1877–1879 Grey Ministry

The Grey Ministry was a responsible government that was formed in New Zealand. It formed in October 1877 and governed for two years until October 1879. From the outset, Sir George Grey served as Prime Minister.

Grey Ministry
ministries of New Zealand
1877–1879
Date formed	13 October 1877
Date dissolved	8 October 1879
People and organisations
Head of state	Victoria
Head of government	George Grey
Member party	Greyites
Opposition party	Conservatives
Opposition leader	Harry Atkinson John Hall
History
Election	1875-1876 general election
Predecessor	Atkinson Ministry, 1876–1877
Successor	Hall Ministry, 1879–1882

Background

As Premier, Grey was highly active in promoting middle-class liberalism to New Zealanders sponsoring ideas such as electoral reform, land taxes, breaking up large estates, regulation of wages and working hours and accessible education. However his ideas were too radical for many of his contemporaries. Grey's administration was perceived as defective and his leadership poor. As he never had a safe majority in Parliament, Grey unsuccessfully asked for a dissolution in 1878. Soon after the economy began to slide into recession, which caused much unemployment and as a result, unpopularity. The next year Grey's government lost a division in the House triggering an election. Grey and his followers failed to win a majority and in October 1879 Grey resigned.^[1]

Ministers

The following members served in the Grey Ministry:^[2]

Name	Image	Office	Term
Sir George Grey		Prime Minister	15 October 1877 – 8 October 1879
		Colonial Secretary	15 October 1877 – 18 October 1877
		Minister of Customs	15 October 1877 – 12 January 1878
			12 July 1878 – 8 October 1879
		Minister of Marine	9 April 1878 – 8 October 1879
		Minister of Finance	13 July 1879 – 8 October 1879
William Larnach		Minister of Finance	15 October 1877 – 5 March 1878
		Minister of Public Works	15 October 1877 – 5 March 1878
James Macandrew		Minister of Lands	15 October 1877 – 25 July 1878
		Minister of Immigration	15 October 1877 – 25 July 1878
		Minister of Public Works	28 March 1878 – 8 October 1879
John Sheehan		Minister of Native Affairs	13 October 1877 – 8 October 1879
		Minister of Justice	13 October 1877 – 8 October 1879
James Temple Fisher		Postmaster-General	13 October 1877 – 8 October 1879
George Stoddart Whitmore		Colonial Secretary	18 October 1877 – 8 October 1879
John Ballance		Minister of Education	12 January 1878 – 1 July 1879
		Minister of Finance	12 January 1878 – 1 July 1879
Robert Stout		Attorney-General	13 March 1878 – 25 June 1879
		Minister of Lands	13 March 1878 – 25 June 1879
Hoani Nahe		Member of Executive Council	17 November 1877 – 8 October 1879
John Nathanial Wilson		Member of Executive Council	2 November 1878 – 8 October 1879
William Swanson		Member of Executive Council	17 April 1879 – 15 July 1879
William Gisborne		Minister of Lands	5 July 1879 – 15 July 1879
		Minister of Mines	5 July 1879 – 8 October 1879
		Minister of Immigration	5 July 1879 – 8 October 1879
James William Thomson		Member of Executive Council	15 July 1879 – 8 October 1879
		Minister of Lands	16 July 1879 – 8 October 1879

Notes

1. Sinclair, Keith. "Grey, George Edward". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
2. Wilson 1985, pp. 67–68.

References

• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

See also

List of New Zealand governments