Activity 1: What are the founding documents?

Use the list of questions you made when reading the text, 'Towards responsible government'.

Re-read these questions to remind you of the things you want to find out. As you look at the documents for this activity, make notes that will help you answer these questions.

There are a number of documents that help tell more of the story of how Victoria achieved responsible government.

These documents are called the 'founding documents'.

• Why do you think they are given this name?

These documents include:

• Correspondence between Colonial Secretary William Haines and Governor Sir Charles Hotham. There are two letters. One letter offers Mr Haines the job of Premier of Victoria. In the second letter Mr Haines offers to be dismissed. Think about the reasons why this had to happen.
• The section from the activity sheet Responsible government in Victoria: How it began explaining the work of the Select Committee
• The Constitution Act with Royal Assent
• Letter from Lord John Russell to the Governor of Victoria
• Draft Bill and suggested changes [VPRS 2599/P0, unit 468]
• Letter from Sir Charles Hotham, Governor of Victoria to the Colonial Secretary, 23 November 1855. This letter explains what Hotham believes the role of the Governor would be under the new constitution.

Download and print all the documents and transcripts. (The transcripts are typed versions of the handwritten documents, so they are easier to read.)

Place these documents along a timeline.

In pairs, read two or more of these documents and answer the questions on the activity sheet, 'The pathway to responsible government'. Fill in one sheet for each document.

When you have finished, change sheets with another pair and check each other's work to make sure the information is complete and accurate.

In your group:

• share the information you recorded on the activity sheet
• identify any questions from the class list that you think have been satisfactorily answered during this activity
• check your list of questions to see if these founding documents will help you answer further questions
• identify the important people who made responsible government happen
• explain how you think each person helped in this process and why.

Activity 2: What do these documents tell us?

Each of these founding documents was written for a specific purpose. You will now look at two of these to help you better understand them.

The role of the Governor

Read the text from the 1855 Constitution and in your own words explain what it says about the role of the Governor.

Next, read Sir Charles Hotham's letter of 23 November 1855 to the Colonial Secretary.

Ask:

• What is significant about the date of this letter?
• In what ways (if any) do you think Sir Charles agrees with the 1855 Constitution
• In what ways (if any) does he disagree?
• Why would Hotham have written this letter?
• If you had to write a statement about the way the Governor should undertake her or his role, what would you accept and what would you reject from Hotham's interpretation, and why?

Now read relevant sections from the 1975 Constitution about the Governor's role today. Discuss the text and decide the ways in which the role of the Governor has changed since 1855 and how it has remained the same.

Suggest reasons why there is more detail in the 1975 Constitution than there is in the 1855 version.

Prepare a chart to summarise your findings from these documents.

Note: The full 1975 Constitution can be viewed at the Victorian Parliament website (www.parliament.vic.gov.au/const.html).

Letter from Lord John Russell to the Governor of Victoria

After reading the letter, ask:

• What do points 1 and 2 tell you about the process for gaining approval for the 1855 Constitution? Use this information and other information you have found to prepare a visual representation to explain the process of constitution-making.
• What are the main ideas of points 7 and 14?
• What types of acts would be approved by the Governor of Victoria and what types by the British Crown?
• Why do you think some acts were to be approved by the Governor of Victoria and some by the British Crown?
• What does this tell you about the way in which the British Government related to Victorians (and other colonies) at this time?
• In what way(s) is this different today?

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• Introductory activities
• Investigating the past
• Visiting the exhibition
• Going further
• Extension activities

• Activity sheet A: The pathway to responsible government
• Activity sheet B: Comparing Constitutions
• Haines' letter resigning to allow the Governor to set up the first responsible government
• The Constitution Act with Royal Assent
• Letter from Lord John Russell to the Governor of Victoria
• Draft Bill and suggested changes
• Letter from Sir Charles Hotham, Governor of Victoria to the Colonial Secretary, 23 November 1855
• Relevant sections from the 1855 and 1975 Constitutions
• The full 1975 Constitution