1835-1851

When the Port Phillip District was first settled it was governed from Sydney, New South Wales. This meant that every decision, law, rule and regulation affecting the lives of people living in the Port Phillip District (now called Victoria) was made by men in Sydney.

Gradually the voice of the citizens of Port Phillip District was heard as they called for their district to be independent of New South Wales. They argued that Sydney was too far away from Melbourne and sometimes decisions needed to be made quickly. They also felt that their needs were not being met as well as they could have been.

1851-1854

Eventually the British Government decided to form three new colonies. As a result of this decision, Melbourne became the capital of the new colony of Victoria which was formed in 1851. The Act for the better Government of Her Majesty's Australian Colonies was passed by the British Parliament. South Australia and Tasmania were also established as separate colonies.

A limited form of self-government was also established. Victoria was to have a Legislative Council but no Legislative Assembly or lower house like we have now. The Council would have 30 members. Twenty members were to be elected and ten members were appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria. In 1853 this number was increased to 36 members, of whom 24 were elected. The Legislative Council governed Victoria with the Governor or Queen's Representative from 1851 till the beginnings of responsible government in 1855.

Voting for the Council was not compulsory. In 1851 they did not use a secret ballot. They used the 'first past the post' system in which the candidate with the most votes won. It was a very public way to make a decision. Only males over 21 years of age could vote and you had to own land or lease property. University graduates and members of some professions were also allowed to vote. Only males over 30 who could support themselves financially were allowed to stand as candidates.

New rules for voting

Between 1851 and 1856 the regulations about voting were set out clearly. For the Legislative Council only males over 21 years of age who were born in a part of the British Empire (including Victoria) or were naturalised could vote if they met one or more of the following conditions:

• owned land worth one thousand pounds
• leased property with an annual value (council rates value) of one hundred pounds
• belonged to one of the professions- barrister, solicitor, medical practitioner, or was a university graduate, or a member of the armed services.

To stand as a candidate for election to the Legislative Council at this time you had to

• be male and at least 30 years old
• own freehold land worth 5000 pounds or more or pay rates on property with an annual valuation of at least 500 pounds. A person worth 5000 pounds would almost be a millionaire today.
• be able to support yourself financially as members of parliament were not paid.

This meant that the first Legislative Council members were landowners and businessmen. It also meant that the Council did not always have the best people in the colony as members. Some people have argued that they were not good decision-makers, and when they did make decisions they sometimes put their own rather than the colony's interests first. In addition, these men had to make decisions with a gold rush in progress.

In those days the Governor (or Lieutenant-Governor) could change or reject (veto) any decision that the Legislative Council made. And there were times when this power was used.

Despite this, the first Legislative Council drafted Victoria's constitution, introduced secret ballot (a world first), started building our Parliament House in Spring Street and prepared the way for the beginnings of responsible government in Victoria.

While more people were entitled to vote for the Legislative Assembly in 1856 and beyond, not all people could. There were still restrictions on gender (only males) and salary (100 pounds or more per year) or an annual mining licence which few diggers had, most buying a monthly licence.

Elections for the new responsible government were held as follows:

• Legislative Council: 11-18 September 1856
• Legislative Assembly: 23 September - 24 October 1856.

• Democracy
• Government
• Representative government
• Responsible government
• Self-government
• Structure of responsible government
• Towards responsible government
• The Constitution
• Lucy Bell
• Thomas Henty
• William Barak
• Elias Andrews
• John Chandler
• Frederick Thomas Sargood
• William Foster Stawell
• Acts of Parliament about Voting and becoming an MP
• Voting systems
• Acts relating to land use and care
• Consolidation Acts
• Land Acts in Victoria
• The Chaffey Agreement