The 1882 New South Wales colonial election was for 113 members representing 72 electoral districts. The election was conducted on the basis of a simple majority or first-past-the-post voting system. In this election there were 32 multi-member districts returning 73 members and 40 single member districts. In the multi-member districts each elector could vote for as many candidates as there were vacancies. 13 districts were uncontested. There was no recognisable party structure at this election. The average number of enrolled voters per seat was 1,701, ranging from East Maitland (984) to Wentworth (2,977).[1]
The electoral boundaries were established under the Electoral Act 1880 (NSW),[2] which provided that a district would return a second member if the electoral roll reached 3,000, a third member upon reaching 5,000 and a fourth member on reaching 8,000.[3] At this election there were five districts which returned an additional member, Balmain, Bourke, Canterbury, Redfern and St Leonards.
| colspan="2" | | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | (1 new seat)
| colspan="2" | | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | (1 new seat)
| colspan="2" | | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | (1 new seat)Joseph Mitchell had previously been defeated as a sitting member for Newtown.
Sitting member John Bodel did not contest the election.
Sitting member Archibald Jacob unsuccessfully contested Morpeth.
Bruce Smith had been successful at a by-election on 23 November 1882 however parliament was dissolved on the same day and he could not take his seat.
James Watson had been unsuccessful in retaining his seat in Young.
Archibald Jacob was the sitting member for Gloucester.
The sitting member Henry Copeland successfully contested Newtown. James Farnell was a sitting member for St Leonards and had already unsuccessfully contested Parramatta.
Henry Copeland was the member for New England to challenge William Foster, the Minister for Justice. Joseph Mitchell subsequently contested Canterbury but was again unsuccessful.
| colspan="2" | | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | (1 new seat)
Sydney Burdekin was a sitting member for Tamworth.
| colspan="2" | | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | (1 new seat)Sitting member James Farnell unsuccessfully contested Parramatta and subsequently successfully contested New England. After Sir Henry Parkes unsuccessfully contested East Sydney and nominated for both St Leonards and then Tenterfield where he was elected unopposed. Parkes then withdrew from St Leonards.
The other sitting member Sydney Burdekin unsuccessfully contested South Sydney.
Arthur Renwick had previously unsuccessfully contested East Sydney.
John McElhone had already been elected for East Sydney. Thomas Hungerford was a sitting member for Northumberland.
The sitting member Edmund Barton successfully contested East Sydney.
The sitting member Charles Pilcher unsuccessfully contested West Sydney.