Learning Outcomes
- HI5-CPP-01 Accounts for different contexts and perspectives of the past
- HI5-COM-01 Communicates historical argument using historical terms and concepts for a range of purposes, audiences and contexts
Syllabus Links
History 7 – 10 Syllabus (2024, implementation 2027)
Depth Study (core): Australia: Making a Nation – from Federation to WWI (1889 – c. 1919)
- Debates on conscription and the war effort through the process of referendums and plebiscites as democracy in action
- Continuity and change of NSW governance structure
Conscription
On 28 October 1916, the Australian people were asked a question:
“Are you in favour of the Government having, in this grave emergency, the same compulsory powers over citizens in regard to requiring their military service, for the term of this war, outside the Commonwealth, as it now has in regard to military service within the Commonwealth?“
The answer to the above question would have far reaching consequences regardless of whether the Australian people voted ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. For the two months leading up to the vote, Australian society was divided in a way that it had never been before. No longer was the focus wholly on the war, it was now divided into the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps. Each appeared to believe that the other was an existential threat to civil society. Families, faiths, and friendships were broken apart. Even the Government itself would not escape unaltered.
What is Conscription?
Conscription refers to the compulsory enlistment of civilians to serve in their national military. During the First World War, Conscription was enforced in several countries such as Great Britain and New Zealand by acts of Parliament. Generally speaking, it meant that single men between the ages of 20 and 40 would be required to serve in the military.
In March 1916, Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes visited England and made several speeches calling for greater co-operation between the imperial territories in the war against Germany. Hughes had initially been against conscription, but after visiting the Western Front he was convinced that conscription would be necessary to ensure that the British empire had enough soldiers to continue fighting. The opening six weeks of the Battle of the Somme had resulted in over 20,000 Australian casualties. The opening day of the battle on 1 July 1916 resulted in nearly 60,000 British casualties, almost 20,000 of whom were killed. In Australia, the enlistment numbers were beginning to fall below the casualty rate. In other words, they were losing more soldiers than they were gaining.
After long discussions with his cabinet, Hughes and the government decided to support conscription, despite it going against the values of the Labor movement. However, due to the controversial nature of conscription, Hughes decided that the Australian people should decide at a referendum. If a majority of the population were supportive, the Federal Government would enact a policy of conscription.
What is a Referendum?
A referendum is a binding vote at either a state or national level to make changes to the constitution. All voters write either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to a question that is put to them. It is the only way to make changes to the constitution. In order for a referendum to be successful, it needs to receive a majority of the population AND a majority of the states. An equal number of ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ states would mean an unsuccessful vote.
Although the Conscription vote was and has since been commonly referred to as a referendum, the vote was non-binding and did not include any alterations to the Australian constitution. It is more accurate to refer to it as a plebiscite.
A Divided Society
Although the plebiscite was more of a federal matter, the conscription debates were felt deeply by all levels of government and across society. Campaigning for both sides was fierce and divided the nation at a time where national unity was of great importance. Similarly to the Prime Minister, the Premier of New South Wales, William Holman, was a supporter of conscription. This also placed him at odds with his own party, whose many supporters came from trade unions and were staunchly anti-conscription. Several prominent members of the NSW Parliament, including the members who had enlisted for service, made their thoughts on conscription known to the public.
Perspectives on Conscription
 “I have long thought that some measure of compulsion will ultimately have to be adopted, if Australia is to be protected“. Premier William Holman, 1915 |
 “Those who vote ‘No’ vote to aid the enemy, and to cause our soldiers who have already died to have died in vain“. James Macarthur-Onslow, 1916 |
 “I stated quite clearly, both to the executive and my leagues, that I was against it. Mr Hughes made a big mistake.” George Cann, 1916 |
 “While the proposals undoubtedly conscript life, the Government has no corresponding prospects for conscripting surplus wealth to carry on the war.“ William Dunn, 1917 |
For most of Australian society, Conscription had become a life or death question. The pro-Conscription voices genuinely believed that the honour and safety of the nation was being questioned. The anti-Conscription voices firmly believed there was no need or justification for persuading those unwilling to fight to take up arms. The case for Conscription was supported by almost every influential public figure in New South Wales as well as the nation. The main newspapers were also unanimous in their support. Of Prime Minister Billy Hughes it was said that no other person on either side could have done as much as he did in support of his view.
Hughes was so confident that the ‘Yes’ vote would be successful, that his Government issued an order for all unmarried men between 21 and 35 years old to register at once for military service under the powers of the Defence Act. It was a deeply unpopular decision. Any man called up to serve was required to have his fingerprints copied as a way of preventing fraudulent exemptions. However, at the time fingerprinting was primarily associated with criminals. Many honest men resented being made to feel like a criminal despite serving their nation.
The vote
The Conscription vote took place on Saturday 28 October 1916. It took several days for the results to be finalised. Yet by Monday, to the surprise of many, it had become clear that the ‘No’ vote had succeeded. New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia had voted ‘No’, whilst Victoria, Tasmania, and Western Australia had voted ‘Yes’. Overall, there was a ‘No’ majority of 72,476.
New South Wales had the second highest ‘No’ vote in Australia. It’s influence as the largest state also meant that it would ultimately decide the success of the vote. 474,544 had voted ‘No’, whilst 356,805 had voted ‘Yes’, with a margin of 117,739 being the difference. Had New South Wales voted in the opposite manner, the ‘Yes’ vote would have had a majority of the states and population, therefore resulting in Conscription for all Australians.
Statistics from ParlInfo – Part 5 – Referendums and Plebiscites : Plebiscite results
Why did Conscription fail?
Despite having considerable support from several influential parts of society, large parts of the nation were not convinced about Conscription. Within the Labor party there were many members who believed that men should not be forced to fight. They disagreed with their leader, Premier Holman, and became advocates for the ‘No’ vote. Several members of the Labor party came from working-class backgrounds. There was little support for Conscription from the working-class as it was believed that they would have to suffer the most if the referendum was successful. They claimed that those calling for Conscription were too old to fight and were happy to sacrifice other people.
The Split of the Labor Party
Following the result of the plebiscite, there was an official split of the Labor party. Prime Minister Billy Hughes had already been expelled from the Political Labor League, whilst Premier Holman had lost the endorsement of the same group. Both men decided to form a Nationalist party with the respective opposition parties in their Parliaments. In New South Wales, this meant that Holman and his supporters from Labor joined with the Liberal Reform party to maintain Government. The Labor party remained but had lost more than half of its members. Holman also remained as Premier of New South Wales. Of the six Australian states, only New South Wales had the same Premier for the entire duration of the war. Billy Hughes also maintained the Prime Ministership due to his new allegiances.
Another Plebiscite!
Despite the failure of the conscription plebiscite, Billy Hughes was determined to ensure that Australia was sending enough soldiers to assist with the war effort. Encouraged by a very successful election in May 1917, Hughes reintroduced the question of conscription. On 20 December 1917, the Australian public again went to the polls. This time they were asked:
“Are you in favour of the proposal of the Commonwealth Government for reinforcing the Australian Imperial Force oversea?“
On this occasion, the Australian Government wanted to ensure that recruitment did not fall below 7,000 men per month. When it did, able-bodied men between 18 and 44 years old would be subject to a ballot system to meet troop requirements.
However, the second conscription vote was even less successful than the first. Victoria also voted no on this occasion and the overall ‘No’ vote was larger than the first. New South Wales had the largest ‘No’ majority of any state. The Australian people had once again rejected conscription.
Statistics from ParlInfo – Part 5 – Referendums and Plebiscites : Plebiscite results
