When did the white man get to vote australia?
The egalitarian sentiments were again reflected when the colonies of NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland framed their constitutions in the later 1850s. The colonies gave the vote to every man over the age of 21, regardless of race, religion or class. (Aborigines included.) Less than 50 years later, Australia’s first prime minister said: “These races are, in comparison with the white races- I think no one wants convincing of this fact – unequal and inferior.” Although they were still allowed to vote in state elections, Asians, Aborigines, Pacific Islanders and Africans were denied the vote in federal elections. The federal government then implemented the White Australia Policy as a method to stop non-whites migrating to Australia. The change in values between 1850 and 1901 strikes to the heart of the economic and racist reasons for why Australia’s six colonies became one nation. http://www.convictcreation
