-
Idea of Federation became popular.
At first the colonies didn't have much to do with each other. But in 1872 telegraph linked the colonies, and the idea of being 'Australian' began to be celebrated in songs and poems. By the 1890s the idea of federation was becoming popular. People began to realise that for things like defence, controlling immigration and economy, a nation would be more powerful than single colonies. -
The begining
Sir Henry Parkes was responsible for creating the idea of federation and the council who resolved the issues between the inter-colonial issues. -
Discussion of Conference in Melbourne
The Premier of New South Wales, Henry Parkes, convinced the other premiers to discuss federation and in 1890 the Australasian Federation Convention , including representatives from New Zealand, was held in Melbourne. -
Conference in sydney
The National Australasian Convention was held in Sydney in 1891. Each colony sent seven representatives to discuss the issues between the colonies. -
Delay of Federation
Hard times across Australia drew people's attention away from federation for a few years but in 1893 there was a conference of pro-federation groups. They agreed that a national meeting would redraft the constitution and that all Australians should have a chance to agree with the constitution by vote. -
Drafting the constitution
The National Australasian Convention met in 1897 and in 1898. Each colony elected representatives to attend, except Queensland, which did not support federation. Committees debated each paragraph of the draft constitution, changes were made, and a new constitution was drafted by Edmund Barton, John Downer and Richard O'Connor. -
Small colonies were afraid of the larger ones
The smaller colonies were afraid that the larger ones would have more say in a federal parliament, so the conference adopted the practice of the United States: in the House of Representatives each state is represented according to the number of residents; in the Senate each state has an equal number of representatives. -
The first vote election
A special election called a referendum was held so that people in the colonies could vote on the constitution. Queensland and Western Australia did not take part, and in New South Wales it did not get approved. The premiers met in 1899 to find ways of meeting the concerns of those three colonies. -
Capital city
Among the changes that were made was the decision that a new capital city be established between Sydney and Melbourne, both of which wanted to be the nation's capital. -
The creation of Federation
The major laws affecting Australia were still made by the British Parliament, which would have to make a new law to allow federation. In 1900 a delegation of flve, plus an observer from Western Australia, took the draft constitution to London. In May, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 was passed by the British Parliament, and was signed by Queen Victoria on 9th July 1900, and so became law. The Act declared that on 1st January 1901, the colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, So -
Western Australia joins in
About this time, there was a gold rush in Western Australia. Many people went there to seek their fortune. This contact with people from the other colonies began to change ideas about federation in Western Australia. In August 1900 a referendum was held, and the people of Western Australia voted to join the Commonwealth.
