The Secretary for Mines was a ministry first established in 1874 in the first ministry of Henry Parkes. It went through various title changes, becoming the Minister for Mines in 1959 then variations on Minister for Mineral Resources.
Role and responsibilities In 1872-3 there was a rush of application for mineral leases covering , which were required to be dealt with by the Secretary for Lands. The ministry was created from the responsibilities of the Secretary for Lands and the first minister, James Farnell, was also the Secretary for Lands. The initial tasks for the minister were establishing the Board of Mines, a school of mines and mineralogical museum. The minister was responsible for the department of mines, which included mining wardens, registrars, bailiffs and surveyors. The department also included agricultural regulation, including sheep and cattle inspectors and the registration of brands.
The agricultural responsibilities were recognised from 1890 when the title was changed to Secretary for Mines and Agriculture, until 1907 when a separate Minister for Agriculture was created. In 1959 the ministry was renamed Minister for Mines.
The resources portfolio was occasionally combined with the energy portfolio between 1984 and 2017.
List of ministers
Title Minister Party Term start Term end Time in office Notes Secretary for Lands and Secretary for Mines No party 9 May 1874 26 July 1874 Secretary for Mines 27 July 1874 8 February 1875
9 February 1875 5 February 1877
6 February 1877 16 August 1877
17 August 1877 19 November 1877
20 November 1877 17 December 1877
18 December 1877 20 December 1878
21 December 1878 11 October 1881
12 October 1881 4 January 1883
5 January 1883 6 October 1885 7 October 1885 17 October 1885
13 November 1885 21 December 1885
22 December 1885 25 February 1886
26 February 1886 23 December 1886
24 December 1886 19 January 1887
20 January 1887 16 January 1889
17 January 1889 7 March 1889
8 March 1889 27 February 1890
Secretary for Mines and Agriculture 28 February 1890 22 October 1891
23 October 1891 2 August 1894
3 August 1894 15 August 1898
27 August 1898 13 September 1899
15 September 1899 8 April 1901
10 April 1901 29 August 1904
29 August 1904 1 October 1907
2 October 1907 21 January 1908 Secretary for Mines 22 January 1908 20 October 1910
21 October 1910 29 January 1914
29 January 1914 15 March 1915
15 March 1915 31 October 1916
31 October 1916 15 November 1916
15 November 1916 12 April 1920
12 April 1920 20 December 1921
20 December 1921 20 December 1921 7 hours
20 December 1921 13 April 1922
13 April 1922 17 June 1925
17 June 1925 18 October 1927
18 October 1927 15 April 1929
16 April 1929 3 November 1930
4 November 1930 15 October 1931
15 October 1931 13 May 1932
16 May 1932 17 June 1932
18 June 1932 16 May 1941
16 May 1941 8 September 1949
8 September 1949 21 September 1949
21 September 1949 30 June 1950
30 June 1950 23 February 1953
23 February 1953 16 September 1953
16 September 1953 30 June 1954
1 July 1954 15 March 1956
15 March 1956 14 November 1957
14 November 1957 1 April 1959 Minister for Mines 1 April 1959 13 May 1965
13 May 1965 27 June 1967
27 June 1967 3 January 1975
3 January 1975 14 May 1976
14 May 1976 19 October 1978 Minister for Mineral Resources and Development 19 October 1978 29 February 1980 Minister for Mineral Resources 29 February 1980 2 October 1981 2 October 1981 1 February 1983
1 February 1983 10 February 1984
10 February 1984 5 April 1984 Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy 5 April 1984 6 February 1986 Minister for Mineral Resources 4 July 1986 26 November 1987 Minister for Minerals and Energy 26 November 1987 21 March 1988 Minister for Mineral Resources
21 March 1988 19 October 1988 Minister for Minerals and Energy 19 October 1988 6 June 1991 Minister of Natural Resources
6 June 1991 26 May 1993 Minister for Mines 26 May 1993 4 April 1995 Minister for Mineral Resources
4 April 1995 8 April 1999
8 April 1999 2 April 2003
2 April 2003 3 August 2005
3 August 2005 4 December 2009 Minister for Mineral and Forest Resources 4 December 2009 4 June 2010 4 June 2010 1 September 2010
6 September 2010 28 March 2011 Minister for Resources and Energy
3 April 2011 4 December 2013
4 December 2013 2 April 2015 Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy 2 April 2015 30 January 2017 Minister for Resources 30 January 2017
References