Library Guides: Civics & Citizenship: Federation

Source: Tom Roberts

Australia became a nation on 1 January 1901, when the British Parliament passed legislation enabling the six Australian colonies to collectively govern in their own right as the Commonwealth of Australia. It was a remarkable political accomplishment that had taken many years and several referenda to achieve. Read through the resources below to learn more about the journey to Federation and what it meant for Australia.

The Federation of Australia (Parliamentary Education Office, n.d.)
Australia's Federation came about through a process of deliberation, consultation and debate. This in-depth paper explores the reasons for Federation, the Federation conventions and the referendums in which the Australian people decided to join together as a nation.
Australia's Federation (Parliamentary Education Office, n.d.)
In 1901, the 6 British colonies united to become a new nation—the Commonwealth of Australia. This fact sheet examines the arguments for Federation, the path to Federation, the creation of the territories and the opening of the Australian Parliament. Read through this website to learn more. The website includes a helpful timeline of Federation.
The Referendums 1898-1900 (Australian Electoral Commission, n.d.)
A referendum is a vote on a political question referred by a government to the people. Electors vote by writing 'yes' or 'no' in the box opposite each question. Referendums asking people to say 'yes' or 'no' to the proposed Australian Constitution were held in each of the Australian colonies between 1898 and 1900. This was one of the most important steps in the process of Federation. It was also the first time in the world that a national constitution had been submitted to the people's vote. Read through this fact sheet to learn more.
Federation: a closer look (Parliamentary Education Office, n.d.)
Before 1901 Australia did not exist as a nation. It was a collection of six British colonies which were partly self-governing, but under the law-making power of the British Parliament. The colonies were almost like six separate countries; for example, each had its own government and laws, its own defence force, issued its own stamps and collected tariffs (taxes) on goods that crossed its borders. The colonies had even built railways using different gauges, which complicated the transport of goods across the continent. Read through this document to learn more.
Federation and the Constitutional Conventions (Parliament of New South Wales, n.d.)
In 1901 six separate British colonies decided to come together to form the nation Australia. These colonies become states in the new federation. How did this happen? Read through this website to find out more!
Federation (National Museum of Australia, n.d.)
Australia became a nation on 1 January 1901, when the British Parliament passed legislation enabling the six Australian colonies to collectively govern in their own right as the Commonwealth of Australia. It was a remarkable political accomplishment that had taken many years and several referenda to achieve. Read through this website to learn more.
The National Story: the road to Federation (The Museum of Australian Democracy, 2009, September)
Henry Parkes, Premier of New South Wales, delivered a speech at Tenterfield in 1889, calling for the six Australian colonies to unite and form one national government. The population of the colonies was increasingly composed of Australian-born people. Unlike their parents and grandparents who had come as migrants, those born in Australia saw themselves as Australian, not British. They began to consider the colonies’ divisions as unnecessary, separating people who shared the same language, culture and values. Read through this guide to learn more about the road to Federation.
Our Federation journey: a 'White Australia' (Museums Victoria, 2013)
Australia became a nation when the six self-governing colonies united in 1901. Before this, the colonies were politically separate, with their own laws and parliaments. During the long political process that led to Federation, a stronger sense of what it meant to be Australian was formed; and as this narrative shows, that meant being of British descent. Read through this article to learn more about how racism influenced Federation.
Federation and the Australian Constitution quiz (Parliament of New South Wales, n.d.)
Have a go at this five question quiz to test your knowledge of Federation!

Achieving nationhood : the story of Federation by Robert Coupe
Publication Date: 2000
On 1 January 1901, the six Australian colonies of Great Britain combined to form the new independent nation of Australia. This book charts the evolution of the federation movement, from the early days of New South Wales when governors struggled against the power of the Rum Corps, through the development of responsible government in the Australian colonies to the eventual, but hard-won, achievement of federation. Throughout the narrative, important figures - such as William Charles Wentworth, Henry Parkes, Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin - who played key roles in this process, are brought vividly to life.
Australian Federation one people, one destiny by Net Brennan
Publication Date: 2014
Before 1901 the nation of Australia did not exist. Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia were six separate colonies under British rule. But among the people of colonies, the idea of unity was emerging: "a nation for a continent and a continent for a nation." Here's the story of how ordinary citizens became the first in the world to write and vote for their own constitution, coming together to form the nation of Australia.
Birth of a nation eyewitness to Federation, 1850 to 1901 by Nicolas Brasch
Publication Date: 2007
Chronicles the establishment of the Australian federation and the drafting of the Australian Constitution. Specially selected extracts from primary sources bring this period of Australian history to life.
1901 and all that by National Archives of Australia
Publication Date: 2000
Designed to help students explore Australia's Federation, and to make connections with their own lives today. It is aimed particularly at years 9-10. The kit includes teacher's notes, activities, primary and secondary source material and a CD-ROM game that explores some of the issues of Federation in a modern context. The source material is primarily from the collection of the National Archives of Australia
Federal government by Stella Tarakson
Publication Date: 2011
Looks at Australia's current federal system of government, including the background to its formation, the roles of important people and groups, how the government serves the public, how the House of Representatives and the Senate operate, and how the voting process works for both houses.
Governing Australia by John Barwick & Jennifer Barwick
Publication Date: 2007
The story of Governing Australia is one of guidance and vision, controversy and protest, change and development. Discover the life stories of leaders such as Lachlan Macquarie, Maybanke Anderson, Robert Menzies and Gough Whitlam, while finding out more about the roles these people played in shaping the Australia we live in today.
The illustrated history of Australia by A.K. Macdougall
Publication Date: 2011
Traces the history of the island continent from the age of the dinosaurs through to the coming of the Aboriginal people and their unique culture, to the fateful impact of the first Europeans. From incongruous beginnings as a place of banishment, the Australian colonies - rich in gold and natural resources - became among the wealthiest outposts of the British Empire, and their robust freedoms transformed them into one of the world's first true democracies. Covers the saga of discovery and exploration; the social experiments that made Australia, a century ago, a model for older societies; the epic of Australian forces in two World Wars; the achievements of Australia in the worlds of sport, science and the arts; the transformation of Australia from the most remote of British communities into one of the world's first successful multi-racial societies; and the influential role played in world affairs by this small nation.
A nation united - 9 May 2001
Publication Date: 2001
Looks back on the first century of our national parliamentary democracy.