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henry parkes successed
On October 24, 1889, then New South Wales Premier Sir Henry Parkes told a gathering at Tenterfield, close to the Queensland border, that the time had come for the states to consider Austraila a contry.
In 1890, on Parkes’ initiative, the representatives of seven British colonies (which included New Zealand) met in Melbourne and agreed in principle to establish an Australian federation. -
so beings the campain
Colonial politicians like Alfred Deakin, Henry Parkes and Edmund Barton waged a long campaign to turn the six colonies of 3.7 million people into a country in its own right. -
resons for why people voted for federation
Defence was one of the major reasons for the federation of Australia, Separate colonies restricted Australia's defence prior to federation and as warfare was becoming more common to Australia people became aware that our defence needed to be strengthened, federation would make Australia's defence stronger because the separate colonies would work together to protect Australia. Unity was one of the reasons that people chose to federate to occur in Australia. -
federation is now known in public
Parkes was five times the Premier of NSW and one of the most prominent men in colonial politics. In October 1889, in what became known as the 'Tenterfield Address'4 he called for the colonies to 'unite and create a great national government for all Australia'. His speech had an enormous effect on the movement toward Federation. -
Henry Parkes death
After a life at the forefront of the Federation movement Henry Parkes died in 1896 without ever seeing his dream realised. -
federation
The movement had begun to gather real momentum after Henry Parkes wrote to the other premiers in 1889 and proposed a meeting to devise a Federal constitution. The following year a meeting was held in Melbourne5, with a full 'National' convention in Sydney6 in 1891 at which a complete draft of the Australian Constitution was written and adopted. -
how federation started
Border taxes were part of the Australian life before federation. This meant that people wanting to sell or trade goods had to pay a tax if they wanted to go from one state to another. This was set up so the people in one state didn't have to compete with different states' cheaper prices, making them pay taxes to sell in that state meaning that people would be more likely to buy local goods because they would be cheaper and more affordable. -
a federation system
Before federation all of Australia was divided into colonies, every colony defended and looked after themselves making laws and regulations for only their people. The colonial governments distrusted each other and were not in favour of federation until it became apparent to them that it was essential for the future welfare of Australia. Once Australia was federated the colonies were combined and were led by the parliament system we have today.