Sir William John Lyne KCMG was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1899 to 1901, and later as a federal cabinet minister under Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin. He is best known as the subject of the so called "Hopetoun Blunder", unexpectedly being asked to serve as the first Prime Minister of Australia but proving unable to form a government.

Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton was an Australian statesman, barrister and jurist who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903. He held office as the leader of the Protectionist Party, before resigning in 1903 to become a founding member of the High Court of Australia, on which he served until his death. He was highly regarded as one of the leaders and founding fathers of the Federation movement and for his work in drafting and later interpreting the Constitution of Australia and early federal laws.