Important People and Groups
Sir Henry Parkes' role in federation was to make it a popular cause amongst Australians. Parkes was born in England in 1815 and migrated to New South Wales in 1839. He became politically active early in his life in Australia, his first major concern being to stop the transportation of convicts from Britain. He also started a newspaper that supported a stronger role for Australians in governing their colonies. In 1858, Parkes became a member of the New South Wales parliament. His career as a politician spanned about 40 years and he was elected premier of the colony five times. Parkes only showed mild interest in the idea of federation until New South Wales' centenary in 1888. As premier he gave a speech in favour of federation at the centenary celebrations.
The following year Parkes gave a more passionate speech on the issue at a banquet in Tenterfield in New South Wales. In this speech, he reminded his audience that the American colonies had joined as a federation after an armed revolution the previous century. 'Surely what the Americans have done by war,' he said, 'the Australians could bring about in peace.'
After this, Parkes got involved with the issue in earnest. Early on, he helped to organise the conventions and conferences that saw the drafting of the Constitution. In his later years, he saw other federation campaigners, such as Edmund Barton, as rivals and contributed less to the debate. Parkes died in 1896 - five years before Federation came about in Australia.
The following year Parkes gave a more passionate speech on the issue at a banquet in Tenterfield in New South Wales. In this speech, he reminded his audience that the American colonies had joined as a federation after an armed revolution the previous century. 'Surely what the Americans have done by war,' he said, 'the Australians could bring about in peace.'
After this, Parkes got involved with the issue in earnest. Early on, he helped to organise the conventions and conferences that saw the drafting of the Constitution. In his later years, he saw other federation campaigners, such as Edmund Barton, as rivals and contributed less to the debate. Parkes died in 1896 - five years before Federation came about in Australia.
Sir Edmund Barton was very important in making federation become a reality in Australia. He was born in 1849 in Sydney and worked as a lawyer until becoming a member of the New South Wales parliament in 1879. In 1889, Barton declared his support for Parkes' ideas expressed in the speech at Tenterfield and got involved with the federation campaign from then onwards.
Barton attended many of the conventions and conferences on federation that took place throughout the 1890s. He was an active participant in drafting the new constitution and in making sure the conventions ran smoothly. He was also very involved in getting the necessary laws agreed to in the New South Wales parliament. At the community level, Barton gave many speeches in support of federation. He liked the idea of the federation movement being something that many Australian people and communities would be a part of. He toured through New South Wales speaking in towns and encouraging local people to set up groups called Federation Leagues. He helped establish a central body for these groups called the Australasian Federation League.
Barton's negotiating skills ensured that the draft constitution was acceptable to all the colonies and he helped to refine it later in the 1890s so that it was more democratic. In 1900, he spent time in London while the British parliament debated the Constitution Bill, which was the proposed law that would allow the Australian colonies to federate and become an independent nation. When Australia did become a nation in 1901, Barton was appointed the first prime minister. The Australian people returned him to this position in the country's first federal election. He resigned as prime minister in 1903 and became one of Australia's first High Court judges. Barton died in 1920.
Barton attended many of the conventions and conferences on federation that took place throughout the 1890s. He was an active participant in drafting the new constitution and in making sure the conventions ran smoothly. He was also very involved in getting the necessary laws agreed to in the New South Wales parliament. At the community level, Barton gave many speeches in support of federation. He liked the idea of the federation movement being something that many Australian people and communities would be a part of. He toured through New South Wales speaking in towns and encouraging local people to set up groups called Federation Leagues. He helped establish a central body for these groups called the Australasian Federation League.
Barton's negotiating skills ensured that the draft constitution was acceptable to all the colonies and he helped to refine it later in the 1890s so that it was more democratic. In 1900, he spent time in London while the British parliament debated the Constitution Bill, which was the proposed law that would allow the Australian colonies to federate and become an independent nation. When Australia did become a nation in 1901, Barton was appointed the first prime minister. The Australian people returned him to this position in the country's first federal election. He resigned as prime minister in 1903 and became one of Australia's first High Court judges. Barton died in 1920.
Sir Alfred Deakin was elected for the seat of West Bourke in the Victorian Legislative Assembly in February 1879, but after a press allegation that eligible voters had been excluded from voting he resigned his seat as a matter of principle as soon as he had delivered his maiden speech. He married Pattie Browne in 1882, and they had three children. Deakin unsuccessfully contested West Bourke at the subsequent by-election, but won it again in July 1880. He held the seat until 1889, when he won Essendon, which he held until resigning in 1900 to enter federal politics. He held three portfolios while a member of Victorian parliament - Solicitor-General and Minister for Public Works from November 1883 to February 1886, and Chief Secretary from February 1886 to November 1890.
Deakin attended the colonial conference in London in 1877 with the Victorian delegation, and impressed the UK statesmen with his comments on difficulties faced by self-governing colonies in dealing with the Imperial government. He attended the first Federal Convention in Sydney on March 1891 as a delegate for Victoria and was a member of the constitution committee. When the draft Constitution Bill lapsed, Deakin refused further ministerial positions.Although Federation had been an idea within the Australian colonies for some fifty years prior to Deakin's involvement in politics, it seems to have been the 1887 Colonial Conference in London that galvanised his interest. This unwieldy assemblage of 121 representatives of the British Government and her colonies included two or more representatives each from the six disunited Australian colonies.
The aim of the Colonial Conference was to discuss commercial, social and security ties; it commenced with a speech rife with generalities and condescension from the British Prime Minister, the Marquis of Salisbury, and proceeded with speeches of grateful thanks from the colonial representatives. However Deakin spoke out against the Colonial Office and against British foreign policy in the Pacific, much to the horrified surprise of many of the delegates. His was the only memorable speech at the conference which was also noteworthy for the extraordinary level of antagonism between the colonies, namely New South Wales and Victoria who rarely agreed on a single issue. Deakin returned to Australia having scored a major personal success, determined to now devote his energies to the cause of Australian Federation.
Deakin then attended a conference of ministers in 1890, at which it was decided to hold a convention the following year to draft a constitution for Australia. The 1891 National Convention sat in Sydney and included seven representatives from each of the Australian colonies and three from New Zealand.
The convention was presided over by Sir Henry Parkes and issues such as constitutional functions, combined finance and trade and the establishment of a federal judiciary were grappled with. Deakin spent much of this convention working behind the scenes as a peace-maker, leaving the details to those delegates more suited to this work whilst he concentrated on smoothing the way where parochialism, ego or party issues threatened the process. The result of the convention was a bill constituting the Commonwealth of Australia which was to be voted upon by the people. Read More
Deakin attended the colonial conference in London in 1877 with the Victorian delegation, and impressed the UK statesmen with his comments on difficulties faced by self-governing colonies in dealing with the Imperial government. He attended the first Federal Convention in Sydney on March 1891 as a delegate for Victoria and was a member of the constitution committee. When the draft Constitution Bill lapsed, Deakin refused further ministerial positions.Although Federation had been an idea within the Australian colonies for some fifty years prior to Deakin's involvement in politics, it seems to have been the 1887 Colonial Conference in London that galvanised his interest. This unwieldy assemblage of 121 representatives of the British Government and her colonies included two or more representatives each from the six disunited Australian colonies.
The aim of the Colonial Conference was to discuss commercial, social and security ties; it commenced with a speech rife with generalities and condescension from the British Prime Minister, the Marquis of Salisbury, and proceeded with speeches of grateful thanks from the colonial representatives. However Deakin spoke out against the Colonial Office and against British foreign policy in the Pacific, much to the horrified surprise of many of the delegates. His was the only memorable speech at the conference which was also noteworthy for the extraordinary level of antagonism between the colonies, namely New South Wales and Victoria who rarely agreed on a single issue. Deakin returned to Australia having scored a major personal success, determined to now devote his energies to the cause of Australian Federation.
Deakin then attended a conference of ministers in 1890, at which it was decided to hold a convention the following year to draft a constitution for Australia. The 1891 National Convention sat in Sydney and included seven representatives from each of the Australian colonies and three from New Zealand.
The convention was presided over by Sir Henry Parkes and issues such as constitutional functions, combined finance and trade and the establishment of a federal judiciary were grappled with. Deakin spent much of this convention working behind the scenes as a peace-maker, leaving the details to those delegates more suited to this work whilst he concentrated on smoothing the way where parochialism, ego or party issues threatened the process. The result of the convention was a bill constituting the Commonwealth of Australia which was to be voted upon by the people. Read More
During the constitutional conventions of the 1890s, Samuel Griffith was both the cautious lawyer and the practical politician. He was the main drafter of the first version of the Constitution in 1891 and he continued to correct later drafts so that the final form contained much of the 'clear style and force of expression' which exemplified Griffith. He was referred to as 'the moulding brain and informing spirit of the Australian Federation'.
Griffith particularly grappled with the problem of how to set the relationship between the upper house, the Senate, and the lower house, the House of Representatives, in the new Federal Parliament. He became known as the 'State's righter'. His great concern was that the smaller States would be over-powered by the larger States of Victoria and New South Wales in the new Parliament.
To overcome this, Griffith argued for the proposed Senate, as the State's house, and the House of Representatives, to be of equal authority. This belief led to the adoption of a veto power by the Senate over money bills from the House of Representatives. In the constitutional debates, Griffith was also influential in ensuring the allocation of residual powers lay with the States and the idea that States, despite their size, have equal State representation in the Senate.
Griffith particularly grappled with the problem of how to set the relationship between the upper house, the Senate, and the lower house, the House of Representatives, in the new Federal Parliament. He became known as the 'State's righter'. His great concern was that the smaller States would be over-powered by the larger States of Victoria and New South Wales in the new Parliament.
To overcome this, Griffith argued for the proposed Senate, as the State's house, and the House of Representatives, to be of equal authority. This belief led to the adoption of a veto power by the Senate over money bills from the House of Representatives. In the constitutional debates, Griffith was also influential in ensuring the allocation of residual powers lay with the States and the idea that States, despite their size, have equal State representation in the Senate.
The Bulletin was a radical socialist weekly newspaper that declared itself as the ‘bushman’s bible’ with a masthead that read, ‘Australia for the White Man’. The Bulletin was quite outspoken in what it stood for:
A republic, one man/one vote, state revenue from the Land, secular education, a “United Australia and Protection against the World”
And against: Religion in politics, “the Chinese”, “Imperial Federation"
Est. 1880, by 1900 a circulation of 80,000 and was the most popular with itinerant miners, shearers, timber-workers – many of these men contributed poems, short stories and cartoons. It did promote a narrow form of nationalism but its influence has been questioned by historians of late. Most of the Bulletin’s writers and editors lived in capital cities rather than in the bush. Their squalid and cramped living conditions were in direct contrast to rural life. Subsequently it is little surprising that the bush would be so idealised by a group of men who had never lived their for long periods of time.
A republic, one man/one vote, state revenue from the Land, secular education, a “United Australia and Protection against the World”
And against: Religion in politics, “the Chinese”, “Imperial Federation"
Est. 1880, by 1900 a circulation of 80,000 and was the most popular with itinerant miners, shearers, timber-workers – many of these men contributed poems, short stories and cartoons. It did promote a narrow form of nationalism but its influence has been questioned by historians of late. Most of the Bulletin’s writers and editors lived in capital cities rather than in the bush. Their squalid and cramped living conditions were in direct contrast to rural life. Subsequently it is little surprising that the bush would be so idealised by a group of men who had never lived their for long periods of time.
Labor Electoral Leagues joined forces to form the Australian Labor Party (spelt ‘Labor’ to distinguish it from the British Labour Party). Members of this new party sought to represent worker and union interests in colonial parliaments.
Electoral success first occurred in NSW 1891 where 36 of 45 ALP candidates won Legislative Assembly seats.
The first ALP government was elected in Qld in 1899.
When the Federal Parliament first met in 1901 there were 24 ALP members.
White male workers now had a significant voice and influence in Australia yet the non-white and female population were still excluded.
Electoral success first occurred in NSW 1891 where 36 of 45 ALP candidates won Legislative Assembly seats.
The first ALP government was elected in Qld in 1899.
When the Federal Parliament first met in 1901 there were 24 ALP members.
White male workers now had a significant voice and influence in Australia yet the non-white and female population were still excluded.
One of the most prominent groups to argue for Federation was the Australian Natives Association.
Est. 1871 membership was restricted to white males born in Australia with a motto of ‘Advance Australia’
Agenda: strengthening Australian defence, protecting industries through tariffs on imports, improving social welfare and achieving ‘White Australia’.
Unlike republicans the ANA were loyal to Australia and the British Empire. They wanted the colonies to federate into one nation yet also wanted to maintain their ties to the Empire. ANA had a deep pride in being ‘Australian’ - “We need a vigorous and undivided Australian sentiment’. The ANA sought to celebrate and develop Australian culture in literature and other pursuits. They also sought to be outspoken on all matters relating to the direction the emerging nation would take.
Est. 1871 membership was restricted to white males born in Australia with a motto of ‘Advance Australia’
Agenda: strengthening Australian defence, protecting industries through tariffs on imports, improving social welfare and achieving ‘White Australia’.
Unlike republicans the ANA were loyal to Australia and the British Empire. They wanted the colonies to federate into one nation yet also wanted to maintain their ties to the Empire. ANA had a deep pride in being ‘Australian’ - “We need a vigorous and undivided Australian sentiment’. The ANA sought to celebrate and develop Australian culture in literature and other pursuits. They also sought to be outspoken on all matters relating to the direction the emerging nation would take.