A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of West Sydney on 8 January 1863 because William Windeyer resigned.[1] Windeyer was a member of the victorious NSW rifle team which had traveled to Melbourne for a rifle match. They were returning to Sydney on the City of Sydney, an iron steamship, when it struck rocks and sank at Green Cape.[2][3] While all passengers and crew survived, the Australian Dictionary of Biography states it affected Windeyer's mental and physical health which led to his resignation.[4] Windeyer's letter to the electors of West Sydney refers to the successful passage of the Lands Act,[5] the abolition of state aid to religion,[6] and the pursuit of his profession as a barrister.[7]
^Crown Lands Alienation Act of 1861 (NSW) and Crown Lands Occupation Act of 1861 (NSW)
^Grants for Public Worship Prohibition Act of 1862 (NSW)
^Windeyer, W C (23 December 1862). "To the electors of West Sydney". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 8 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Writ of election: West Sydney". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 255. 24 December 1862. p. 2673. Retrieved 8 November 2020 – via Trove.