The 1894 New South Wales colonial election was held on 17 July 1894 for all of the 125 seats in the 16th New South Wales Legislative Assembly and it was conducted in single-member constituencies with a first past the post voting system. Section 23 (1) of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act of 1893 conferred a right to vote on 'every male person, being a natural born [British] subject, who shall have resided or had his principal place of abode in New South Wales for a continuous period of one year'. The 15th parliament of New South Wales was dissolved on 25 June 1894 by the Governor, Sir Robert Duff, on the advice of the Premier, George Dibbs.
This election saw the elimination of multi-member districts. At the previous election there had been 20 two-member districts, 10 three-member districts, and 9 four-member districts. Their elimination also saw the Assembly reduced in size from 141 to 125 members. Also, for the first time, the election was conducted on the one day.[1][2][3]
Although he had lost control of the Assembly, Dibbs did not resign until after parliament had reconvened, when the Governor forced his hand.[4]
Key dates
Date
Event
25 June 1894
The Legislative Assembly dissolved, and writs issued by the Governor to proceed with an election
As a result of the election the representation of Labor Electoral League members in the Legislative Assembly fell from thirty-five to fifteen (representing ten country seats and five metropolitan seats). However, during the previous parliament after the 1891 election, the Labor members had not functioned as a cohesive unit whereas the fifteen elected in 1895 were more of a united force, bonded by their pledge to maintain caucus solidarity, under the leadership of James McGowen. In addition a total of thirteen non-solidarity Labor men (those who refused to sign the caucus solidarity pledge) were elected to seats in 1894, all sitting members except two. With a combined total of twenty-eight seats the number of Labor-inclined members in the 125 seat parliament represented a potentially effective voting faction, especially with over half of those members within a bloc committed to caucus solidarity.[5]
Free trade supporters won fifty-eight seats in the new parliament, most of them members of the Free Trade Party under George Reid and including thirty-three of the forty metropolitan seats. The protectionists were reduced to thirty-nine seats, all in country areas. After the election George Dibbs, the Protectionist Party leader, did not resign, wanting to test his support in parliament. However the Governor Robert Duff forced his hand and Dibbs resigned on 2 August 1894. The next day Reid formed his first ministry, which included Joseph Cook, leader of the non-solidarity Labor members, as Postmaster-General, a tactical decision that assured the support of at least seven free traders amongst the thirteen non-solidarity Labor members.[6]
Despite having a majority in a reforming Legislative Assembly Reid had only a handful of supporters in the Legislative Council, made up of men nominated by previous parliaments, appointed for life by the governor, and constituting a body increasingly seen as representing a "bulwark for the privileged classes". The legislative reform agenda of the Assembly was frequently frustrated by Council amendments, as well as outright inaction and obstruction. The situation reached a critical point with the fate of the land and income tax assessment bill, for which Reid considered he had a clear mandate from the electors. The legislation was introduced in November 1894 and after a full debate was sent to the Council in March 1895.[7][8] On 25 June 1895 Reid reported to the Assembly that the bill "was destroyed" in the Legislative Council. He appealed to all members of the lower house for support and announced that the lieutenant-governor had agreed to dissolve the house in order for a general election to be held.[9]
↑W. G. McMinn (1988), Sir George Houstoun Reid (1845–1918), Australian Dictionary of Biography website, National Centre of Biology, Australian National University; accessed 27 December 2025.
↑Dissolution, The Australian Star (Sydney), 26 June 1895, page 2.
Sources
Bede Nairn (1973), Civilising Capitalism: The Labor Movement in New South Wales 1870-1900, Canberra: Australian National University Press.
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