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Federal Council
A serious movement for Federation of the colonies arose in the late 1880s, a time when there was increasing nationalism amongst Australians, the great majority of whom were native born. The idea of being "Australian" began to be celebrated in songs and poems. This was fostered by improvements in transport and communications, such as the establishment of a telegraph system between the colonies in 1872. The Australian colonies were also influenced by other federations which had emerged around the -
Opposition
The individual colonies were somewhat wary of Federation. Smaller colonies in particular were wary of delegating power to a national government which they feared would be dominated by the more populous New South Wales and Victoria. Queensland feared the advent of national legislation (see White Australia Policy), which would restrict the importation of kanakas labourers and jeopardise its sugar cane industry -
Clark's draft constitution
Andrew Inglis Clark had given considerable thought towards a suitable constitution for Australia.[6] In May 1890, he travelled to London to conduct an appeal on behalf of the Government of Tasmania before the Privy Council. During this trip, he began writing a draft constitution, taking the main provisions of the British North America Act and its supplements up through 1890, the U.S. Constitution, the Federal Council of Australia Act, and various Australian colonial constitutions. Clark returned -
The Conference of 1890
The Conference of 1890 was organised at the instigation of Sir Henry Parkes. The account of the calling of the 1890 conference usually begins with Lord Carrington, the Governor of New South Wales, goading the ageing Henry Parkes at a luncheon on 15 June 1889. Parkes reportedly boasted that he "could confederate these colonies in twelve months". Carrington retorted, "Then why don't you do it? It would be a glorious finish to your life."[2] Parkes the next day wrote to the Premier of Victoria, Dun -
Early constitutional conventions
In the early 1890s two meetings established the need for federation and set the framework for this to occur. An informal meeting attended by official representatives from the Australasian colonies was held in 1890. This led to the first National Australasian Convention, meeting in Sydney in 1891. New Zealand was represented at both the conference and the Convention, although its delegates expressed that it would be unlikely to join the Federation at its foundation, but it would likely be interes -
The Convention of 1891
The Parliament proposed at the Convention of 1891 was to adopt the nomenclature of the United States Congress. This proposal provided the broad outline of a Federal government. Its lower house was to be elected by districts drawn up on the basis of their population, while in the Senate there was to be equal representation for each "province". This American model was mixed with the Westminster system by which the Prime Minister and other ministers would be appointed by the representative of the B -
Later constitutional conventions
In 1893 John Quick, who had attended the Corowa convention, drew up a bill which became the basis of discussion at the Adelaide Convention (see below) and is considered to have contributed largely to the eventual constitution. Quick with Robert Garran went on to publish The Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth in 1901, which is widely regarded as one of the most authoritative works on the Australian Constitution.
