A Town Hall meeting in 1887 ended in shock, when a motion to establish a Jubilee fund was rejected by the members of the meeting, and instead a motion passed censuring the undemocratic nature of the monarchy. What followed was farce and tyranny as loyalists first attempted to stack a meeting, which ended in a riot, and then, through Premier Henry Parkes, free speech was curtailed and a third even more exclusionary meeting held. Parkes would not tolerate NSW being disloyal to the British people and was prepared to act tyrannically to ensure it.
Preparations for the Jubilee
Queen Victoria is the longest reigning British Monarch, surviving Queendom from 1837 until she died in 1901. Victoria's Golden Jubilee was celebrated in June, 1887. In Australia, the ever-present colonial loyalists, went round drumming up support to stage events to display Australian fealty to the crown. It was unthinkable that anyone would disagree with something as natural as being a subject to the crown.
On June 3rd of 1887, the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Alban Riley, and several other prominent Sydney-siders held a meeting in Town Hall. On the agenda was the raising of money so school children of NSW could join in the Jubilee celebration. The meeting's organizers expected the motion to be passed unanimously - unfortunately for the monarchists, several Republicans objected, and an opposing motion passed which proclaimed; "to impress upon the children of this colony[NSW] the value of the Jubilee year of the Sovereign is unwise and calculated to injure the democratic spirit of the colony".
The loyalists and monarchists were agape, but outnumbered. Their response was to set up another Town Hall meeting the next week, and this time control it as tightly as George Bush's public appearances. Only tickets to known loyalists were handed out, and they were admitted by the side door - the end result was a riot. Republicans, openly and blatantly being discriminated against, swamped Town Hall.
The Second Town Hall Meeting
Paul Norton was a rabble-rousing Republican
[PDF]. He saw that tickets were only being handed out to loyalists, so in a flash of inspired larrikinism, he printed forgeries of the invitations. At the meeting, and before the forgeries were detected, Republicans surged in and filled the every seat and spare standing space.
When the Mayor, Alban Riley, tried to start the meeting, he was drowned out by the Republicans; fights quickly broke out between Loyalists and Republicans. The media and dignitaries, including NSW Premier Henry Parkes, scattered from the platform, and cowered backstage out of the ruckus. Loyalists tried to drown out the Republicans by singing "God Save The Queen", but Republicans countered with shouts for "the Australian Republic" and "three cheers for liberty!".
Alban Riley adjourned the meeting for a week, and for the next meeting to be held in another location - but he did so to a rioting crowd, and dignitaries who had by now retired to a private room upstairs. Extra police were rushed in to quell the situation.
The Self-proclaimed Great Liberalist Himself
In the room upstairs above the din, Parkes decided that the NSW colony must be seen as loyal British people, and could not stand for these dissenters that call themselves Republican. Parkes first step to eradicate Republicanism, was to target free speech itself. He shut down the Sydney theatres on Sunday and threatened the owners with having their licenses revoked if they opened their doors. Many of the progressive groups had been gathering at the Sunday theatres, giving and listening to lectures.
The next Sunday, Parkes had policeman stand as a barrier infront of the theatres. This drew a large crowd, including Loyalists, at Hyde Park who protested Parkes' attack on the freedom of speech. Meanwhile the preparations for the next Loyalist meeting was underway, and with more restrictive and exclusionary practice. Parkes ensured the outcome would be pro-royalist by stacking the crowd and marginalising the protesters to a small hallway. The Governor's wife, Lady Carrington, accepted the gift of jubilee fund in person. Numerous motions were passed, all professing NSW's loyalty to the Queen, Crown and Britain. Republicans were left to protest outside the hall, their demands for Liberty unheard inside.
Parkes maintained the farce by sending a cable to the Queen with the motions that the meeting in Exhibition Hall had passed. The Queen was gratified. Once again, the
bunyip aristocracy
forced their will on Australians, this time by attacking free speech and democracy.
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