Parliament of New South Wales, Legislative Assembly election
Election of 11 March 1856
Government in office and parliamentary support before and after the election
Government in office at election
Government in office after election
Enrolment and voting
New South Wales, Legislative Assembly votes and seats won
Election held on 11 March 1856
Criteria for the inclusion of parties in this table are set out in the Glossary under 'listed party'
| Party Name | First preference vote n | First preference vote share % | Change from previous election % | Seats won n | Uncontested seats held n | Seat share % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independents (No disciplined party groupings) | 38,044 | 100.00 | * | 54 | 8 | 100.00 |
| Votes for other than listed parties | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||
| Totals | 38,044 | 100.00 | 54 | 8 | 100.00 |
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* Party did not contest previous election or did not meet criteria for listing, or contested previous election under a different party name.
Notes
Election dates: Elections were held over the period from 11 March to 19 April 1856 (nominations were open from 10 March to 5 April 1856).
First premier: Donaldson was the first premier to take office as head of government under the system of parliamentary responsible government granted to New South Wales by Britain; for details and references, see 'References', below. For a description of the formation of the first ministry, see P Loveday and A W Martin, Parliament, Factions and Parties: The First Thirty Years of Responsible Government in New South Wales, 1856-1889, pp. 6-26, (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1966). This publication provides a description and analysis of the style of parliamentary government in this period.
First Assembly electoral system and franchise There were 18 single member electoral districts districts for the Legislative Assembly, 13 two-member districts, 2 three-member districts, and 1 four-member district (34 electoral districts in total). The community based franchise was derived from 'the representation of interests rather than population' (Clune and Griffith, p. 33, see 'Sources', below). Members were chosen from pastoral districts, counties, towns and Sydney city (the four-member electoral district).
References: For a comprehensive survey of this election and the preceding period, see Michael Hogan '1856', and preceding chapters, in Michael Hogan, Leslie Muir and Hilary Golder (editors), The People's Choice: Electoral Politics in Colonial New South Wales, pp 1-62, (Sydney: Federation Press, 2007, ISBN 9781862876255). For comprehensive information on the Parliament of New South Wales during this period, see Clune and Griffith, ch. 1, (see 'Sources', below).
Sources
Election details are taken from the extensive information for each Legislative Assembly election provided by Antony Green in 'New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007', displayed on the Parliament of New South Wales website at: https://bit.ly/2smPu96 .
Summary electoral information and electoral maps can be found in Eamonn Clifford, Antony Green and David Clune (editors), The Electoral Atlas of New South Wales 1856-2006, (Bathurst NSW: New South Wales Department of Lands, 2006, ISBN 9780975235423); see also David Clune and Gareth Griffith, Decision and Deliberation: The Parliament of New South Wales 1856-2003, (Sydney: Federation Press, 2006, ISBN 186287591X).