page_title: Darwin rebellion
section_title: Palmerston District Council
hierarchical_section_title: Darwin rebellion / Background / Palmerston District Council
caption_attribution_description: English: Black &amp; white photograph of the Palmerston (NT) District Council, taken in 1909. Back row left to right: E.V.V. Brown; W.C.P. Bell; O. Witherden. Front row left to right: C.J. Kirkland; W.J. Barnes; P. Kelsey. First citizens of the Commonwealth to publicly welcome to Australia the distinguished visitor Lord Kitchener".
context_page_description: The Darwin rebellion of 17 December 1918 was the culmination of unrest in the Australian Workers' Union which had existed between 1911 and early 1919. Led by Harold Nelson, up to 1000 demonstrators marched on Government House at Liberty Square in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia where they burnt an effigy of the Administrator of the Northern Territory, John Gilruth, and demanded his resignation.
  Their grievances were against the two main Northern Territory employers, Vestey’s Meatworks and the Commonwealth of Australia, and concerned political representation, unemployment, taxation and ongoing industrial disputes following the implementation of the White Australia policy. Gilruth and his family left Darwin soon afterwards under the protection of HMAS Encounter, while the Vestey company permanently closed its Darwin operations in 1920.
  The event was described as the nearest thing to a revolution in Australia since the Eureka Stockade at Ballarat in 1854.
context_section_description: The Palmerston (Darwin) District Council was established by proclamation in 1874, with representatives elected on a ratepayer franchise. On 4 February 1915 the Minister for External Affairs, Hugh Mahon, decided to abolish the Council, thus depriving Territorians of their slight vestige of democratic government. He gave as his reasons that "the District Council had blocked the government at every move". The new council would be replaced by two representatives of the government and two elected by the ratepayers, with Carey as Chairman. In effect, this gave Gilruth increased powers.
  The abolition of the Palmerston District Council was a political error, but at first neither the Minister nor Gilruth saw it. The Council's importance, however, lay in the fact that it was "the only symbol of representative government and democracy in the Northern Territory", and was made up of a small but influential middle class of Darwin, such as shipping agents, mine owners, landlords and ranking public servants. These were the people whose support Gilruth needed, but instead the Minister's announcement further alienated Gilruth from the townspeople.
  The Prime Minister was not as concerned as his colleagues were about the troubles in Darwin. He dismissed the matter, saying that it was "a healthy sign, showing that people are alive to their own interests". In the weeks that followed the announcement of the demise of the Palmerston District Council, support for the AWU organiser, Harold Nelson, rapidly grew. Although in a time of rigid social structure, men of all classes united in the pursuit of a common aim behind Nelson. Ignoring growing discontent, Gilruth distanced himself from the people even further, by moving to take over the hotels.
caption: Elected members of the Palmerston District Council in 1909
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