Proclamation Day, then and now – And how Newcastle celebrated the event, by Beth Frayne.
Extract from Duidgeeana, the newsletter of the Toodyay Historical Society (Inc.), Issue No. 5, Sept Oct 2008, pp. 5-6.
Each year Western Australia celebrates Proclamation Day on 21st October. Not many people know about this significant event so the following article written by Beth Frayne should bring some enlightenment. It was written for publication last year, but somehow didn’t make it into print. Some minor changes bring it up to date.
The first Proclamation Day was celebrated on 21 October 1890. On this first Proclamation day, a Tuesday, the colony of Western Australia was granted responsible (or self) government, by the Royal Assent of Queen Victoria. This meant that more people had a say in how they were governed and more people had the right to vote. A new Constitution was proclaimed that established the system of government we know today. It was after this event that John Forrest became the first Premier of Western Australia.
Was Newcastle (ie today’s Toodyay) involved in the first Proclamation Day? Yes! Subscribe and read all about it!
File date: 5 Dec. 2021. Access: Investigator and Query Subscribers