Parkes ministry (1889–91)

Fifth Parkes ministry
26th cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier Sir Henry Parkes and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed	8 March 1889 (1889-03-08)
Date dissolved	22 October 1891 (1891-10-22)
People and organisations
Head of government	Sir Henry Parkes
Head of state	Queen Victoria (represented by Lord Carrington and subsequently The Earl of Jersey)
No. of ministers	10
Member party	Free Trade Party
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	Protectionist Party
Opposition leader	George Dibbs
History
Predecessor	Second Dibbs ministry
Successor	Third Dibbs ministry

The fifth Parkes ministry was the 26th ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the seventh Premier, the Honourable Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG. It was the fifth and final occasion that Parkes was Premier.

Having served in the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1854 and 1856, Parkes was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held in 1856, however resigned from Parliament later that year. He served in the Assembly on several occasions, between 1858 and 1870, being forced to resign on at least one occasion due to his personal insolvency. He came to power as Premier on the first occasion in 1872, serving as Premier for a period of three years. However, Parkes lost the confidence of the Assembly following Governor Robinson's decision to release of the bushranger Frank Gardiner led to the defeat of the ministry in 1875.

John Robertson served as Premier between 1875 and 1877, before Robertson was defeated at the 1877 election. Parkes formed his second ministry in a challenging environment where both Parkes and Robertson shared equal representation in the Legislative Assembly and business was sometimes at a standstill. Parkes' second term as Colonial Premier lasted just 147 days, with the Farnell ministry giving both Parkes and Robertson reprieve for 12 months, prior to Parkes and Robertson forming an alliance government in the third Parkes ministry. The retirement of Robertson pitted Parkes against George Dibbs and after the governments of both Dibbs and Sir Patrick Jennings faltered under public debt, Parkes formed his fourth ministry, lasting nearly two years.