1967 New South Wales new state referendum
The New State referendum was held in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, on 29 April 1967, under the provisions of the New State Referendum Act 1966.[1] The proposed state's boundaries were based on the findings of the 1935 Nicholas Royal Commission; only voters in this area took part. The vote marked the culmination of a decades-long campaign for a new state in the New England and Northern Rivers districts, but was ultimately defeated.
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Are you in favour of the establishment of a new State in north-east New South Wales described in schedule 1 to the New State Referendum Act 1966 ? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Outcome | Decided in the negative | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editThe first separatist agitation occurred during colonial times at the time of the separation of Queensland from NSW. While this was followed by outbreaks of agitation, these remained sporadic. Well-organised 'Separation Leagues' existed at both Glen Innes and Grafton in the late 1880s,[2] but did not make progress.
This changed in the twentieth century. Agitation began again at Grafton towards the end of the First World War led by Earle Page, a local doctor and later a prominent politician, rising to caretaker Prime Minister of Australia. This was picked up a little later by Victor Thompson, editor of the Tamworth Northern Daily Leader who launched a sustained newspaper campaign that involved papers as far south as Cessnock in the lower Hunter. This led to the creation of a formal movement. In 1922 a formal request to the Commonwealth was made by the lower house to establish a new state in northern New South Wales.[3] One outcome was the 1924 Cohen Royal Commission into New States.
The Cohen Commission ruled against to the movement and it went into decline, resurging at the start of the Great Depression.[4] This forced another Royal Commission, the Nicholas Commission. While this recommended in favour,[5] the movement was again in decline as economic conditions improved.
Agitation started again at the end of the Second World War and this time was sustained by permanent staff. In 1953, 21 councils defied the state government and held unofficial referendum on the issue of a new state. The people voted overwhelmingly in favour of the referendum.[6] In 1961 the movement launched Operation Seventh State,[7] raising over AU£100,000. This allowed more staff and greater agitation.
This acceptance of boundaries determined by the Nicholas Commission proved to be the movement's critical strategic error. It assumed that a state was not viable unless it was dominated by a large urban population on the English/London model. Yet, the evidence from similar federations like Canada and the USA revealed numerous successful "farm states", like Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas, with comparatively small capital city populations tied to a single, essentially rural community of interest. This metrocentric mindset ensured that two quite distinct communities of interest were being pressured into a doomed arranged marriage. It was also the very antithesis of an "act of free choice" as that choice involved imposing a majority rural will over a geographically distinct urban community. A new state proposal based in most part on boundaries formed by those Local Councils with majorities that actually wanted the change would have acquired a critical momentum.
Premier Robert Askin and the Cabinet believed in 1966 that a secession referendum would win, so they had the upper Hunter Region and Newcastle included within the boundaries of the proposed new state before putting it to a vote.[6]Key dates
editWrits were issued on 31 March 1967. Polling took place on 29 April and the writ was returned on 29 May.[8]
Prescribed area
editThe New State Referendum Act identified a "prescribed area" in which the vote would be held. This included the electoral districts of Armidale, Barwon, Byron, Cessnock, Clarence, Gloucester, Hamilton, Kahibah, Lake Macquarie, Lismore, Maitland, Newcastle, Oxley, Raleigh, Tamworth, Tenterfield, Upper Hunter, Wallsend and Waratah. It also included the subdivisions of Gunnedah, Merriwa and Spring Ridge in Burrendong, and Baradine and Coonabarabran in Castlereagh.
The question
editAre you in favour of the establishment of a new state in north-east New South Wales as described in Schedule 1 to the New State Referendum Act, 1966?[9]
Results
editThe 'Yes' case enjoyed strong support across the New England and Northern Rivers districts, but faced overwhelming opposition in metropolitan Newcastle, the Hunter Valley and the Mid-North Coast.
| District | Result | Yes | No | Informal | Yes | No | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armidale |  Yes
|
10,257 | 6,655 | 868 | 60.65% | 39.35% | 91.99% |
| Barwon | Yes
|
12,149 | 6,015 | 843 | 66.89% | 33.11% | 89.35% |
| Burrendong (part) | Yes
|
4,570 | 2,474 | 339 | 64.88% | 35.12% | 92.94% |
| Byron | Yes
|
13,205 | 6,533 | 1,072 | 66.90% | 33.10% | 93.22% |
| Castlereagh (part) | Yes
|
1,719 | 1,528 | 242 | 52.94% | 47.06% | 85.26% |
| Cessnock |  No
|
4,627 | 14,299 | 1,362 | 24.45% | 75.55% | 94.26% |
| Clarence | Yes
|
13,239 | 6,698 | 873 | 66.40% | 33.60% | 93.69% |
| Gloucester | No
|
4,725 | 12,235 | 1,012 | 27.86% | 72.14% | 91.79% |
| Hamilton | No
|
5,305 | 13,945 | 1,303 | 27.56% | 72.44% | 92.18% |
| Kahibah | No
|
6,233 | 14,098 | 1,320 | 30.66% | 69.34% | 93.38% |
| Lake Macquarie | No
|
5,784 | 12,981 | 1,444 | 30.82% | 69.18% | 92.66% |
| Lismore | Yes
|
13,335 | 5,286 | 735 | 71.61% | 28.39% | 92.91% |
| Maitland | No
|
5,159 | 14,470 | 1,274 | 26.28% | 73.72% | 94.11% |
| Newcastle | No
|
5,343 | 14,167 | 1,142 | 27.39% | 72.61% | 91.17% |
| Oxley | No
|
8,297 | 10,609 | 1,229 | 43.89% | 56.11% | 92.28% |
| Raleigh | Yes
|
14,965 | 5,404 | 956 | 73.47% | 26.53% | 92.57% |
| Tamworth | Yes
|
10,138 | 7,407 | 842 | 57.78% | 42.22% | 93.67% |
| Tenterfield | Yes
|
11,220 | 4,657 | 591 | 70.67% | 29.33% | 92.18% |
| Upper Hunter | No
|
6,884 | 11,061 | 795 | 38.36% | 61.64% | 92.22% |
| Wallsend | No
|
5,423 | 13,575 | 1,485 | 28.55% | 71.45% | 93.87% |
| Waratah | No
|
5,526 | 14,715 | 1,467 | 27.30% | 72.70% | 93.13% |
| Total | No
|
168,103 | 198,812 | 21,194 | 45.82% | 54.18% | 92.59% |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Referendum 29 April 1967". NSW Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011.
- ^ "GLEN INNES SEPARATION LEAGUE". Glen Innes Examiner and General Advertiser. 3 May 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ Totaro, Paola (28 July 2003). "History's lesson to the bush: if at first you don't secede, try, try again". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "New States Royal Commission". State Archives and Records. Government of New South Wales. 6 April 1925. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "Royal Commission of Inquiry Respecting Areas in the State of New South Wales Suitable for Self-government as States in the Commonwealth of Australia". State Archives and Records. Government of New South Wales. 2 January 1935. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Altered states". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 January 2005.
- ^ "Advertising". Canberra Times. 10 June 1961. p. 18. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ a b McDonell, J. M. (1967). New State Referendum Act 1966: Statistical Returns. Sydney: New South Wales Government Printer.
- ^ "New state referendum Act, 1966. (30)". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 31 March 1967. p. 1027. Retrieved 26 October 2021 – via Trove.