When the town of Melbourne was laid out, back in 1837, it was deliberately designed without a public square. Officials feared that, by offering a place for malcontents to gather, a public square would encourage a spirit of democracy. But those without a seat in parliament have always found places in the great ‘Outside Parliament’ to make their views and voices heard.
The 1857 Land Convention – a kind of alternative parliament – was held in a hotel close to Parliament House. The Eastern Market, also nearby, was a popular place for open-air meetings during the 1850s and ‘60s. One such meeting in 1860 turned into a riot outside parliament itself, with windows smashed and parliamentarians jostled. The ensuing bill for ‘securing the deliberations of Parliament’ still bans gatherings in the vicinity while the House is in session.
In the 1880s, the wharfs were the venue for public demonstrations, before Yarra Bank became Melbourne’s ‘official’ protest ground – a role since inherited by the forecourt of the State Library on Swanston Street.
Captions:
Top: May Day badges, c1960–96
Bottom left: Fragment of Bluestone
Bottom right: ‘Found, in the Library of the Houses of Parliament…’, advertisement in Melbourne Punch, 20 September 1860
