Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 1856–1861

Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council who served from 1856 to 1861 were appointed for a fixed term by the Governor on the advice of the Premier. The 1855 Constitution of New South Wales provided that the first council following self-government was for a period of 5 years from the first appointments, but that subsequent members would be appointed for life.[1] The first appointments were on 13 May 1856 so that the first term lapsed on 13 May 1861. The number of members of the council had to be at least 21 and subsequent appointments also lapsed on 13 May 1861.[2] The President was Sir Alfred Stephen until 28 January 1857, John Plunkett until 6 February 1858 and then Sir William Burton.[3] Dumaresq resigned,[lower-alpha 1] 5 appointed,[lower-alpha 2] Murray appointed,[lower-alpha 3] Campbell resigned,[lower-alpha 4] Murray died,[lower-alpha 5] 3 appointed,[lower-alpha 6] Mayne resigned,[lower-alpha 7] 2 appointed,[lower-alpha 8] 2 appointed,[lower-alpha 9] Spain appointed,[lower-alpha 10] Walker died,[lower-alpha 11] Douglass appointed,[lower-alpha 12] Plunkett appointed,[lower-alpha 13] Tooth resigned,[lower-alpha 14] 2 appointed,[lower-alpha 15] 2 appointed,[lower-alpha 16] Knox resigned,[lower-alpha 17] Bloomfield resigned,[lower-alpha 18] Lethbridge resigned,[lower-alpha 19] Plunkett resigned,[lower-alpha 20] Busby resigned,[lower-alpha 21] Warren resigned,[lower-alpha 22] 5 appointed,[lower-alpha 23] 2 appointed,[lower-alpha 24] Lang appointed,[lower-alpha 25] Blake appointed,[lower-alpha 26] Dickinson resigned,[lower-alpha 27] Park appointed,[lower-alpha 28] Riley resigned,[lower-alpha 29] Spain resigned,[lower-alpha 30] Smith resigned,[lower-alpha 31] 3 appointed,[lower-alpha 32] Stephen resigned,[lower-alpha 33] Riddell vacated,[lower-alpha 34] Bayley appointed,[lower-alpha 35] Lutwyche resigned,[lower-alpha 36] Therry resigned,[lower-alpha 37] Bligh resigned,[lower-alpha 38] Pennington resigned,[lower-alpha 39] McNamara resigned,[lower-alpha 40] Eagar appointed,[lower-alpha 41] Hargrave appointed,[lower-alpha 42] Jenkins died,[lower-alpha 43] Dickson resigned,[lower-alpha 44] Wise resigned,[lower-alpha 45] Cowper appointed,[lower-alpha 46] Jones resigned,[lower-alpha 47] Montefiore resigned,[lower-alpha 48] 2 appointed,[lower-alpha 49] Wilshire died,[lower-alpha 50] A'Beckett vacated,[lower-alpha 51] Eagar resigned,[lower-alpha 52] Bland resigned,[lower-alpha 53] Robertson,[lower-alpha 54] 21 appointed,[lower-alpha 55] 20 resigned.[lower-alpha 56]</ref></ref>

The 3 judges of the Supreme Court, Sir Alfred Stephen, John Dickson and Roger Therry were all among the initial appointments to the Legislative Council in 1856.[5] Stephen accepted the position of President and was particularly active in the council, introducing 14 bills, 6 of which were passed by the parliament. Judges sitting in the Council became controversial and Stephen resigned as President on 28 January 1857.[28] Dickinson resigned from the Council on 29 March 1858, Stephen resigned from the Council on 12 November 1858,[28] while Therry continued to sit until after he retired as a judge on 31 January 1859.[29] Therry's replacement on the Supreme Court, Samuel Milford, was not appointed to the Council and Edward Wise resigned from the Council upon his appointment to the Supreme Court.

The term ended in controversy when Charles Cowper and John Robertson attempted to swamp the chamber by appointing 21 new members on 10 May 1861, because the council had rejected the Robertson land bills.[30] When the council met and the new members were waiting to be sworn in, the President Sir William Burton stated that he felt he had been treated with discourtesy in the matter, resigned his office of president and his membership, and left the chamber. 19 other members also resigned in protest. In the absence of the President and Chairman of Committees, under the standing orders the council was adjourned until the next sitting day.[31] There were no further sitting days before the terms of the members of council expired.

NameYears in officeOffice
Arthur A'Beckett [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 51]1856–1860
John Alexander [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861
George Allen [lower-alpha 57]1856–1861, 1861–1877 Chairman of Committees
George Wigram Allen [lower-alpha 49]1860–1861
Lyttleton Bayley [lower-alpha 35]1859 Representative of the Government (23 February 1859 – 8 April 1859)
Alexander Berry [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861
Isidore Blake [lower-alpha 26]1858–1859
William Bland [lower-alpha 23][lower-alpha 53]1858–1861
James Bligh [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 38]1856–1859
Henry Bloomfield [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 18]1856–1857
Edward Broadhurst [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861
Sir William Burton [lower-alpha 16][lower-alpha 56]1857–1861 President (9 February 1858 – 10 March 1861)
Alexander Busby [lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 21]1856–1858
James Byrnes [lower-alpha 55]1861
William Byrnes [lower-alpha 32]1858–1861, 1861–1891
John Campbell [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 4]1856, 1861–1886
James Comrie [lower-alpha 57]1856–1861
Charles Cowper [lower-alpha 46]1860 Colonial Secretary (9 March 1860 – 15 October 1863)
William Dalley [lower-alpha 55]1861, 1870–1873,
1875–1880, 1883–1888
John Dawson [lower-alpha 55]1861
William Day [lower-alpha 55]1861
John Dickinson [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 27]1856–1858
John Dickson [lower-alpha 9][lower-alpha 44][lower-alpha 55]1856–1859, 1861 Representative of the Government (30 August 1859 – 28 September 1859)
Joseph Docker [lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861, 1863–1884
Henry Douglass [lower-alpha 12]1856–1861
William Dumaresq [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 1]1856
Geoffrey Eagar [lower-alpha 41][lower-alpha 52]1859–1860 Representative of the Government (27 October 1859 – 8 March 1860)
William Faithfull [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861
Robert Fitzgerald [lower-alpha 2]1856–1861, 1861–1865
George Forbes [lower-alpha 24]1858–1861
James Giles [lower-alpha 55]1861
George Graham [lower-alpha 55]1861
William Hardy [lower-alpha 55]1861
John Hargrave [lower-alpha 42]1859–1861, 1861–1865 Representative of the Government (12 October 1859 – 26 October 1859)
(9 March 1860 – 15 October 1863)
William Hellyer [lower-alpha 55]1861
Edward Hill [lower-alpha 55]1861
George Hill [lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861
Rowland Hill [lower-alpha 55]1861
George Holden [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861, 1861–1863
Thomas Hood [lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861
Edward Hunt [lower-alpha 24]1858–1861
William Innes [lower-alpha 55]1861
Robert Isaacs [lower-alpha 15][lower-alpha 56]1857–1861
Robert Jenkins [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 43]1856–1859
Robert Johnson [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861, 1863–1866
David Jones [lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 47]1856–1860
Edward Knox [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 17]1856–1857, 1881–1894
John Lamb [lower-alpha 16][lower-alpha 56]1857–1861
Andrew Lang [lower-alpha 25]1858–1861
George Leary [lower-alpha 55]1861
Robert Lethbridge [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 19]1856–1857
Francis Lord [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861, 1864–1892
Alfred Lutwyche [lower-alpha 8][lower-alpha 36]1856–1859 Representative of the Government (12 September 1856 – 2 October 1856)
(19 November 1857 – 21 February 1859)
John MacFarlane [lower-alpha 32]1858–1861, 1861–1870
William Mayne [lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 7]1856 Representative of the Government (6 June 1856 – 25 August 1856 )
John McNamara [lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 40]1856–1859
Francis Merewether [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861, 1861–1865
James Mitchell [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861, 1861–1869
Jacob Montefiore [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 48]1856–1860, 1874–1877
James Murphy [lower-alpha 55]1861
James Murray [lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 5]1856
James Norton [lower-alpha 9]1856–1861
Francis Oakes [lower-alpha 49]1860–1861
George Oakes [lower-alpha 55]1861, 1879–1881
Alexander Park [lower-alpha 28][lower-alpha 56]1858–1861, 1868–1873
William Pennington [lower-alpha 23][lower-alpha 39]1858–1859
John Plunkett [lower-alpha 13] [lower-alpha 20]1857–1858, 1861–1869 President (29 January 1857 – 6 February 1858)
Alexander Portus [lower-alpha 55]1861
Henry Prince [lower-alpha 23][lower-alpha 56]1858–1861
Charles Richardson [lower-alpha 55]1861
Campbell Riddell [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 34]1856–1858
Charles Riley [lower-alpha 8][lower-alpha 29]1856–1858
John Robertson [lower-alpha 54]1861, 1861, 1878–1881 Secretary for Lands (9 March 1860 – 15 October 1863)
Ralph Robey [lower-alpha 23]1858–1861, 1861–1864
Bourn Russell [lower-alpha 32]1858–1861, 1861–1880
Henry Smith [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 31]1856–1858
William Spain [lower-alpha 10][lower-alpha 30]1856–1858
Sir Alfred Stephen [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 33]1856–1858, 1875–1879,
1879–1885, 1885–1890		 President (20 May 1856 – 28 January 1857)
James Taylor [lower-alpha 55]1861
Roger Therry [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 37]1856–1859
Edward Deas Thomson [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861, 1861–1879 Representative of the Government (3 October 1856 – 7 September 1857)
George Thornton [lower-alpha 55]1861, 1877–1891
Robert Tooth [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 14]1856–1857
Robert Towns [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861, 1863–1873
James Walker [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 11]1856
John Waller [lower-alpha 55]1861
Randolph Want [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 56]1856–1861
Alexander Warren [lower-alpha 57][lower-alpha 22]1856–1858
John Williams [lower-alpha 55]1861
James Wilshire [lower-alpha 23][lower-alpha 50]1858–1860
Edward Wise [lower-alpha 15][lower-alpha 45]1857–1860 Attorney General (27 October 1859 – 13 February 1860)

See also

Notes
  1. William Dumaresq resigned on 19 May 1856 without taking his seat.
  2. 5 members were appointed on 20 May 1856,[4] and took their seats when the council first met on 22 May 1856.
  3. James Murray was appointed on 2 June 1856,[5] took his seat on 4 June 1856 and died on 24 June 1856.
  4. John Campbell resigned on 7 June 1856 to unsuccessfully contest the ministerial by-election for Sydney Hamlets.
  5. James Fitzgerald Murray died on 24 June 1856.
  6. Thomas Hood, William Mayne and John McNamara were appointed on 4 August 1856,[6] and took their seats on 6 and 20 August 1856.
  7. William Mayne resigned on 25 August 1856 when he was appointed Auditor-General.
  8. Alfred Lutwyche and Charles Riley were appointed on 12 September 1856,[7] and took their seats on 24 September 1856.
  9. John Dickson and James Norton were appointed on 16 September 1856,[8] and took their seats on 24 September 1856.
  10. William Spain was appointed on 28 October 1856,[9] and took his seat on 31 October 1856.
  11. James Walker died on 24 November 1856.
  12. Henry Douglass was appointed on 27 November 1856,[10] and took his seat on 3 December 1856.
  13. John Plunkett was appointed on 28 January 1857,[11] and took his seat on the same day.
  14. Robert Tooth resigned on 5 February 1857.
  15. Robert Isaacs and Edward Wise were appointed on 19 February 1857,[12] and took their seats on 25 February 1857.
  16. Sir William Burton and John Lamb were appointed on 9 July 1857,[13] and took their seats on 11 August 1857.
  17. Edward Knox resigned on 9 November 1857.
  18. Henry Bloomfield resigned on 10 November 1857.
  19. Robert Lethbridge resigned on 16 November 1857.
  20. John Plunkett resigned on 6 February 1858.
  21. Alexander Busby resigned on 15 February 1858.
  22. Alexander Warren resigned on 10 March 1858.
  23. 5 members were appointed on 23 March 1858,[14] and took their seats on 24 March 1858.
  24. George Forbes and Edward Hunt were appointed on 25 March 1858,[15] and took their seats on 31 March 1858.
  25. Andrew Lang was appointed on 29 March 1858,[16] and took his seat on 31 March 1858.
  26. Isidore Blake was appointed on 29 March 1858,[16] took his seat on 7 April 1858 and resigned on 3 November 1859.
  27. John Dickinson resigned on 29 March 1858 amid criticism of judges being members of parliament.
  28. Alexander Park was appointed on 1 May 1858,[17] and took his seat on 5 May 1858.
  29. Charles Riley resigned on 13 May 1858.
  30. William Spain resigned on 20 May 1858.
  31. Henry Gilbert Smith resigned on 28 July 1858.
  32. William Byrnes, John MacFarlane and Bourn Russell were appointed on 19 August 1858,[18] and took their seats on 25 August 1858.
  33. Sir Alfred Stephen resigned on 12 November 1858 amid criticism of judges being members of parliament.
  34. The seat of Campbell Riddell was declared vacant due to absence on 8 December 1858.[19]
  35. Lyttleton Bayley was appointed on 18 January 1859,[20] took his seat on 19 January 1859 and resigned on 28 April 1859 to successfully contest the election for Mudgee.
  36. Alfred Lutwyche resigned on 22 February 1859 having been appointed Resident Judge at Moreton Bay.
  37. Roger Therry resigned on 3 March 1859 to retire to England.
  38. James Bligh resigned on 16 March 1859.
  39. William George Pennington resigned on 14 June 1859.
  40. John McNamara resigned on 27 August 1859.
  41. Geoffrey Eagar was appointed on 13 September 1859,[21] and took his seat on 14 September 1859.
  42. John Hargrave was appointed on 10 October 1859,[22] and took his seat on 12 October 1859.
  43. Robert Jenkins died on 26 October 1859.
  44. John Dickson resigned on 7 November 1859.
  45. Edward Wise resigned on 15 February 1860 having been appointed Judge of the Supreme Court.
  46. Charles Cowper was appointed on 9 March 1860,[23] took his seat on the same day and resigned on 29 November 1860 to return to the Legislative Assembly.
  47. David Jones resigned on 29 March 1860.
  48. Jacob Montefiore resigned on 23 April 1860.
  49. George Wigram Allen and Francis Oakes were appointed on 25 May 1860,[24] and took their seats on 6 June 1860.
  50. James Wilshire died on 30 August 1860.
  51. The seat of Arthur A'Beckett was declared vacant due to absence on 9 November 1860.[25]
  52. Geoffrey Eagar resigned on 23 November 1860.
  53. William Bland resigned on 20 March 1861.
  54. John Robertson was appointed on 2 April 1861,[26] to promote the Robertson land bills in the council.
  55. 21 members were appointed on 10 May 1861,[27] but were unable to take their seats before the term of the council lapsed.
  56. 20 members resigned on 10 May 1861,[2] in protest at the attempt to swamp the council.

References
  1. "Section III New South Wales Constitution Act 1855 (UK)". Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Museum of Australian Democracy.
  2. Part 3 Members of the Legislative Council (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  3. Part 10 Officers of the Parliament (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 November 2020.[lower-roman 1] and took their seats when the council first met on 22 May 1856.
  4. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 75. 20 May 1856. p. 1423. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  6. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 118. 5 August 1856. p. 2091. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  7. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 140. 12 September 1856. p. 2440. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  8. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 141. 16 September 1856. p. 2449. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  9. "William Spain appointed to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 165. 28 October 1856. p. 2803. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  10. "Henry Grattan Douglass appointed to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 178. 28 November 1856. p. 2997. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  11. "John Hubert Plunkett Douglass appointed to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 15. 28 January 1857. p. 176. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  12. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 25. 20 February 1857. p. 339. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  13. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 99. 10 July 1857. p. 1393. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  14. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 43. 23 March 1858. p. 537. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  15. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 45. 26 March 1858. p. 545. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  16. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 46. 30 March 1858. p. 557. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  17. "Alexander Park appointed to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 60. 4 May 1858. p. 727. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  18. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 123. 19 August 1856. p. 1337. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  19. "Legislative Council: Hon C D Riddell vacation of seat". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 December 1858. p. 4. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  20. "Lyttleton Holyoake Bayley appointed to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 9. 18 January 1858. p. 130. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  21. "Geoffrey Eagar appointed to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 187. 16 September 1859. p. 2064. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  22. "John Fletcher Hargrave appointed to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 205. 11 October 1859. p. 2213. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  23. "Charles Cowper appointed to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 52. 9 March 1860. p. 503. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  24. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 75. 28 May 1856. p. 1423. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  25. "Legislative Council: vacated seat". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 January 1861. p. 5. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  26. "John Robertson appointed to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 73. 2 April 1861. p. 741. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  27. "Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 156. 24 June 1861. p. 1382. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  28. Rutledge, Martha (1976). "Stephen, Sir Alfred (1802–1894)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 17 September 2021 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  29. "Legislative Council: absence of the resident judge, Moreton Bay". The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 February 1859. p. 5. Retrieved 17 September 2021 – via Trove.
  30. Ward, John M. "Cowper, Sir Charles (1807–1875)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  31. "Legislative Council". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 May 1861. p. 5. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.
  1. The changes to the composition of the council, in chronological order, were: 31 appointed,<ref name=':1' group='lower-alpha'>The original 31 members were appointed on 13 May 1856,<ref name='13 May 56'>"Appointments to the Legislative Council". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 71. 13 May 1856. p. 1366. Retrieved 15 September 2021 – via Trove.

 

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.