The people's petition, WA 1865

An elected parliament is essential to democratic government - by 1859 every colony except Western Australia had achieved this first step. Under an Act of the British Parliament, a petition signed by at least a third of the householders in the Colony was required before voters could elect the majority of the members of the WA Legislative Council.

In 1865 a total of 1303 people signed this historic petition. The 1861 census had counted 15 593 non-Aboriginal people in Western Australia (only 1% of the total for all the Australian colonies).

Examining the names, a Select Committee subtracted those of former convicts not yet officially freed, as well as those who could not prove they were householders.

Next the investigators listed the 'class' and 'occupation' of the remaining 1153, noting 24 of the householders petitioning for a more representative parliament were women. The conclusion to these calculations, which reveal a limited definition of a citizen, was that there were enough names to qualify.

In 1870 the new WA Constitution was passed and the first elections held.

Explore the people's petition document.

Document details:

1. Petition , 1865. (Public Records Office of WA, WAS 1363, Cons. 137, Item 1)
2. Petition, 1865 - Covering Letter. (Public Records Office of WA, WAS 1363, Cons. 137, Item 1)

Public Records Office of WA

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