Head of government James Martin Member party unaligned | No. of ministers 7 | |
Date formed 16 October 1863 (1863-10-16) Date dissolved 2 February 1865 (1865-02-02) Head of state Queen Victoria (represented by Sir John Young) | ||
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.
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.