Dimensions
152 x 222 x 25mm
The 1901 election was the proving ground for Australian democracy, yet the event has not received detailed study or attention. The founding fathers themselves published little of consequence about the election, and further generations of writers largely ignored it.
Why this silence? For most of the leading colonial politicians the election was less significant than the passage of the Constitution. For Edmund Barton, Charles Kingston and Alfred Deakin the election was less momentous than the establishment of the Australian Federation and the eventual nomination of Barton as Prime Minister by Lord Hopetoun, the Governor-General.
The 1901 election - held on 29 and 30 March - became part of the business of governing for the Bartonites. The election, largely conducted on state laws and customs that were a patchwork quilt at the turn of the century, was a tribute to the Australian talent for administration.
This book investigates the state of democracy in 1901, and demonstrates how the election was managed in all six states.
