The Australian Horn of Plenty : How Britain's Australian Colonies Began Democracy

Hamilton explores in a short history how all men gained the vote, self-government and the secret ballot in South Australia (1856), Victoria (1857) and New South Wales (1858). Australia permanently democratized without a violent revolution, and at a very early time.

In 1851-1858, two thirds elected Legislative Councils in the British colonies of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia gave all men the vote, including Aboriginal and Chinese men, the secret ballot, and self-government of local affairs.

This book examines the Legislative Council debates which led to these radical democracies.

Debates covered voting eligibility, the secret ballot, the upper house of parliament, equal electorates, multiple voting, illiterate voters, control of Crown lands, terms of parliament, payment of members, and separation of Church and State.

British parliamentary tradition was combined with the advanced liberal thinking of the time, Chartism with the British constitution.

Through these debates, it can argues that democratization of 1851-58 in the three largest Australian colonies was as fundamental to Australian prosperity as the ‘mixed’ market economy. A vital text for scholars of democracy as well as those interested in Australian Studies, Australian History, Political Science, Constitutional Law, and about the building blocks of first world prosperity.