Stuart Donaldson
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The Honourable Sir Stuart Donaldson |
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 |
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| 1st Premier of New South Wales | |
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In office 6 June 1856 – 25 August 1856 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Succeeded by | Charles Cowper |
| Constituency | Sydney Hamlets |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Stuart Alexander Donaldson 16 December 1812 London, England, UK |
| Died | 11 January 1867 (aged 54) Carleton Hall, Cumberland, England, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Amelia Cowper (1854–1867) |
| Children |
Hay Frederick Donaldson St Clair Donaldson |
| Profession | Business agent for Richard Jones & Co, Company manager for Lloyd's of London; sheep and cattle grazier |
Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson (16 December 1812 – 11 January 1867) was the first Premier of the Colony of New South Wales.
Donaldson was born in London, England. He entered his father's firm at the age of 15 and was sent first to Mexico (1831-1834), for business training. After returning to England in May 1834, Donaldson travelled to Sydney, New South Wales, aboard the Emma Eugenia where he arrived on 5 May 1835. He returned to London between 1841 and 1844.
In 1848, Donaldson was elected a member of the original unicameral Legislative Council of New South Wales, representing the County of Durham from February 1848 to January 1853. Comments made while running for re-election in 1851, led Sir Thomas Mitchell to demand a public apology. While Donaldson complied Mitchell was not satisfied and challenged Donaldson to a duel with pistols. Both men missed but they remained antagonised. He supported the development of steam ship services to Australia and the work of Caroline Chisholm. In 1852 he achieved the carriage of a motion recommending that £10,000 should be applied to supporting Chisholm's work. He travelled to England in 1853-1854.
From 1 February 1855 to 29 February 1856, Donaldson represented Sydney Hamlets in the Council. In March 1856 Donaldson was elected to the newly created Legislative Assembly of the first Parliament, representing Sydney Hamlets. The first Legislative Assembly had trouble forming a Government. Eventually Governor Denison invited Donaldson to be Premier and he took up the offices of Premier and Colonial Secretary on 6 June 1856. Two months and 20 days later, on 25 August 1856, his Government lost a vote and he resigned. He was criticised for standing down so readily but he said, "my colleagues and myself are all too independent of office to cling to it", a somewhat prophetic remark.
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