Sylvia Marchant

The Historical Traditions of the Australian Senate: a Bastion Against Democracy? Sylvia Marchant

This is an examination of the raison d'etre of Australia?s upper house established in 1901. The study was undertaken in view of the paucity of studies of the history and role of the Senate in relation to its powerful influence on the Government of Australia. Answers were sought to the questions of how and why it was conceived and created and what role it was expected to play. The study does not extend beyond 1901 except to examine the Provisional Parliament House, opened in 1927, which realised the vision of the assembly which determined that the Senate was an indispensable institution. The work explores the literature that might have influenced its establishment and structure, and the attitudes, ideals, experience and expectations of the men who initiated its existence and designed its structure during the Australian Federation Conventions of the 1890s. It goes on to study whether similar western and British influenced institutions were seen as models by the designers of the Senate, followed by an examination of its architecture, décor, and procedures, to determine the major influences at work on these aspects of the legislature.