The Hopetoun Blunder was a political event immediately prior to the
Federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
of the British colonies in Australia.
Federation was scheduled to occur on 1 January 1901, but since the general election for the first
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor- ...
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
. Instead, an interim government would be appointed, holding office from 1 January until the result of the election was known.
The first
Governor-General of Australia
The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun (who later became the 1st Marquess of Linlithgow). His initial task on arriving in Australia on 15 December 1900 was to appoint a Prime Minister to lead the interim government. Hopetoun had little knowledge of the Australian political scene and had no formal instructions from the Colonial Office. On 19 December, following the precedent of the
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominio ...
, Hopetoun commissioned the Premier of the most populous colony to form a government. That state was
New South Wales
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, and its premier was Sir William Lyne.
This was a controversial choice as Lyne had become premier in September 1899 only after the government of the more popular and experienced George Reid had lost its majority in the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...
. Lyne supported federation only at the last minute after long being a strong opponent and, as a result, he was unpopular with other leading colonial, pro-federation politicians including
Edmund Barton
Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to b ...
and
Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia. He was a leader of the movement for Federation, which occurred in 1901. During his three terms as prime ministe ...
. '' The Bulletin'' summed up many people's view when it editorialised, "Among the men who can claim by merit or accident, to be front-rank politicians of Australia, Lyne stands out conspicuously as almost the dullest and most ordinary". However, there were those who supported the choice of Lyne, as Barton was at that time not a member of a parliament.
Despite significant efforts, Lyne was unable to persuade any other colonial politicians to join his government. In particular, Barton wrote to him, "If your object is to ask me to join you in a federal administration, it will be of little use for us to meet and discuss the matter. It would be a contradiction of my whole career in relation to federation if I served under a prime minister who had throughout opposed the adoption by the people of the measure of which he is now asked to the first constitutional guardian".John Nethercote, "Blunder put Barton in the box seat", ''Canberra Times'', 21 December 2000, p. 11 Lyne returned his commission to Lord Hopetoun at 10 pm on 24 December.
Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia. He was a leader of the movement for Federation, which occurred in 1901. During his three terms as prime ministe ...
, among others, had now persuaded Hopetoun to commission Barton as Prime Minister if Lyne was not able to form a ministry. At 11 pm that evening, Barton was given Hopetoun's commission, and he was successful in forming a government, which took office on 1 January 1901. He appointed Lyne as his
Minister for Home Affairs
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...