Melbourne On May 9, 1901, the Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V) inaugurated the first Commonwealth Parliament in Melbourne. Thousands of people lined the streets of the city to see the royal procession as it made its way to the Exhibition Building, where the event was observed by 12, 000 invited guests. After the ceremony, the new parliament sat for the first time in the Exhibition Building with members from the six original states present. New South Wales contributed the most representatives, with seven, followed by Victoria, Canada, whose representative was still styled a governor but who now had the power of a prime minister, England, which had no voice in the administration of the union, and India, which had one member. The youngest member appointed was Senator William Morris, who was 36 years old when he entered Parliament. The oldest was Sir Samuel Griffith, who was 70 years old. He had been elected to three previous legislatures in New South Wales and was the last surviving speaker of that body. Members were chosen by their respective state governments, so each state had a strong influence on how it was represented in the House of Representatives. New South Wales chose its senators and also had the right to veto laws passed by the federal government. Victoria chose its members of the house only indirectly through an electoral system called proportional representation. This means that parties or individuals cannot simply win many seats in order to get representation; they must also meet a threshold of support required of all candidates running for office.