Teacher Guide Glossary
- Australian Natives Association (ANA)
- A society formed by non-Indigenous Australian- born men in 1871 to promote pride in being Australian. The ANA was a keen supporter of Federation.
- bill
- A proposal for a new law, considered and debated in parliament.
- campaign
- The process of gaining the support of voters for a candidate in an election.
- citizen
- A person who belongs to a country and who shares the same rights and responsibilities as other people of that country.
- colony
- A distant settlement that is governed by another country. British settlements in New South Wales, Victoria, Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory made up the Australian colonies.
- Commonwealth
- The Commonwealth of Australia refers to the nation and its national government, brought about by the Federation of the Australian colonies.
- constitution
- A document that sets out the rules for government.
- constitutional monarchy
- A democratic system of government with a monarch (queen or king) as a head of state. The monarch’s role is restricted by a constitution.
- convention
- A large meeting of people. In colonial Australia in the 1890s, Federal Conventions were held to draft the Australian Constitution.
- culture
- The way of life and customs shared by a group of people.
- delegate
- A person who has the authority to make decisions on behalf of others. The Federal Conventions consisted of delegates from the Australian colonies, who drafted the Australian Constitution.
- democracy
- A form of rule where the government is elected by and accountable to its citizens.
- electorate
- A geographical area represented in parliament. Each electorate consists of approximately the same amount of voters.
- equality
- When people have the same rights and responsibilities.
- Federal Conventions
- The meetings of leading politicians from the Australian colonies who drafted the Constitution. The Australian Constitution was drafted at the Federal Conventions of 1891 and 1897–98.
- Federation
- A country where the power to make laws is shared by different levels of government. Also refers to a union of self-governing colonies or territories to form one country. The Australian colonies united on 1 January 1901 to form the Commonwealth of Australia.
- franchise
- The right to vote. (See also suffrage)
- free trade
- Goods that are sold between countries or colonies, which are not taxed or have a tariff placed on them.
- government
- A group of people, usually elected officials together with the public service, who manage a country.
- governor
- A person who rules a colony or territory and who represents the queen or king. Until the Australian colonies achieved responsible government, a governor appointed by the British Parliament governed the colonies.
- Governor-General
- The queen’s (or British monarch’s) representative in the Australian Constitution. The Governor- General is the head of state and the symbol of government in Australia.
- House of Representatives
- The lower house of the Australian Parliament. The party with the majority of seats in the House of Representatives forms government.
- Legislative Assembly
- The lower house of the colonial, later ‘State’, parliaments.
- Legislative Council
- The upper house of the colonial, later ‘State’, parliaments.
- migration
- Leaving one country to settle or live in another.
- monarch
- A member of a royal family, usually a king or queen, who is the recognised head of a country.
- monarchy
- A country or nation ruled by a king or queen.
- parliament
- An assembly of elected or appointed representatives that makes the laws for a country.
- plural voting
- A voting system where voters can vote in all the electorates in which they own property.
- property franchise
- A voting system where only those who own property are allowed to vote. In colonial parliaments, voting in Legislative Council elections was restricted to people who owned property.
- proportional representation
- A voting system in which candidates must achieve an agreed quota of votes to be elected.
- protection
- A system of tariffs or import duties designed to protect domestic industry from competition. In colonial Australia all the colonies imposed duties on goods imported from other colonies. (See free trade)
- protectionism
- The belief that tariffs should be used to protect domestic industry from competition in order to encourage local industrial development and employment.
- racism
- When people are treated differently or unfairly because of their culture or ethnicity.
- referendum
- A vote of all the people on a particular issue, proposed law or constitutional change.
- representative
- A person chosen by the people of a community to speak for them. In parliament, each representative speaks for their electorate.
- republic
- A nation where citizens rule themselves directly or through their representatives. There is no monarch (king or queen) as head of state.
- responsible government
- An elected government that is accountable to the parliament and its people.
- Senate
- The upper house of the Australian Parliament. The States are equally represented in the Senate.
- squatters
- In colonial Australia, they were the wealthy pastoralists who occupied large tracts of land to graze sheep. Their control of the land gave them economic and political power in the Australian colonies.
- suffrage
- The right to vote. (See also franchise)
- tariff
- A government-imposed charge or tax on imported and exported goods.
- tax
- A government charge placed on a good, service or people’s earnings. The government decides how to use the money on behalf of its citizens.
- trade union
- An organisation of workers from a particular industry. Trade unions seek to protect workers’ rights, and campaign for fair wages and working conditions.
- ‘White Australia’
- An idea which began in the 19th century, to ensure that a united Australia maintained its British culture by controlling the social make up of the immigrant population. Though never realised, it was instrumental in the Immigration Restriction Act (1901) passed by the first Commonwealth Parliament, and influenced Australian immigration policy for more than 60 years after Federation.
imperial to metric conversions
- Length and distance
- 1 inch = 25.4 mm
- 1 foot = 30.5 cm
- 1 yard = 0.91 m
- 1 mile = 1.6 km
- Area
- 1 sq. yard = 0.8 m2
- 1 acre = 0.40 ha
- 1 sq. mile = 2.59 km2
- Weight
- 1 ounce (oz) = 28.4 gm
- 1 pound (lb)= 0.45 kg
- 1 stone = 6.35 kg
- Currency: pounds, shillings and pence where
- 1 pound (£) = 20 shillings
- 1 shilling (s) = 12 pence (p)