fell in October 1863.^[1]

The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but not enshrined in formal use until 1920.

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 16 October 1863 until 2 February 1865, when Cowper retained government by defeating Martin at the 1864–65 general election.^[2]

Composition of ministry

Portfolio	Minister	Term start	Term end	Term length
Premier Attorney-General	Hon. James Martin QC MLA	16 October 1863	2 February 1865	1 year, 109 days
Colonial Secretary	Hon. William Forster MLA
Colonial Treasurer	Hon. Geoffrey Eagar MLA
Solicitor-General	Hon. Peter Faucett MLA
Secretary for Lands	Hon. John Wilson MLA
Secretary for Public Works	Hon. Arthur Holroyd MLA
Representative of the Government in Legislative Council Vice-President of the Executive Council	Hon. John Plunkett MLC	23 November 1863		1 year, 71 days

See also

• James Martin - sixth Premier of New South Wales
• Self-government in New South Wales
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1860–1864
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1864–1869
• Second Martin ministry (1866–1868)
• Third Martin ministry (1870–1872)

References

1. Serle, Percival. "Martin, James (1820-1886)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Project Gutenberg Australia. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
2. "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)" (Excel spreadsheet). Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2010-01-02.