The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federated on 1 January, 1901, to form the Commonwealth of Australia, of which they became component states.
A movement for federation of the colonies arose in the late 1880s. On October 24, 1889, New South Wales Premier Sir Henry Parkes told a gathering at Tenterfield, that the time had come for the colonies to consider Australian federation. Many prominent politicians, such as Parkes, were instigators and supporters of the Federation movement.
A number of conventions were held during the 1890's to develop a constitution for the Commonwealth. The new constitution established a bicameral Parliament, containing a Senate and a House of Representatives. The office of Governor-General was established as the Queen's representative; initially, this person was considered a representative of the British government. The Constitution also established a High Court, and divided the powers of government between the states and the new Commonwealth government.
The individual colonies were somewhat wary of Federation. Smaller colonies in particular were wary of delegating power to a national government which they feared would be dominated by the more populous New South Wales and Victoria. Queensland feared the advent of national legislation (see White Australia Policy), which would restrict the importation of kanaka labourers and jeapordise its sugar cane industry. Smaller states also worried about the abolition of tariffs that would leave their commerce at the mercy of the larger states.
The trade union movement, represented by a number of political organisations, the forerunners of the modern Australian Labor Party, were intensely suspicious of Federation. In particular, labour representatives argued against the proposed constitution, claiming the Senate as proposed was much too powerful, similar to the anti-reformist Colonial upper houses.
The site of a federal capital was disputed heavily between the two arch-rivals Sydney and Melbourne; the compromise was that a separate territory (the Australian Capital Territory) would be established within New South Wales to hold a new capital, while Melbourne would be the capital until the new city was constructed. The site eventually chosen for the city would become Canberra.
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