There were majorities in each colony, but only a slim one in New South Wales, where leading politicians such as George Reid remained half-hearted. In January the premiers made some amendments, mainly at the instigation of New South Wales, and new referenda were held in every colony apart from Western Australia. The negotiations resulted in a few slight amendments and the Constitution Bill was then passed by the British Parliament. Queen Victoria gave her assent on 9 July In the same month a referendum was held in Western Australia and the federationists were victorious.
A proclamation was signed by the Queen on 17 September declaring that on 1 January the six colonies would be united under the name of Commonwealth of Australia. The National Library owes its existence to Federation and from the beginning it set out to document the Federation movement. In it announced that it was seeking complete records of Federation from every possible source.
The first substantial manuscript collection acquired by the Library was the archives of the Australasian Federation League of New South Wales, purchased from Edward Dowling in The Federation papers of Sir Edmund Barton were donated by his family in , while the papers of Alfred Deakin were presented by his daughter in The National Library holds the most comprehensive collection of original records of the Federation movement.
They range from official correspondence and working papers of the Federal Conventions and committees to private letters, diaries, and an assortment of printed ephemera associated with the Conventions and the Commonwealth celebrations in The following are the principal collections held by the Library.
They comprise correspondence , letterbooks, minutebooks , financial records, subject files, reports, handbills, pamphlets and a manuscript by Dowling.
The papers include correspondence with political leaders in Australia and Britain, speeches, many drafts of the Commonwealth Constitution Bill, and newspaper cuttings. They consist of letters and telegrams concerning his unsuccessful attempt to form the first Commonwealth Government in December The papers include letters on the Federal campaign, including agitation in favour of Federation on the Western Australian goldfields.
They include letters of Deakin, Barton, Wise and other leaders of the Federal campaign. They consist largely of printed ephemera such as programs, menus, invitations, tickets and speeches, mostly in relation to the Commonwealth celebrations in Papers of J. Holmes, lawyer, judge and bibliographer. The papers include a bibliography of Federation, The papers include many letters of Lady Tennyson referring to Federation. Papers copies of Christopher Crisp, Victorian journalist. The papers consist of correspondence with Deakin and other leaders of the Federal movement.
Papers of H. Higgins, Victorian parliamentarian and delegate to the Federal Convention. The papers include correspondence and newspaper cuttings of the Federation period. Papers of Alfred Deakin, Victorian parliamentarian and delegate to all the Federal conferences and Conventions, They include an extensive correspondence, diaries, notebooks, notes for speeches, drafts of the Commonwealth Constitution Bill, printed ephemera relating to the federal Conventions, newspaper cuttings and the manuscript of The Federal Story.
Papers of B. They comprise notes and letters of Andrew Inglis Clark. Among the papers are correspondence with political leaders, Convention documents and newspaper cuttings.
They include notes and speeches on the federal campaign and a volume of documents relating to the Convention. They consist of menus, invitations and other printed ephemera. Social Media Public consultations. Close Facts and Figures. Special dates and events.
Our country. The Constitution, the monarch and the Governor-General The federal system Australia became an independent nation on 1 January when the British Parliament passed legislation allowing the six Australian colonies to govern in their own right as part of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Constitution, the monarch and the Governor-General The Australian Constitution is the most important document in Australian government history.
The federal system The birth of our nation is often referred to as 'federation'. Enormous crowds thronged the Sydney streets on Tuesday evening to get the earliest news of the voting, and as the returns came in there was loud and long continued cheering. A brief history of Australia's journey to Federation, in live-sketch animation, as told by historian David Hunt. Australia in the late 19th century consisted of six self-governing British colonies that were subject to the British Parliament.
Each colony had its own — often quite distinct — laws, railway gauge, postage stamps and tariffs. Problems caused by these differences led to discussions about the benefits of uniting as a nation, under a federal system of governance. The colonies of New Zealand and Fiji were also part of Federation discussions. In addition, matters of defence, foreign policy, immigration, trade, transport and national pride were growing in importance among the colonies.
This provided most of the organisational and financial base for a number of Federation leagues, which formed later to work towards a united Australia.
The Federal Council of Australasia was formed in to resolve intercolonial issues, including customs duties and defence. It also called for an Australasian convention where parliamentary representatives from the colonies would develop a constitution which would provide for a federal government and a federal parliament:. The opportunity has arisen for the consideration of this great subject and I believe that the time is at hand … when this thing will be done.
Indeed, this great thing will have to be done, and to put it off will only tend to make the difficulties which stand in the way greater.
Samuel Griffiths, the then Premier of Queensland, is credited with writing the draft constitution, but it was based on a version written by Tasmanian delegate Andrew Inglis Clark. Delegates were in a position to present a draft Constitution Bill to their respective parliaments. However, the process of Federation was stalled by the economic depression of the s, with its high levels of unemployment and strikes.
NSW parliamentarian Edmund Barton became the de facto leader of the federation campaign following the death of Parkes in At the convention, the basic principles of Federation — such as the idea of responsible government and the balancing of state and federal powers — were agreed upon. A Constitution Bill was drafted in There were majority votes in all four colonies. However, the enabling legislation in New South Wales required the support of at least 80, voters and this number was not reached.
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