The1865 South Australian colonial election was held between 1 and 13 March 1865 to elect members to the4th Parliament of South Australia. All 36 seats in theHouse of Assembly (the lower house, whose members were elected at the1862 election), and eight of the 18 seats in theLegislative Council (the upper house, which had two casual vacancies to be filled) were up for re-election.
The election used non-compulsoryplurality block voting, in which electors voted for as many candidates as they wished. Members of the House of Assembly were elected to 18 multi-member districts consisting of two seats each. Members of the Legislative Council were elected in a single 18-member district.Suffrage extended to men (includingAboriginals) over 21 years of age (who owned property worth at least £50, for the Legislative Council), unless they were "attainted or convicted of treason or felony".
No parties or solid groupings would be formed until after the1890 election, which resulted in frequent changes of thePremier. If the incumbent Premier lost sufficient support through a successfulmotion of no confidence at any time, he would tender his resignation to theGovernor, which would result in another member being elected and sworn in by the Governor as the next Premier.
House of Assembly (BV) – Turnout N/A (Non-CV) |
| Party | Votes | Seats |
|---|
| Votes | % | Swing (pp) | Seats | Change |
|---|
| | Independent | 13,339 | 100.0 | ±0.0 | 36 |  0 |
|
|---|
| Total | 13,339 | 100.0 | – | 36 | |
|
|---|
| Registered voters | 14,256 | – | – |
| Source:ECSA[1] |
Legislative Council
[edit]Legislative Council (BV) – Turnout 30.0% (Non-CV) |
| Party | Votes | Seats |
|---|
| Votes | % | Swing (pp) | Seats | Change |
|---|
| | Independent | 27,818 | 100.0 | ±0.0 | 18 | 0 |
|
|---|
| Total | 27,818 | 100.0 | – | 18 | |
|
|---|
| Informal votes | 188 | 4.7 | –2.6 |
| Turnout | 3,992 | 30.0 | +8.7 |
| Registered voters | 13,291 | – | – |
| Source:ECSA[2] |
