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Western Australia

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History
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Description
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Western Australia documents
Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 (WA)
Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 (WA), p1
Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 (WA), p2
Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 (WA), p3
Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 (WA), p16
Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 (WA), p31
Significance
This Act incorporated into a single piece of legislation numerous amendments to the 1889 Constitution, including the provision of suffrage for women. This made Western Australia only the second Colony in Australia (after South Australia in 1894) to grant women the vote.

As the governor reserved his assent to this Bill for Her Majesty's pleasure, a copy was sent to the United Kingdom. Assent was received through an Order-in-Council on 15 May 1900.
History
This legislation was an unusual move, in that Parliament chose in this way to embody a number of new provisions relating to the 1889 Constitution Act as subsequently amended, in this separate Act. From this point onwards the 1890 Constitution Act and the Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899, need to be read in conjunction with each other.

During the 20th century both Acts were amended on a number of occasions. To date there has been no legislative attempt to consolidate the 1889 and 1899 Acts, though such a proposal was the subject of one parliamentary inquiry in the early 1990s.

Sources

Battye, JS, Western Australia: A History from its Discovery to the Inauguration of the Commonwealth, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1924.

Black, D, The House on the Hill: A History of the Parliament of Western Australia 1832–1990, Parliament of Western Australia, Perth 1991.

Crowley, FK, Australia's Western Third: A History of Western Australia From the First Settlements to Modern Times, Macmillan, London, 1960.

Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, Acts and Other Information Relating to Parliament, The Assembly, Perth, 1991.

Lumb, RD, The Constitutions of the Australian States, (5th edn), University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, 1991.

Stannage, CT, A New History of Western Australia, University of Western Australia Press, Perth, 1981.

Description
Long Title:Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 (63 Vic. No. 19)
No. of pages:32
Medium:Vellum
Measurements:22 x 29 cm
Provenance:Legislative Council of Western Australia
Location & Copyright:State Records Office of Western Australia
Reference:SROWA: AN47/7, 1828/336