South Australian referendum, 1896

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The 1896 election day crowd on Waymouth Street. The election results can be seen on display to the right. The 1896 referendum was held concurrently with the general election. 1896 South Australian Election.jpg
The 1896 election day crowd on Waymouth Street. The election results can be seen on display to the right. The 1896 referendum was held concurrently with the general election.

A referendum was held in South Australia on 25 April 1896, and dealt with matters relating to secular and religious education. The referendum was held concurrently with the 1896 South Australian election, the first in Australia in which women were eligible to vote and stand for office, and was the first referendum to be held in Australia. [1] The South Australian public affirmed the system of free, secular, state education in place at the time, and rejected scriptural instruction in state schools and a capitation grant for religious schools.

Contents

Background

Following the passage of the Free Education Bill in 1891, free, secular education had been provided to South Australian children in state schools. This prompted a number of church groups to campaign for scriptural instruction in state schools. The National Scriptural Education League, led by the Wesleyan pastor Joseph Nicholson, had unsuccessfully attempted to make "scriptural education without dogma" a referendum question at the 1893 election. In 1895 Robert Caldwell, an Anglican Member of the House of Assembly called for a poll to be conducted, asking the opinion of the parents of state school children on the matter. The resolution was amended to extend the poll to all voters, and to include the question of capitation grants for non-state schools. [2] The question was finally proposed as follows: [3]

  1. Are you in favour of the continuance of the present system of education in State schools?
  2. Are you in favour of the introduction of Scriptural instruction in the State Schools during school hours?
  3. Are you in favour of the payment of a capitation grant to denominational schools for secular results?

The three options had initially been proposed as one question, which voters could either support or reject. However, Frederick Holder and Premier Charles Kingston moved that each part be considered separately. [2]

Frederick Holder Australian politician

Sir Frederick William Holder KCMG was an Australian politician. He was Premier of South Australia from June to October 1892 and again from 1899 to 1901. He was a prominent member of the inaugural Parliament of Australia following Federation in 1901, and was the first Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives.

Charles Kingston Australian politician

Charles Cameron Kingston was an Australian politician. He was an early radical liberal Premier of South Australia serving from 1893 to 1899 with the support of Labor led by John McPherson from 1893 and Lee Batchelor from 1897 in the House of Assembly, winning the 1893, 1896 and 1899 colonial elections against the conservatives. He was a leading proponent of and contributed extensively on the Federation of Australia, and was elected to the federal House of Representatives with the most votes amongst the seven elected in the single statewide Division of South Australia at the 1901 election, serving under the Protectionist Party, going on to represent the Division of Adelaide at the 1903 election. A radical liberal in state politics, his government introduced such progressive measures as: electoral reform including the first law to give votes to women in Australia, a legitimation Act, the first conciliation and arbitration Act in Australia, establishment of a state bank, a high protective tariff, regulation of factories, a progressive system of land and income taxation, a public works programme, and more extensive workers’ compensation.

Results

Voters were instructed to place an X next to a proposal to support it, or leave the proposal blank to reject it. [1] All subsequent referendums have been held in a Yes/No format. Of the 137,781 colonists on the electoral roll, 91,348 voted, a turnout of 66.3%. [1] The total informal vote was 12,830 (14%),. [1]

ProposalQuestionFor (%)Against (%)Result
1Continuing present system51,681 (74.4)17,819 (25.6)Yes
2Scriptural instruction19,280 (35.6)34,834 (64.4)No
3Capitation grant13,349 (24.1)42,007 (75.9)No

Reaction

The Anglican bishop of Adelaide John Harmer, who had been an advocate of both scriptural instruction in schools and the capitation grant, distributed a pastoral letter to his diocese in the wake of the referendum, conceding that the result had decisively shown that these reforms would be unlikely to gain support. The Southern Cross , Adelaide's Catholic newspaper, pointed out that the capitation grant alone, and not scriptural instruction, had been requested by the Catholic Church, and that it was the size of the margin, rather than the result, that was of interest. Christian Weekly, a local Wesleyan paper, also called the decision decisive, but maintained hope for future changes. [4]

John Harmer (bishop) Bishop of Rochester; Bishop of Adelaide; British Anglican bishop

John Reginald Harmer was a long-serving Anglican bishop who served in two dioceses.

A pastoral letter, often called simply a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of a diocese or to both, containing general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circumstances. In the Catholic Church, such letters are also sent out regularly at particular ecclesiastical seasons, particularly at the beginning of fasts. In most episcopal church bodies, clerics are often required to read out pastoral letters of superior bishops to their congregations.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "South Australian Referenda" (PDF). State Electoral Office – South Australia. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  2. 1 2 French, M (1977). "Roman Catholics and the Labor Party: An Early Conflict in South Australia". Labour History. 32: 55–65. JSTOR   27508259.
  3. "THE EDUCATIONAL REFERENDUM". The Advertiser . Adelaide. 25 April 1896. p. 5. Retrieved 10 August 2011 via National Library of Australia.
  4. "How the Referendum is Understood". The Advertiser . Adelaide. 25 April 1896. p. 5. Retrieved 13 December 2010 via National Library of Australia.