Several Armidale men are survivors of those horrible events 70 years ago when Darwin was bombed, and the fall of Singapore resulted in thousands of Australians being taken as prisoners of war by the Japanese. Australian Federation was only 41 years old, but our country played its part and survived the war. Federation has now completed 110 years. We continue the Federation story from where we ended last week, when the voters in NSW prepared to elect 10 delegates to attend the second National Convention to draft a Constitution Bill.
Until 1897 Armidale had played no part in the Federation story. Our two local newspapers (the Armidale Express and the Armidale Chronicle) had published news items about the great events in the Federation story, and editors had offered their views, but there was no tool for ascertaining what the people thought. That changed in the lead up to the election in March 1897. An analysis of the papers in February and March 1897 is very revealing.
In February the Express accurately noted that “this will be the first time in the history of the colony that the people have been asked to give a direct vote upon the question of Federation”. Having noted “the apathy shown by the public on the question, and the opposition to the movement in various quarters and on numerous grounds”, the editorial declared that people are now “becoming alive to the importance of the election they are called upon to take part in.” From then until election day there would be “plenty of opportunity … to hear the views of a number of candidates expounded in this city.”
Two weeks later it was claimed that “The addresses so far have served to awaken interest in the subject and have caused it to be discussed wherever two or three are gathered together.” However, the initial interest in the Convention election was not maintained. At the end of February the editor lamented that “in this city there is no enthusiasm amongst the people”. He said his remarks were “justified by the comparatively small attendance at the public meetings and the apathy displayed by the public generally.” By March, the editor was fearing that “the federal spirit” had fallen off “in a manner that threatens total extinction before polling day.”
He contrasted a small audience of about 50 people who had assembled in the Armidale Town Hall “to listen to a subject which every citizen in Australia ought to feel it his duty to become conversant with”, and a crowd of 500 who “congregated in the vicinity of a steam merry-go-round and an itinerant Bohemian lecturer”. For the editor there was but one conclusion: “that Australian Federation occupies but very little the thoughts and attention of the Armidale public.”
For the Express, Federation was “too important a subject to be narrowed to party lines” and the editor hoped that “the electors of this district will be seized with the importance of the forthcoming election, and that a full vote will be given here.” The Express was not supporting any particular candidates, but encouraged all eligible electors to vote. The Armidale Chronicle had similar views and advice, and praised Free-traders and Protectionists for “laying aside their mutual hostility and working together for a great and common objective.” The fiscal controversy had raged as fiercely in New England as in any other part of the colony, so the truce was commendable. Of the 50 candidates who were standing in NSW, 10 visited Armidale.
The election to choose delegates for the National Convention was held on Thursday, March 4, 1897. During the morning there was a steady stream of voters to the polling booth at the Town Hall, and during the afternoon a small crowd gathered in the vicinity of the building, “but the interest did not approach within many degrees to a parliamentary election”. Only adult males whose names were on the roll could vote, and voting was not compulsory.
After the poll closed “a large number of persons waited outside the Town Hall for the result of the polling”. There were 7000 votes to count. None of the local papers state how many people in Armidale voted. Given that the Express stated there were “7000 votes to count” and that each ballot paper had ten votes, then there must have been 700 voters. It was not until 10 o’clock that the figures were announced.
A large crowd gathered at the Chronicle office in Faulkner Street to hear the news of the elections in other parts of the Colony. At intervals of about an hour “specials’ were sent out and right up to midnight the people waited to receive the latest information. On the Friday, “specials’ were again distributed.
The highest number of votes in the Armidale electorate went to Edmund Barton, and to the former Member for New England in the NSW Parliament, Henry Copeland. Next came George Reid, William Lyne, Richard O’Connor and William McMillan. Cardinal Patrick Moran (the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney), was also strongly supported. This local result was significantly different from the colony-wide result, because Copeland and Cardinal Moran were not “among the chosen ten”. Their defeat “caused great surprise” to the editor of the Express, who expected that both candidates would have been elected.
Henry Copeland came 13th on the list, polling nearly 47,000 votes. The Express declared that his defeat “was greatly regretted by his many old supporters in New England”. It seems that many people who disagreed with him in politics “expressed a desire to see him among the successful ten.” Cardinal Moran had unwisely accepted nomination and it had resulted in a great deal of Protestant agitation which probably caused more Catholics and Protestants to vote than would otherwise have done so. The Cardinal came 14th in a field of 50.
The 10 delegates elected in NSW (in alphabetical order) were: Joseph Abbott, Edmund Barton, James Brunker, Joseph Carruthers, William Lyne, William McMillan Richard O’Connor, George Reid, James Walker and Bernard Wise.
