Parliamentary activity
Information about members' parliamentary service including their positions held and biography.
Positions
| Position | Start | End | Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Female Immigrants Committee No.4 | Wed 15 December 1858 | Sat 09 April 1859 | 3 months 26 days | |
| Standing Orders Committee No.2 | Fri 10 December 1858 | Sat 09 April 1859 | 4 months | |
| Library Committee No.3 | Fri 10 December 1858 | Sat 09 April 1859 | 4 months | |
| Railway Accident Committee No.28 | Wed 14 July 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 4 months 13 days | |
| Seizure of Gold on board the ‘Ethereal’ and ‘May Nicholson’ Committee No.21 | Tue 15 June 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 5 months 12 days | |
| Murders by the Aborigines on the Dawson River Committee No.22 | Tue 15 June 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 5 months 12 days | |
| Irish Female Immigrants (Petition from Celtic Association) Committee No.20 | Fri 28 May 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 5 months 30 days | |
| Management of the Survey Department Committee No.15 | Fri 30 April 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 6 months 28 days | |
| Scab and Catarrh in Sheep Committee No.14 | Tue 27 April 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 7 months | |
| Customs Department Committee No.12 | Tue 20 April 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 7 months 7 days | |
| Retrenchment in the Public Expenditure Committee No.11 | Tue 20 April 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 7 months 7 days | |
| Question of Privilege – Governor General’s Answer to Address on proposed dispatch of Artillery to Indi | Fri 16 April 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 7 months 11 days | |
| Navigation of the Murray, & c. Committee No.8 | Tue 13 April 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 7 months 14 days | |
| Moreton Bay Judge’s Appointment Bill Committee No.6 | Wed 31 March 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 7 months 28 days | |
| Special Return to Writ Committee No.5 | Wed 31 March 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 7 months 28 days | |
| Treasury Iron Chest and Accounts Committee No.4 | Tue 30 March 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 7 months 28 days | |
| The Library Committee No.3 | Thu 25 March 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 8 months 2 days | |
| Standing Orders Committee No.2 | Thu 25 March 1858 | Fri 26 November 1858 | 8 months 2 days | |
| Member for Cumberland (South Riding) | Sat 30 January 1858 | Mon 11 April 1859 | 1 year 2 months 15 days | |
| Seizure of Gold Dust on board the “Ethereal” Committee No.18 | Fri 04 December 1857 | Fri 18 December 1857 | 15 days | |
| Treasury Iron Chest and Accounts Committee No.17 | Tue 17 November 1857 | Fri 18 December 1857 | 1 month 2 days | |
| Navigation of the Murray and its Effluents Committee No.10 | Tue 27 October 1857 | Fri 18 December 1857 | 1 month 22 days | |
| Scab and Catarrh in Sheep Committee No.9 | Fri 23 October 1857 | Fri 18 December 1857 | 1 month 26 days | |
| Standing Order Committee | Wed 12 August 1857 | Fri 18 December 1857 | 4 months 7 days | |
| The Library Committee | Wed 12 August 1857 | Fri 18 December 1857 | 4 months 7 days | |
| Audit of the Accounts of the Revenues Committee | Wed 12 August 1857 | Fri 18 December 1857 | 4 months 7 days | |
| Governor General’s Opening Speech | Tue 11 August 1857 | Tue 11 August 1857 | 1 day | |
| Civil Service Superannuation Fund Committee No.19 | Tue 11 November 1856 | Wed 18 March 1857 | 4 months 8 days | |
| Member for Cumberland (South Riding) | Tue 04 November 1856 | Sat 19 December 1857 | 1 year 1 month 16 days | |
| Colonial Treasurer | Fri 03 October 1856 | Mon 07 September 1857 | 11 months 5 days | |
| Additional Ministerial Department Committee No.12 | Wed 20 August 1856 | Wed 18 March 1857 | 6 months 27 days | |
| Audit of the Revenue Accounts Committee No.6 | Wed 06 August 1856 | Wed 18 March 1857 | 7 months 13 days | |
| Member for Sydney Hamlets | Mon 16 June 1856 | Fri 03 October 1856 | 3 months 18 days | |
| Premier | Fri 06 June 1856 | Mon 25 August 1856 | 2 months 20 days | |
| Colonial Secretary | Fri 06 June 1856 | Mon 25 August 1856 | 2 months 20 days | |
| Petition of Peter Rawlings Committee No.5 | Wed 04 June 1856 | Wed 18 March 1857 | 9 months 15 days | |
| Library Committee No. 4 | Tue 03 June 1856 | Wed 18 March 1857 | 9 months 16 days | |
| Standing Order Committee No.3 | Tue 03 June 1856 | Wed 18 March 1857 | 9 months 16 days | |
| Governor General's Opening Speech | Fri 23 May 1856 | Fri 23 May 1856 | 1 day | |
| Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly | Tue 11 March 1856 | Mon 11 April 1859 | 3 years 1 month 1 day | |
| Member for Sydney Hamlets | Tue 11 March 1856 | Fri 06 June 1856 | 2 months 27 days | |
| Member of the NSW Legislative Council | Thu 01 February 1855 | Fri 29 February 1856 | 1 year 1 month | An Elective Member of the first Legislative Council 1843 - 1856 for the Sydney Hamlets |
| Member of the NSW Legislative Council | Tue 01 February 1848 | Mon 31 January 1853 | 5 years | An Elective Member of the first Legislative Council 1843 - 1856 for the County of Durham |
Biography
Community activity
Commissioned as a Justice of the Peace in 1838. Leading Founder of the Australian Club (treasurer; trustee; committeeman; vice-president). Member of the University of Sydney Senate from 1851 - 1856. Consul General for Sardinia in 1855. Foundation Member of the Union Club in 1856. With Sir William Burton, Sir Charles Nicholson, Sir George Macleay and W. C. Wentworth was active in the General Association for the Australian Colonies being appointed as Chairman in 1860.
Honours Received
Knighted in 1860
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
In 1860 unsuccessfully contested the seats of Dartmouth and later Barnstaple for the House of Commons in England.
Personal information
Son of Stuart Alexander Donaldson, merchant, and his wife Betsy Cundall. Married on 21 February 1854 in England to Amelia Cowper, daughter of Frederick Cowper of Carleton Hall, Cumberland, England (not related to Sir Charles Cowper), and had issue, 4 sons and 1 daughter. Church of England
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Pastoralist and merchant. Educated privately. Entered father's firm at 15 and went to Mexico for business training 1831 - 1834. Arrived in Sydney, where father's firm was associated with Alexander Riley and Richard Jones, 5 May 1835. Partner Richard Jones & Co., 1837. Manager on Jones' retirement 1838; agent for Lloyds of London, 1839. Took up runs at Tenterfield and Clifton in New England District, 1840, with 34, 000 sheep on 250, 000 acres. Formed business partnership with William Dawes 1841. To London 1841 - 1844. Suffered severely in depression of early 1840s, but by 1851 had cleared debts and realized over £30, 000. Acquired tweed factory near Newcastle; shareholder in many companies; extensive pastoral interests; trustee New South Wales Savings Bank. Travelled to England 1853 - 1854. A commissioner for railways 1857. Returned to England June 1859, leaving brothers-in-law to manage pastoral holdings. Revisited Australia in 1861 and 1864.
Additional information
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4
Personal papers in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales:
Stuart Alexander Donaldson - papers, 1834 - 1857 (A726-A731); photographs in
the PICMAN Database.
David Clune and Ken Turner (Editors), The Premiers of New South Wales: Volume 1
- 1856 - 1901, The Federation Press, Sydney, 2006 [Chapter 1: "Donaldson,
Stuart Alexander", by David Clune, p. 15]