The first referendum on Conscription was held on 28 October 1916. The question that had been asked of voters was framed carefully – it did not specifically mention conscription, and noted the existing powers of conscription for national (but not overseas) service.

The result was close, and was not certain for some days after the vote. Ultimately a majority of less than 100 000 decided the issue with 1,087,557 voting ‘Yes’, but 1,160,033 ‘No’. The only state with a large ‘Yes’ majority was Western Australia, but Victoria and Tasmania there were narrow ‘Yes’ majorities. Voting was voluntary in the referendum, but such was the intensity of the issue that the national turnout, nearly 83%, was greater than at any previous election in Australia.

The second referendum question was even more vaguely worded than the first – it referred only to the “proposal of the Commonwealth Government for reinforcing the Australian Imperial Force overseas”. Moreover, Hughes issued regulations that would bar many people from voting, including anyone born overseas, or whose father had been born overseas. Nonetheless, on 20 December 1917, an increased majority voted ‘No’, by 1,181,747 to 1,015,159. The overall turnout was slightly lower, but the number of ‘No’ voters increased, suggesting that many people who voted ‘Yes’ the first time around switched their votes. Victorian voters certainly did; in the second referendum, Victoria returned a ‘No’ vote.

The first referendum on Conscription was held on 28 October 1916. The question that had been asked of voters was framed carefully – it did not specifically mention conscription, and noted the existing powers of conscription for national (but not overseas) service.

The result was close, and was not certain for some days after the vote. Ultimately a majority of less than 100 000 decided the issue with 1,087,557 voting ‘Yes’, but 1,160,033 ‘No’. The only state with a large ‘Yes’ majority was Western Australia, but in Victoria and Tasmania there were narrow ‘Yes’ majorities.

The second referendum question was even more vaguely worded than the first – it referred only to the “proposal of the Commonwealth Government for reinforcing the Australian Imperial Force overseas”. Moreover, Hughes issued regulations that would bar many people from voting, including anyone born overseas, or whose father had been born overseas. Nonetheless, on 20 December 1917, an increased majority voted ‘No’, by 1,181,747 to 1,015,159. The overall turnout was slightly lower, but the number of ‘No’ voters increased, suggesting that many people who voted ‘Yes’ the first time around had switched their votes. Victorian voters certainly did; in the second referendum, Victoria returned a ‘No’ vote.

One of the most famous incidents of the anti-conscription campaigns occurred shortly before the second referendum. Prime Minister Hughes had two eggs thrown at him while speaking at a railway station in Warwick, Queensland. This incident led to the formation of the Commonwealth Police.

Hughes announced the second referendum in November 1917, just seven weeks before the vote was to be held. This campaign was short and fierce.

Queensland had been one of the strongest ‘No’ votes in the first referendum, and its Premier, Thomas Ryan, was the only state leader to oppose conscription. Hughes made it a priority to visit Queensland in the campaign.

On 29 November 1917, Hughes was returning to Sydney after speaking at a number of meetings in Brisbane. This visit had been particularly fiery; while there Hughes had ordered the Censors to raid the Queensland Government Printers to seize copies of a speech Ryan had made; in return some of Ryan’s associates had suggested that he should arrest the Prime Minister.

Hughes’ train stopped at Warwick, and he stepped off to address the crowd. As he approached the platform his supporters had built for him, he was hit by two eggs thrown by Paddy Brosnan; one of them lodged in his hat. Hughes would later claim that it knocked off his hat. A supporter of the Prime Minister jumped off the platform and struck Brosnan in the face. Police Sergeant Kenny removed Brosnan from the station, although he later returned to heckle the Prime Minister. This time it was an enraged Hughes, who jumped off the platform, yelling “arrest that man!” Kenny refused to do so, arguing that no crime had been committed, and as a Queensland police officer was not required to take commands from the Prime Minister.

Hughes used this incident in his subsequent campaigning, exaggerating many of the details. This article from a pro-conscriptionist newspaper is based on that exaggerated version.

Although it appears amusing, this incident had serious consequences. Irritated that Premier Ryan refused to discipline Kenny, Hughes vowed to establish a Commonwealth Police, under the control of the federal government. Some of the first postings were made in Warwick.

Conscription

Mr Hughes in Queensland

Assaulted at Warwick

Hat Knocked Off

With Rotten Eggs

Police Protection Withheld

Brisbane. Thursday.

Extraordinary riots occurred at Warwick this afternoon. When Mr. Hughes alighted from the train he was seized by a mob and subjected to much violence, while addled eggs were thrown. One of the eggs knocked his hat off.

A returned soldier threw himself at Mr. Hughes' assailant. A fight ensued and Mr. Hughes was soon in the middle of the mob. One man carried a hammer and another a spanner.

Mr. Hughes, in the midst of the demonstration appealed to the police. But the sympathies of the police were not with him. Mr. Hughes was being assailed by a man much bigger than himself. The man was arrested, but was released immediately when out of Mr. Hughes' sight, and returned to the scene.

Voters in the electorate of Bourke, which covered Brunswick and parts of Coburg, voted ‘No’ at both elections.

In the end, nearly 60% of Brunswick and Coburg electors voted against conscription. This was well in excess of the national average, although it was not as strong as the vote for Frank Anstey at the most recent election, suggesting that there were a considerable number of local Labor voters who supported Prime Minister Hughes. Unlike most electorates, and Victoria overall, the result in Bourke in the second referendum was not significantly different from the first - the 'No' vote increased by less than 1%.