Martin ministry (1863–65)

First Martin ministry
8th cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier James Martin and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed	16 October 1863 (1863-10-16)
Date dissolved	2 February 1865 (1865-02-02)
People and organisations
Head of state	Queen Victoria (represented by Sir John Young)
Head of government	James Martin
No. of ministers	7
Member party	unaligned
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	unaligned
Opposition leader	Charles Cowper
History
Outgoing election	1864–65
Predecessor	Third Cowper ministry
Successor	Fourth Cowper ministry

The first Martin ministry was the eighth ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and first occasion of being led by the Honourable James Martin, QC.

Martin was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held in 1856. He came to power as Premier after Charles Cowper's government fell in October 1863.

The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but not enshrined in formal use until 1920.

There was no party system in New South Wales politics until 1887. Under the constitution, ministers were required to resign to recontest their seats in a by-election when appointed. These by-elections are only noted when the minister was defeated; in general, he was elected unopposed.

This ministry covers the period from 16 October 1863 until 2 February 1865, when Cowper retained government by defeating Martin at the 1864–65 general election.