The origins of NT political structure

Key ideas:

• The origins of the Northern Territory's political structure;
• The events and the significance of the Darwin Rebellion.

The establishment of the Northern Territory - 1863

Until 1863 the land that is now called the Northern Territory was part of New South Wales. With transfer to South Australia in July 1863 it became South Australia's Northern Territory and until 1910, the Territory was administered as an integral part of South Australia. You can see how the boundaries of the Northern Territory have changed over time by checking out the following web site:

Political boundaries of the Australian states and the Northern Territory.

The Commonwealth assumed responsibility for the Northern Territory in 1910 which heralded a period of administrative neglect. Ruled from afar, the Territory languished politically. There was not even representation in the federal parliament until 1922 and even then that member could not vote. The period of neglect and the lack of representation federally fostered a very active political environment in the Northern Territory. People lobbied hard and long to achieve very limited representation and in the end it took 70 years to achieve some form of constitutional equality with other Australians.

Rebellion in the north

One of the significant events in the early years of the Northern Territory was the Darwin Rebellion. It was a direct response to the lack of representation and the limited democratic institutions that existed in the NT.

This was not only the start of demands for more democracy in the Northern Territory, but also the first collective challenge to the authority of the government. The Darwin Rebellion has been compared by some people to the Eureka Stockade but most historians consider that to be an overblown description, nevertheless the incident caused the federal government to worry about the 'rebellious' north. Read more about the Darwin Rebellion here.

The Rebellion was a significant factor in the trade union's agitation that led to the recall of the first Commonwealth-appointed Administrator, Dr John Anderson Gilruth, in 1918 and the forced exit of his three leading officials eight months later. The Australian Constitution (S.122) enables the Commonwealth Parliament to grant representation to a Territory in the Senate and the House of Representatives, and continuing political unrest eventually brought the question of Territory representation to the Parliament. Essentially, on 17 December 1918 several hundred Union members protesting unemployment, an increase in beer prices and other matters marched through Darwin and went to Government House to demand the removal of Administrator Gilruth and an investigation into his administration. The actions of the Union members resulted in Administrator Gilruth and his family being removed to Melbourne in February 1919.

Self-government - 1978

Post-World War Two development in the Northern Territory and the increases in population meant that there was a slow increase in the level of representation the NT population had in Canberra. In the 1960s a legislative council was established, but even then the majority of the member of the Council were appointed by the Administrator. It wasn't until 1974 when the Whitlam Labor Government bestowed a fully elected Legislative Assembly on the Territory that there was a real representational government, but even then real power remained with the Commonwealth until 1978 when the Fraser Liberal Government passed the Self-Government Act in federal parliament.

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© CDU | Last Updated March 5, 2007 | Authorised by: Head of School | CRICOS Provider No: 00300K