Work in small groups of seven or more people for these activities.

Activity 1: Meet some citizens from 1855

Read one of the following life stories:

• Lucy Bell
• Thomas Henty
• William Barak
• Elias Andrews
• John Chandler
• Frederick Thomas Sargood
• William Foster Stawell

All of these people were living in Victoria in 1855, the year when Victoria was given responsible government. Some of these people were wealthy or at least had a comfortable lifestyle, some were struggling, some faced difficult times. Share the information you read in your selected life story with other group members. Describe the type of person you think this historical figure was and the type of life you think they would have led.

Read the text, 'Towards responsible government'. Use the information in that text to decide whether or not the person you read about would have been allowed to vote, and why:

• in 1851 when Victoria (Port Phillip District) was separated from New South Wales and the Victorian Legislative Council was established
• in the election for the Legislative Council in September 1856
• in the elections for the Legislative Assembly between September and October 1856.

Share your ideas and opinions as a group. If your person was not living in Victoria in 1851, would he or she have been allowed to vote if he or she did live here? Why or why not?

Activity 2: When did they get to vote?

Visit www.parliament.vic.gov.au/democ.html. Print a copy of the 'Key dates'. Use a highlighter to identify dates that gave more people the right to vote or to stand as a candidate in an election.

Decide in which year each of these seven people would have been able to:

• vote for the Legislative Assembly
• vote for the Legislative Council
• stand as a candidate for the Legislative Assembly
• stand as a candidate for the Legislative Council.

Use the activity sheet, 'When could they...?' to record your group's findings. Leave the last column blank to use when investigating Focus Question 8.

If you are still unsure about the dates when people first voted, visit www.parliament.vic.gov.au/council/info_sheets/Old_system.htm to find out about voting and standing as a candidate for the Legislative Council. Information Sheet 17 tells you about the Legislative Council's electoral system from 1851 to 2003. Challenge yourselves and read this text in small groups. Locate important information together. Note: this information sheet includes very detailed information.

Did you know that indigenous males in Victoria gained the vote at the same time as all other British male subjects? This was in 1857 when universal manhood suffrage was introduced for all males over 21 years of age. At this time the property qualification to vote in the Legislative Assembly was abolished. That is, you did not have to own large areas of land or earn a salary of 100 pounds or more to be allowed to vote for the Legislative Assembly.

Women over 21 years of age in Victoria only gained the right to vote in 1908. They were treated equally with men in elections for the Legislative Council from this time. At this time, not all men could vote for the Legislative Council. That only happened in 1950.

Activity 3: Landmarks of Victoria timeline

Use your 'Landmarks of Victoria' timeline to record important dates about the history of responsible government in Victoria. Add further dates as you undertake other activities.

Back to top | Next activity

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

• Towards responsible government
• Lucy Bell
• Thomas Henty
• William Barak
• Elias Andrews
• John Chandler
• Frederick Thomas Sargood
• William Foster Stawell
• Our Democratic History
• Activity sheet: When could they...?
• Infosheet 17 - The Legislative Council's Electoral System 1851-2003