Who made Australia a democracy?

Answer 1

Australia nearly always was headed for a democratic system as it was the offshoot of the British political system. It was not so much a case of who but when Australia would be fully democratic with self determination.

Whilst the above is correct, true democracy first came to Australia with the miners' uprising known as the Eureka Stockade. The battle of the Eureka Stockade failed in its immediate objective to gain more rights for miners, but it gained the attention of the Government.

A Commission of Enquiry was conducted and changes were implemented. One of the changes was that the Legislative Council was expanded to allow representation to the major goldfields, with Peter Lalor, a key figure in the Eureka uprising, being elected for Ballarat, along with another representative, John Basson Humffray. Later, Lalor was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Victoria.

For these reasons, the Eureka Stockade is regarded by many as the birthplace of Australian Democracy.