self-government

Question 1

what was the initial political system of AUS?

Answer 1

it closely modelled that of Great Britain HOWEVER the great distance from the UK/nature as a convict colony allowed for the governor to possess extraordinary powers as he was not controlled by Houses of Parliament. The nature of the political system was totalitarian as the governor possess autocratic powers meaning that he was controlled by anyone + had full authority of all individuals of lower rank + could even appoint a successor

Question 2

what CAUSED the Rum Rebellion?

Answer 2

the growing power of military officers + the wealthy in NSW allowed them to exert pressures on the Governor even to the point of defiance. The RUM REBELLION was CAUSED by a shortage of currency prompting colonists to substitute rum (controlled by the NSW Corps) as an informal currency.

Question 3

what was the CONSEQUENCE of the Rum Rebellion?

Answer 3

acts as defiance to the system of power as Governor William Bligh Governor William Bligh arrived in NSW in August of 1806 and immediately attempted to restrict the rum trade + regulate colonial life but this was met with severe backlash particularly from the officers of the NSW Corps who eventually rebelled against him by removing him from office on the 26th of January 1808

Question 4

how did this move towards self-government occur?

Answer 4

more free men began to resent the Governor’s powers (especially in NSW during the rule of Governor Macquarie 1810-1821), The Legislative Council was created which was the body that was in charge of creating laws for the colony; (became the upper house) and was supposed to consist of between 5-7 members nominated by the Crown however once it was established colonists, the squatters + landowners pushed for more power, especially to gain control of land and colonial wealth but it took a while because government mostly involved LARGE WEALTHY LANDOWNERS (friction between the classes, desire to create this ‘working man’s paradise)

Question 5

why did VIC want to separate from NSW?

Answer 5

Melbourne was under the control of NSW but within 10 years Melburnianans disliked Sydney’s ruling of the colony primarily because they didn’t like being represented by men from Sydney and their origins were convicts whilst they claimed that Port Phillip was formed by free men. Additionally, they were allowed to elect 6 members to the NSW Legislative Council but this forced them to live in Sydney for most of the year

Question 6

How did VIC retaliate against NSW’s ruling?

Answer 6

In 1848 their hatred for being governed from Sydney led to their refusal to elect 5 of their allowed 6 Legislative Council members but to show their contempt for Sydney’s rule they elected 1 man who was the Secretary of State for the Colonies who was Earl Grey but he lived in London. They also sent him a petition stating that they were felt like they were “governed by aliens, strangers and competition” + NSW was stalking money raised in Port Phillip land sales and using it on NSW public works instead. This protest led to the eventual separation of VIC from NSW as an independent colony

Question 7

textbook facts about initial government structures in the colonies

Answer 7

first elections were held in NSW in 1843 whilst last election election held in 1870 in WA

Question 8

how was self and responsible government achieved in AUS?

Answer 8

the British government in 1852 invited the Australian colonies to make constitutions + take control of most of their own affairs except for external relations and defence however self-government would mirror the British form of responsible government which was later applied in the AUS Constitution in 1901

Question 9

why did colonial constructions later become democratic?

Answer 9

men gaining suffrage (right to vote) and men did not earn the right to vote/inclusion in Parliament simply based on their ownership of property

Question 10

when was manhood suffrage demanded?

Answer 10

in 1850 as the House of Lords was tricked into halving the qualifications as previously men could only vote if they owned land (regardless of if they were a free man or convict) and a respectable electorate required a low (property holding/rental payment) qualification however this became worthless by the inflation caused by the gold rush which began in 1851

Question 11

what was the change in qualification to allow more men to vote?

Answer 11

the qualification was altered from property/rent to salary so that even household servants, clerks and managers could vote which acted as a desperate ploy to simultaneously hold off full democracy whilst giving more men the vote

Question 12

what group greatly supported democratic ideas?

Answer 12

democratic ideas were boosted by the disruptions of the gold rushes and was supported/found fertile ground in the issues/complaints of gold miners

Question 13

what CAUSED ferment among the gold miners?

Answer 13

Ferment (unrest + agitation) was produced in the gold miners who disagreed with the enforcement of the licence system by the police under the commissioner’s instructions

Question 14

Historian Geoffrey Serle quote about miner’s issue with the excessive tax?

Answer 14

many disagreed with the idea that they should be “taxed without being represented in parliament”

Question 15

why/how did the miners protest?

Answer 15

the protest was mostly against the form and amount of taxation but in 1853 a mass movement formed on the Bendigo fields among the 20,000 diggers as thousands refused to pay the full license. additionally in AUGUST 1853 thousands agreed to wear red ribbons in their hats as a sign that they didn’t pay their licence however the ferment was quietened by a reduction in the mining licence from 18 pounds to 8 pounds a year

Question 16

what was the purpose of forming the Ballarat Reform League?

Answer 16

this league + more agitation in late 1854 was created by a series of incidents/scandals as the organisation wanted to “to have a voice in making the laws [they were] called upon to obey” (Historian Frank Crowley), they also wanted to have a separate system to that of traditional England and they wanted their colony to be governed by informed residents of it

Question 17

what were the changes that the Ballarat Reform League were agitating for?

Answer 17

a full + fair representation, manhood suffrages, no property qualification of members for the Legislative Council, payment of members, shorter duration of parliaments, complete change in management of the goldfields by disbanding the gold commission and the total abolition of the diggers’ + storekeepers’ licences tax

Question 18

what did the 1854 Eureka Stockade on the VIC goldfields involve?

Answer 18

the armed insurrection of miners against the colonial authorities in response to the intolerable restrictions that had been placed on them and they rebelled because of their desire to have their voice in the Victorian Parliament in Melbourne

Question 19

who was a key figure of the Eureka Stockade?

Answer 19

Peter Lalor who “sw[ore] by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.”

Question 20

why did the Eureka Stockade occur?

Answer 20

when a few hundred polyglot gold miners constructed a palisade around 15 tents on the Eureka Lead which provided a place of armed refuge for unlicensed diggers against the legally sanctioned licence hunts designed to oppress, entrap and emasculate them, and they rebelled against the unpopular and viciously policed poll tax when all peaceful means of protest had failed and they fought back when attacked by the military in the preemptive strike

Question 21

what were some of the complaints of the miners surrounding the Eureka Stockade?

Answer 21

wanted to be treated like men “not animals, serfs or slaves” (Historian Clare Wright) and were effectively disloyal to their sovereign because they lost respect for the individuals who served her, they didn’t want to change the system of government but merely wanted to be included in it but at no point did they riot against or launch an assault on authorities. They were simply British subjects being denied the basic civilities of British justice hence they were treated as outsiders despite being “ethnic insiders”. The demands of the Eureka Stockade rebels were inspired by Chartist ideology and the Stockade and the Commission of Enquiry that followed it would help lead to the institution in Victoria of male suffrage in 1857 and female suffrage in 1908

Question 22

what was the CONSEQUENCE of the miners’ resistance?

Answer 22

the military aggressively fighting back at the miners and all the miners were arrested but later not found guilt by Melbourne Juries

Question 23

what were the OUTCOMES of the Eureka Stockade?

Answer 23

government abolished gold licence fees, in 1867 vic GRANTED THE legislative Assembly election to all male British subjects over 21 who registered and England only did so in 1918 (manhood suffrage), the secret ballot (initially called the Victorian ballot) was introduced and members of parliament no longer had to own property to be eligible

Question 24

what is CHARTISM?

Answer 24

a political reform movement that began in the UK in the 1830s + campaigned for male suffrage, the movements principal demands reflects the demands of AUSTRALIANS + the outcomes of the Eureka Stockade as they aimed to vote by secret ballot, end the use of property as a prerequisite for parliament and payment of Parliament members. The Chartist movement influenced the actions of the Eureka Stockade and when the British government urged the colonies to move to self-government and make constitutions, Chartism influenced the move to universal male suffrage in most colonies by the late 1850s

Question 25

Historian Tony Moore on Australia’s Chartist influences

Answer 25

Historian Tony Moore stated that “Australia is often called a Chartist’s democracy because by 1856 and the decade following, many of the key six points of the Chartists had been realised in VIC and NSW”

Question 26

who was a key leader of Chartism in AUS?

Answer 26

William Cuffay acted as a leading Chartist who was transported to AUS after allegedly planning a protest against the British government and there he became one of the first trade unionists, using Chartist ideas to help start the trade union movement in Australia.

Question 27

what was unionism inspired by?

Answer 27

Unionism was inspired by Chartist ideas and in the 1830s labour societies were organised by skilled workers to represent their interests in the colonies. Additionally, many migrants supported this notion as they possessed aspirations for greater freedom and opportunities in the Australian colones

Question 28

how were the 1st unions organised?

Answer 28

they were initially trade based so each trade of skilled workers formed a union to protect their interests however the influx of miners weakened unions as miners were individualists who worked for themselves however later in the mid-1850s unionism popularised as skilled working class men aimed to obtain better working conditions

Question 29

main initial success of unions in AUS?

Answer 29

the stonemasons aimed to reduce their work day to 8 hours due to the intense Australian climate, the 8 hours campaign was seen as the 1st step in redefining the expectations of the working class as the lifestyle/quality of the working class aimed to be improved and was though to allow for an “advanced state of civilisation” (HISTORIAN GEOFFREY SERLE)

Question 30

why was the 8 hours campaign a success in AUS?

Answer 30

the ideas was more supported in AUS due to the harsher climate which made labour work difficult, growing sense of egalitarianism + fairness that permeated from the goldfields + came to characterise much of AUS society

Question 31

how was the 8 hour work day achieved for stonemasons?

Answer 31

Under the leadership of James Galloway and president of the Stonemasons’ Society James Stephens, the stonemasons across sites in Melbourne negotiated to work no more than eight hours, if employers opposed the idea workers would simply go on marches or strikes, the stonemasons also uniquely did not suffer any loss of wages. However despite its limited application, the 8 hour day was widely celebrated. An initial celebration was held on the 12th of May 1856 with a march through the city to advocate for the campaign across more industries

Question 32

why was there a limited application of the 8 hour day?

Answer 32

Other fields labouring industries like quarrymen followed them and similarly won the 8 hour day but this entitlement was not widespread as some industries found this change easier than others due to their limited exposure to external competitors. Many industries like retail had to wait much longer before their working day was shortened and women, children, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers and Chinese workers generally worked many more hours for less pay

Question 33

what was the egalitarian nature of AUSTRALIA?

Answer 33

sense of egalitarianism defined Australia and allowed for significant social and economic progress, it became the basis of democracy and the classless society however it simultaneously excluded those who fell outside the economic suture and refused to include individuals on the basis of sex or race but the movement was still viewed as revolutionary as society was more open than Great Britain’s and there was an absence of the upper class

Question 34

achievements of the EUREKA STOCKADE?

Answer 34

events like the Eureka Stockade prompted debates about who could vote and who could stand for positions in Parliament and also for an end to financial means acting as a barrier to entry to Parliament + the secret ballot also was a result from these ideas/events and this acted as a world-first election innovation that became known as the ‘Australian Ballot’

Question 35

what is the issue of squattocracy?

Answer 35

there were many demands about land selection + squattocracy, some settlers (squatters) assumed control of land without approval of any external authority and they became very rich through the possession of this illegally possessed land, government eventually forced the squatters to pay a one-pound annual licence from 1836 for the land they occupied and later they fought for pastoral leases longer than 1 year and under the WASTE LAND ACT of 1846 they gained leases for 1,7,14 years depending on their distance from SYDNEY (but squattocracy ignored the Indigenous connection to land + further prompted dispossession of land) and during the period of economic boom/success they were able to access a wealthy/relaxed lifestyle

Question 36

continuities to 1860 (about self-government)

Answer 36

1.women weren’t a part of any of the democratic gains at all (reflecting their position in Britain), 2. power was held by landowners, 3. First Nations peoples were excluded from the progressive debates about democratic inclusion + suffered the loss of land as squatters claimed land for pastoral use around AUS (continuing to be excluded/isolated + their land dispossessed). 4. Government had to be based on British form. The Colonial Office of the British government, which granted self-government, ensured colonial constitutions had to contain 2 houses of parliament, like in Britain + they also made sure that government was to be responsible government so chief ministers only held power while their party held a majority of seats in the lower house. 5. There remained a great reliance/connection to Britain, little resistance to the implementation of the British government style + many remained loyal to the monarchy

Question 37

changes to 1860 (about self-government)

Answer 37

1. transition from governors who held autocratic powers for a generation to there being elected representatives in government. 2. change of granting self-government in 1852 led to the making of constitutions by colonial governments which became more democratic due to the actions of both the House of Lords + colonial agitators like the gold miners. 3. Franchise was slowly extended to all British men + legislated in 1857 following the Eureka Stockade. 4. use of the secret ballot 5. Political power of local colonial parliaments increased over time
2. growth of organised skilled labour (unions) allowed AUS to achieve several advances like the eight-hour (work) day