AustLit

The opening of the New South Wales Parliament in 1856 marked the beginning of responsible government in the colony. The previous year the British Parliament had passed the New South Wales Constitution Act, which gave provision for the creation of a bicameral legislature, based on the Westminster model, consisting of an elected Legislative Assembly and an appointed Legislative Council. Whilst the Governor still retained considerable power, the new constitution conferred constitutional and revenue powers upon the colonial parliament, which in turn provided a significant level of political independence and self-determination. Among the colonial political classes, the opening of the first New South Wales parliament in under the new constitution in 1856, gave cause for celebration and produced an outpouring of patriotic nationalist sentiment.