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Despite agreement on a draft Constitution, the federation movement ground to a halt in 1891. Local economics and politics were still more important.
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In December 1891, after battling an unsympathetic parliament, Sir Henry Parkes resigned as Premier of New South Wales. Federation was put aside.
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The Federation Leagues and Australian Natives Association worked to promote federation to the people. In 1893, a conference was held on the banks of the Murray River at Corowa, New South Wales.
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At the 1893 Corowa Conference, Victorian lawyer Dr John Quick proposed a three-step process to achieve a federal Constitution.
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Between 1897 and 1898, the second of Quick’s steps was achieved. The Australasian Federal Convention of 1897–98 consisted of three sessions, spanning three cities and 82 days.
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Ten elected delegates represented each colony at the 1897–98 Australasian Federal Convention, except Queensland which did not attend.
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In 1897, the first of Quick’s steps was carried out. Each colony elected representatives to attend a federal convention.
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Edmund Barton moved that the draft Constitution be accepted by the convention.
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The third and final of Quick’s steps required that the draft Constitution be put to the people. Referendums were held in each colony from 1898 to 1900.
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On 17 March 1898, New South Wales politician and leader of the convention, Edmund Barton, moved that the draft Constitution be adopted by the convention.
