Stuart ministry
The Stuart ministry was the 20th ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the Honourable Sir Alexander Stuart. Stuart was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1874.
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 5 January 1883 until 6 October 1885. Suffering a paralytic stroke whilst in office, W. B. Dalley was Acting Leader of the Government from late 1884. Following Dalley's decision to send a contingent of troops to the Sudan, Stuart resigned in October 1885 with his Treasurer, George Dibbs, succeeding as Colonial Premier.
