The Hopetoun Blunder was a political and constitutional crisis immediately prior to the Federation of the British colonies in Australia. A map displaying todays federations. ...

Federation was scheduled to occur on 1 January 1901 but elections for the first parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia were not to be held until March of that year. The first Government of the Commonwealth would take power prior to the elections and it was therefore not possible to follow the conventions of the Westminster System and appoint the leader of the majority in the House of Representatives as Prime Minister of Australia. January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Westminster system is a democratic system of government modelled after that of the United Kingdom system, as used in the Palace of Westminster, the location of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... House of Representatives is a name used for legislative bodies in many countries. ... Judicial High Court Lower Courts Constitution State and territory governments Executive Governors and Administrators Premiers and Chief Ministers Legislative Parliaments and Assemblies State electoral systems ACT - NSW - NT - Qld. ...

The first Governor-General of Australia was John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow (25 September 1860 - 29 February 1908) who was then known as Lord Hopetoun. His initial task on arriving in Australia on 15 December 1900 was to appoint a Prime Minister to lead the interim government. It appears that Hopetoun had little knowledge of the Australian political scene and had no formal instructions from the Colonial Office. Following the precedent of the Canadian Confederation, Hopetoun commissioned the Premier of New South Wales (the original and most populous colony), Sir William Lyne to form a government. Governor-General (or Governor General) is a term used both historically and currently to designate the appointed representative of a head of state or their government for a particular territory, historically in a colonial context, but no longer necessarily in that form. ... Missing image Lord Linlithgow John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, 7th Earl of Hopetoun (25 September 1860 - 29 February 1908), first Governor-General of Australia, was born at Queensferry, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, on 25 September 1860, the eldest son of the sixth Earl of Hopetoun. ... September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years). ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... February 29 is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 306 days remaining. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Missing image Lord Linlithgow John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, 7th Earl of Hopetoun (25 September 1860 - 29 February 1908), first Governor-General of Australia, was born at Queensferry, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, on 25 September 1860, the eldest son of the sixth Earl of Hopetoun. ... December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. ... We dont have an article called Canadian-confederation Start this article Search for Canadian-confederation in. ... List of Premiers of New South Wales Before the 1890s there was no formal party system in New South Wales. ... Sir William Lyne Sir William John Lyne (6 April 1844 - 3 August 1913), Australian politician, was Premier of New South Wales and a member of the first federal ministry. ...

This was an unfortunate choice. Lyne had opposed Federation and was unpopular with other leading colonial, pro-federation politicians including Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin. Lyne had only become premier in September 1899 after the government of the more popular and experienced George Reid had lost its majority in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. 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." A map displaying todays federations. ... Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, PC, QC (18 January 1849 – 7 January 1920), Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia. ... Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856–7 October 1919), Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later second Prime Minister of Australia. ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... George Houstoun Reid (25 February 1845–12 September 1918), Australian politician and fourth Prime Minister of Australia, was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, son of a Church of Scotland minister, migrated to Victoria with his family as a child. ... The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. ... Front cover of the Feburary 24, 2004 edition of The Bulletin The Bulletin is a weekly magazine, which has been published in Sydney, Australia since 1880. ...

Despite significant efforts, Lyne was unable to persuade other colonial politicians to join his government and was forced to return his commission to Hopetoun. Alfred Deakin, amongst others,then persuaded Hopetoun to appoint Edmund Barton as Prime Minister. Barton was successful in forming a government, which took office on 1 January 1901. He appointed Lyne as his Minister for Home Affairs in what many saw as a gesture of reconciliation. Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856–7 October 1919), Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later second Prime Minister of Australia. ... Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, PC, QC (18 January 1849 – 7 January 1920), Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Hopetoun's error in calling on Lyne to form a government became known as The Hopetoun Blunder and marks the beginning of what many historians consider to be an unsuccessful term as Governor-General. Governor-General (or Governor General) is a term used both historically and currently to designate the appointed representative of a head of state or their government for a particular territory, historically in a colonial context, but no longer necessarily in that form. ...

References

La Nauze, JA, The Hopetoun Blunder: The Appointment of the First Prime Minister of Australia, December 1900, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1957