Democracy (150 years of) in SA: Keith investigates in the Adelaide City region of South AustraliaOne hundred and fifty years ago, North Terrace saw an historic and fundamental moment for South Australia - the first fully elected parliament sitting for the first time in what we now call Old Parliament House. On the day of the first sitting, one thousand people gathered at 3 o'clock to see the Governor arrive on horseback to open the session.
In the mid 18-hundreds it was radical stuff. As Adelaide and South Australia grew the Governor alone was in charge of law and order, hospitals, schools and everything else. But cries from the man in the street for more say grew louder and louder.
Old Parliament house is where it happened... on April 22, 1857 the 36 elected members hustled into the hastily built House of Assembly. Three hundred people crammed into the Strangers Gallery to witness the first sitting of the House of Assembly - resplendent in its deep green - adopted from the House of Commons of course.
It's an integral part of any Parliament House tour conducted by Head Attendant, Perry Brook. "When we bring people in here we tell them it's the first House of Assembly, and it's a little bit different from the current government. Back then there was no party politics so the room was set up like a school class. The members could sit wherever they liked. Today, they have to sit with their parties," said Perry.
An 1860s painting shows how it looked as the members debated important matters of the new colony.
The first Premier? Boyle Travis Finnis, a founding settler and assistant surveyor to William Light in 1836. But he wasn't Premier for long!
"There was no party politics," explained Perry. "So in the first year we had four Premiers."
A staggering 35 governments came and went between 1857 and the turn of the century. A plaque in the corridor next door shows a long list of premiers. The shortest was Mr Solomon - he was premier for a week and only got to sit in the house for one day!
Looking back, the torrid times along the way aren't really surprising. After all, transplanting the British Westminster System, making it work and even improving it... all on the other side of the world? It was a big ask!
Down the road at the Torrens Parade Grounds the History Trust has put together an exhibition that canvasses the big questions that to be thrashed out.
Who would be in the Upper House for instance? What about Hereditary Peers? Lords of the bush? That was an idea put up by founding settler John Morphett. But a public meeting said that would be an 'intolerable evil' so out the window it went. He scored a knighthood from Queen Victoria by way of compensation.
What about one man, one vote? Not everybody agreed with that either. Robert Torrens, the Registrar General thought that would give voice to 'the stupid, foolish mob!' Well he was rolled too and so by 1856 our constitution was drawn up and ready to go.
So in an incredibly bold move, South Australia became the first Australian colony to embrace a vote for all - provided you were over 21 and a man, of course.
The secret ballot was advocated too - until then, voting was very public - you can't get much more public than writing your vote on a list in the pub! You can imagine the intimidation and harassment come voting time. There was even a riot or two.
So we introduced the ballot box so your vote was your business and nobody else's. They even had some portable ballot boxes made out of tine in Yatala for carting out to the bush and back on camels.
150 years on the ideas the Lower House MPs we vote for meet in one of our grandest heritage buildings. Perry showed us inside the current House of Assembly - built in 1889. It might be 'new' but it's rich with old symbols from London.
"The carpet is green," explained Perry. "That's from the House of Commons again. And the specially weaved carpet includes designs of sheaths of wheat and grapes - significant South Australian exports. It also includes floral emblem of the golden wattle."
Perry also explained the purpose of the thin red line woven into the edge of the carpet called the BloodLine. "It also come from the House of Commons, where all the members had swords. If they crossed their swords, blood would be spilled, so they separated the two sides by 3 sword lengths so they couldn't duel."
Mercifully, the jousting is of a more vocal nature these days.
What about votes for women? A tapestry high on the wall reminds the honourable members sitting below that South Australia became the first democracy in the world to give women the right to vote AND stand for Parliament. That was in 1894.
Today, we all get to vote and perhaps we take it for granted but they didn't 150 years ago. As part of the celebrations for 150 years of Democracy in SA there will be public tours every day when Parliament is not sitting. An open day will be held on Sunday 22 April.
The History Trust's "Voice of the People" exhibition is open at the Torrens Parade Ground until the end of August.
Parliament House Open Day
Sunday 22 April 2007
Ph 8237 9100The Voice of the People" History Trust Exhibition Gallery
Torrens Parade Ground
Mon-Fri 9.30am-4.00pm
To 31 August 2007Published 18th March 2007
