It organised competitions between the member societies and established a "Union Parliament" to debate issues of the day.
[1] A popular form of social and intellectual entertainment for young gentlemen in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Adelaide was the literary society, which at its peak numbered around fifty, some, perhaps most, attached to churches.
Facilities and entertainments enjoyed by members apart from companionship of like-minded individuals, and perhaps a little networking, may have included:[2] Early in 1883 several of these "self-improvement" bodies resolved to have a tournament to test their various literary skills on stage before an audience.
Thanks to some excellent organisation and the willing participation of some very distinguished public figures, the competition, held 16 August 1883 at the Adelaide Town Hall, where fifteen societies were represented, was deemed a success, though the standard of judging was questioned,[4] and a useful profit realised and shared between the Children's Hospital and the Home for Incurables.
[11] The Union's first official tournament (or competition as they were thenceforth titled) was held in the Adelaide Town Hall on 12 September 1884 and followed a similar format.
[16] Membership recovered somewhat by 1899, thanks largely to the efforts of secretary Best,[17] and by 1904 there were 44,[18] but by 1910 interest had collapsed and in 1915 consisted of only seven associated societies.
By 1913 the newspapers were devoting much of their space to the likelihood of war, and from 1914 literary attainments were a long way from the minds of most young men, and the societies would have been greatly depleted by those sent overseas.
The first sitting was held on 8 May 1884, and the Cabinet consisted of: non-party officers were: Subjects debated in the first sitting of Union Parliament were: Federation, free and compulsory education, the Bible in schools, stamps and progressive taxation, in many cases anticipating debates in State Parliament.
Members undoubtedly benefited by the experience and lessons learned, as witnessed by the number of public figures who remembered their time with the Union Parliament fondly.