StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

What Did Australian Federation in 1901 - Essay Example

Summary
The paper "What Did Australian Federation in 1901" states that the merchants and bankers who were doing trade in Australia at the time, especially those that did trade in more than one colonial territory favored the federation as it was going to help them during trade and the making of payments…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.4% of users find it useful

Extract of sample "What Did Australian Federation in 1901"

AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION IN 1901 Name: Course: Date: In 1889 at Tenterfied in New South Wales, Henry Parkes the then Premier of New South Wales, delivered a speech that called for unity of the six Australian colonies. He wanted the colonies to form a single national government to govern the affairs of Australia. At the time, the population that occupied the colonies composed mostly of people born in Australia, even though the parents and grandparents of the people were mostly migrants. Unlike the previous two generations, the people who had been born in Australia considered themselves Australian and not British.1 They considered the divisions of the colonies as unnecessary since it only served to separate them yet they shared similar values, culture and language. In addition, colonial separation brought many inconveniences especially in travel and trade, and could prove disastrous in times of war as it presented a difficulty in organizing defense for the entire Australia. The imagination of Australia as one nation without the colonial divisions was a different thing. In fact, songs and poems composed at the time were already celebrating a united Australia; there was even an Australian cricket team that composed of players from all the colonies which had played the team from England. However, uniting the colonies into one nation was a completely different thing2. The colonies were again urged to unite in 1890 by Henry Parkes, this time a consideration was given to the proposition by all the colonies. The following year, the possibility of uniting the colonies was explored at a constitutional convention held in Sydney. Seven delegates from each of the colonial parliaments attended the convention in which New Zealand was represented by three delegates. Andrew Clark from the Tasmanian delegation had already researched on the United States’, Swiss and Canadian constitutions. This was important given that the three countries were federations, which was the model that Australia would adopt after attaining unity of the colonies. During the 1891 constitution convention, a draft constitution of a united Australia was approved. The constitution had been drawn up by Samuel Griffith, a delegate from the colony of Queensland. The convention agreed on a government structure with a two-house parliament constituting a house of representatives and a senate, while the colonies were to become states. A high court was also established to safeguard the constitution. Even though the idea and the entire process of federation had been borne and steered by politicians, the convention recognized the need for people participation, since they were crucial in democratizing the federation and making it successful as it had been envisioned. Following the need to involve the people in the federation process, a federal conference was held in Corowa in New South Wales, in which a scheme was devised by John Quick, a Victorian. The scheme suggested that the people should be responsible for electing delegates to constitutional delegations, and then at referenda to approve the constitution. Between 1897 and 1898, three federal conventions were held in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney. The delegates to the conventions were elected by the people, with the mandate to consider and amend the constitution that had been adopted earlier own3. Referenda were then held in all the colonies to give every Australian a chance on the constitution adoption. In 1898, the first referenda were held in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, and Tasmania. However, the ‘yes’ votes in New South Wales fell short of the required by 80000 votes. This made the premiers from all the colonies to meet so as to settle any differences that could have caused the rejection of the constitution in New South Wales. The objective of the meeting was to make it more likely that any referenda held thereafter would realize success in all colonies with little resistance. Another referendum was successfully held in 1899 in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, and Tasmania. In 1900, the draft constitution was escorted to London by chosen delegates from the convention so as to obtain assent from Queen Victoria and the Imperial Parliament. Western Australia, which had not participated in any of the previous referenda, held a successful referendum once it was ascertained that the federation of the colonies was imminent. This made it certain that Australia would be ‘a continent for a nation, and a nation for a continent.’4 The whole process of federation in Australia faced significant opposition from the various colonies and the people. However, the colonies had more reasons for federation than the reasons to continue existing separately. In the late 1800s, the colonial rivals of the British Empire in the Pacific had made the Australian colonies increasingly worried. Even though some of the Australian colonies had navies and armies, they still lacked a coordinated system of transport among themselves. The colonies feared that they would not be strong enough individually in case they faced threats from countries such as France, Germany or Russia. There was also a concern about the threat posed by China and Japan in case they were to attack the colonies in the future. This fear of attack brought the colonies together to federate because they felt they could better face the threats as one nation, and the unity would as well make them a significant British ally in other matters5. Meanwhile, the British government had in 1889 commissioned Major General Edwards to find out and report on the Australian defense forces. In his report, he recommended that federation was important if Australia was to be defended effectively. This meant that there was need for Australia to have a joint defense force in case of any external attacks from the British colonial rivals who were seen as a threat at the time. The presence of Germany and France in the Pacific was upsetting to those who believed that only Australia and Britain were supposed to rule the southern seas region. Queensland had tried to annex New Guinea in an attempt to stop Germany from taking it. However, Queensland was stopped by the British government who did not want any conflicts with Germany yet, especially in the South as they did not have a formidable force to fight a war at the time6. The 1890 speech by Sir Henry Parkes was motivated by the foreign threats that the Australian colonies faced from the British colonial rivals in the Pacific. However, most people did not buy into the idea of federation as they did not view defense as a substantial reason. The opposition to the federation was also rife because it was a popular act in which the people expressed their free will in the entire process. It was thus not easy to make all the people agree on the need for federation. “There was little to support the idea of a general community desire for federation.”(Katharine 2009, 32) Moreover, during the referenda, the people were only told to vote either yes or no to the idea of federation and the constitution without being told what was actually in the constitution. Workers, who formed a large portion of the Australian people, did not see anything they stood to gain from the federation and were, therefore, not interested.7 Apart from defense, trade was also an area that motivated the federation of the Australian colonies. Before federation, trade among the colonies had not been free; hence there was need for more cooperation to boost trade. At the time, goods that moved between any of the colonies were subjected to tax, which made them expensive to sell. Each colony had set up customs houses to monitor smuggling of goods across their borders. During the federation conventions, the delegates agreed that abolishing of inter-colonial tariffs would allow manufacturers to access markets in any of the colonies hence this would boost production. Despite the advantages that Australia stood to gain from federation, colonies were still unwilling to lose their independence. Even though in the earlier federation conventions they had discussed how to come together and draft a common constitution for Australia, Edmund Barton in the 1897 convention held in Adelaide raised issue with the terms of association among the colonies.8 The same issues of superiority of the colonies in the federation made some colonies oppose the federation move. For instance, many people from the colony of New South Wales viewed the proposed senate as an undemocratic body since populations were not equally represented in it. In the proposal, each state was expected to have six senators representing it to the senate yet the population of New South Wales formed 40 per cent of the entire Australian population. Another form of inequality was noted in the House of Representatives, where there was to be one elected member for every 30000 voters. However, Aborigines, women and Asian migrants were not allowed to vote except the state of South Australia. This had to be changed first before the elections of 1903 to make all states equal. Deciding the location of the capital for the Commonwealth of Australia also faced significant opposition. The need to have a new capital city divided as well as united opinion around the federation issue. Representatives from each colony wanted the capital city located in their colonies. The debate was so heated that a convention held in January 1898 in Melbourne concluded that none of the colonial capitals would be adopted as the capital city for the Commonwealth of Australia. In a secret conference held the following year in Melbourne and involving the premiers of the six colonies, George Reid of the New South Wales successfully convinced the others that the new capital should be located in his state. However, they categorically stated that the capital must be located outside of 100 miles from Sydney. This called for the building of a new capital city, Canberra. In the meantime, Melbourne was settled upon as the temporary capital for the Commonwealth of Australia. The cues used in deciding the location of the capital city included accessibility, climate, physical conditions, food supply, and the capacity to support a large population.9 Defense of Australia against foreign attacks and trade were the main reasons why the colonies federated. The merchants and bankers who were doing trade in Australia at the time, especially those that did trade in more than one colonial territory favored federation as it was going to help them during trade and making of payments. Many businessmen wanted the creation of a common market in Australia and federation presented this opportunity since it would free the tariff barriers among the colonies. For instance, the sugar producers from Queensland were subjected to payment of import duties just like other business people whose sugar came from overseas. The well established manufacturers in Victoria wanted federation because it would assure them of a free internal market in Australia. This would be advantageous as it would allow them to trade freely yet it would protect them from the rest of the world as there would be a common tariff for Australia. However, manufacturers from South Australia that had grown their industries under a protective tariff regime were opposed to federation. They did not have enough confidence to compete with their Victorian counterparts in a free market. Wheat farmers from South Australia favored federation since they were efficient and confident of beating competition in the local market. Still on trade, merchants who concentrated on overseas trade were opposed to federation. Melbourne and Sydney were competing for Riverina trade through differential railway gauges and tariffs. Riverina merchants and farmers supported federation because it would allow trade to flow naturally and clear uncertainty. Federation was also supported by miners, most of who migrated across the colonial borders often and had no concern for petty colonial rivalries. Forces opposed to federation of the Australian colonies were many and it was only through determination of some leaders that federation was possible. The biggest force towards federation came from the need to defend Australia from British colonial rivals in the Pacific as well as China and Japan. This force came mostly from the British government which was Australia’s colonial master. However, the other factors and the convincing of the delegates and the people to adopt the federation concept met a lot of opposition from groups that were more determined to safeguard their interests than to see the colonies federate into a single nation. Sir Henry Parkes’ and Sir Edmund Burton’s determination among others saw the successful federation of the colonies into the Commonwealth of Australia. Bibliography Birrell, Bob. Federation: The Secret Story. Sydney: Duffy and Snellgrove,  2001.  Cahill, A. E., "Cardinal Moran and Australian Federation", Australasian Catholic Record, vol.78, no.1, (2001): 3-15. Clarke, Patricia, ed. Steps to Federation. Melbourne: Australian Scholarly  Publishing, 2001. (Ch. 7 "The Freest Spirit of Australasian  Democracy", pp. 103-128)  Hearn, Mark and Patmore, Greg, eds. Working the Nation: Working Life  and Federation. Sydney: Pluto Press Sydney, 2001. Katharine, Sturak. Getting It Together: From Colonies to Federation - The National Story. Canberra: Museum of Australian Democracy, 2009.  Lake, Marilyn. "In the interests of the home: Rose Scott’s Feminist  Opposition to Federation", in Makers of Miracles: the Cast of the Federation Story, ed. David Headon and Stuart Macintyre (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2000).  Meaney, Neville, "Britishness and Australian identity: The problem of  nationalism in Australian history and historiography", Australian  Historical Studies, 32, no. 116, (April 2001):76-90. Read More

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF What Did Australian Federation in 1901

What Important Role Did Emil Sodersteen Play in Australian Art Deco Architectural Design

WHAT IMPORTANT ROLE DID EMIL SODERSTEEN PLAY IN australian ... New discoveries of spectacular monuments of ancient Egyptian art and the ancient civilizations of America made a significant impact on the development of Art Deco design style.... In the period, between the two world wars, Art Deco was used in decorative art....
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Paper

Britains Role In 20th Century International History

The Australian colonies were united into an autonomous Dominion in 1901 with the federal government located at Melbourne before being moved to Canberra in 1927.... World War Two (1939-45) demonstrated the royalty of the Dominions to the empire as in 1939 the australian prime minister acknowledged his country's involvement in war by virtue of Britain's declaration of war on Germany and as a result, Australia was at war, again in 1940 gold in millions of pounds was shipped to Canada in preparation for relocation of the British Royal Family if the situation of war escalated (Reynolds 127)....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Australian Studies: Identities

'This disregard of the Indigenous people continued at the time of the Federation (1901) – the only mention of the Indigenous Australians in the Constitution was to exclude them from the population count' (Treaty, 2011).... "australian Studies: Identities" paper argues that reconciliation is still a dream and the ways of the Indigenous people have been too changed by what the white settlers thought was the right thing to do for the Indigenous people and it requires close to a miracle for reconciliation to take shape....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Stolen Generation: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

If they were lucky, they would be able to have better education like all the other australian children did.... australian government believes that they would have no future in Aborigines so they rather brought th ose aboriginal Aboriginal children to 'white' families.... The australian government considered that separating Aboriginal children apart from their families and adopted them to 'white' families would let them have a better education and better environment to grow up also more effective as they with the mixed origin Aboriginal population in the time merging with the non Indigenous population as they created (Reconciliaction 2007)....
24 Pages (6000 words) Coursework

Australia and Inferiority Complex

he Duke and the Butches of York opened the first Common Wealth of Australia parliament in 1901.... The Union Jack became part of the new australian flag.... he fact that the British refused to enter into treaties with the Native australian tribes is a pure indication of the fact that the British considered the Australians as inferior.... He welcomed the British immigrants to settle in the country since it did not have aspects that could prove to be disturbing to its citizens....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Role of Federal Government in Australia in a Social Policy Development between the Years 1901-1972

The Commonwealth of Australia is one of the oldest democracies internationally and was established in 1901 when the earlier British colonies decided to federate.... The paper "Role of Federal Government in Australia in a Social Policy Development between the Years 1901-1972" describes the going back and forward between liberal government and labor government and social policy changes, no changes, and regress.... This discussion focuses on the role of the state (federal government) in a social policy development between the years 1901 and 1972 in Australia....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Australia: Reasons for Federation in 1901

The paper "Australia: Reasons for federation in 1901" is a great example of a report on history.... The paper "Australia: Reasons for federation in 1901" is a great example of a report on history.... in 1901, six independent colonies of the then British empire joined together to form one nation.... in 1901, six independent colonies of the then British empire joined together to form one nation.... In this paper, I have attempted to analyze the factors that made it possible for the Australian colonies to federate in 1901 despite strong forces of opposition....
10 Pages (2500 words) Coursework

Popular Nationalism in Australia, Immigration, and Pollution of White Culture

5 )Incarceration of Aborigine in missions ad reserves then followed to ensure that smooth propagation of the white population in towns and indeed in the entire australian society.... .... ... ... The paper 'Popular Nationalism in Australia, Immigration, and Pollution of White-Culture' is an engrossing variant of an essay on history....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us