Australia was made up of separate, self-governing colonies, which included New Zealand. Each had its own army, postal system and customs service and all regarded England as the ‘Mother Country’. However, there was good sense in combining these services and the fear of being invaded by a foreign power made the thought of ‘one people, one destiny’ very attractive.
Sir Henry Parkes had been very keen on the idea of federation but apart from meetings between the colonies no final decision had been made. By 1900 however, five of the colonies had agreed to federation, only Western Australia which had voted against it and New Zealand, which was uncertain, still holding back.
In 1900 Australia sent representatives to England to appeal to the British Government to be granted a federation. The Bill had to be passed by both their houses of parliament and the proclamation then signed by Queen Victoria before it could become a reality.
Meanwhile, the gold miners in Western Australia, who had not been given the chance to vote on federation, demanded the right to do so and another referendum had to be held in that colony. New Zealand referred the matter back to its own parliament for consideration. In the end, Western Australia voted YES and New Zealand voted NO.
The previous year, the Boer War had broken out in South Africa between the Boer and the British peoples. At first there was widespread support from the general public in Australia to supply troops to fight on behalf of Britain and large crowds turned out to wave the troopers goodbye. Different colonies vied with each other to send men, but once in South Africa these troops thought of themselves not as Victorians or Queenslanders but as Australians. After January 1, 1901 when Federation was declared and there was one army for the whole country, all soldiers sent from Australia went as Australians.
Commonwealth troops usually fought as units attached to the British Army. However, in one engagement, in August 1900, about 500 soldiers, mostly Australians, were surrounded by 3000 Boers at Elands River Post. They managed to hold out for 13 days under heavy fire, before help could arrive.
During 1900 a search was begun to find a suitable site for a federal capital city. New South Wales and Victoria as the two most powerful colonies had agreed that the capital should be between Sydney and Melbourne but no less than 100 miles from Sydney. Three sites were suggested as suitable but it was not until 1908 that the members of parliament agree on one. That site was not named Canberra until 1913.
Until then, the Federal Parliament met in Melbourne. It was opened in May 1901 by the Duke of York, a grandson of Queen Victoria. He later became George V.
In May 1927, the Federal Parliament House, Canberra, was opened by his son, also the Duke of York, who later became George VI. He was the father of the present Queen Elizabeth II.
By 1900 the women of South Australia and Western Australia were allowed to vote in colonial elections. Women in other colonies were not. New South Wales granted them the vote in 1902, Tasmania in 1903, Queensland in 1905 and Victoria in 1908. Voting in Commonwealth (Federal) elections was granted to all in 1902 except ‘Asiatics, Africans and Australian Aborigines’.
When Federation was declared on January 1, 1901, the flag most commonly flown was the Union Jack of Great Britain. A competition for a new, Australian, flag design was held in that year and the winning flag flown for the first time on September 3, 1901. The ‘winner’ was a combination of five similar designs which underwent minor changes in later years but which was not widely accepted until 1914 and World War I.
Aborigines had virtually no voice at all in 1900 and were under the control of the different colonies. When Federation was declared, the Constitution stated that in counting the numbers of people in the Commonwealth, Aborigines would ‘not be counted’. So the states, as they became known, kept power over the Aboriginal people. This meant that their treatment, including any rights, wages, conditions of work, health matters and other issues, varied considerably from state to state.
By December 31, 1900, Australia saw itself as leaving behind a history of separate colonies which had kept it divided since the start of white settlement instead of facing a new century as one people with one destiny.
About the Author
VASHTI FARRER was born in 1942. She has an MA in English Literature and loves theatre, acting, history, archaeology and quirky characters. Ghost writing for Kitty Barnes enabled her to indulge all these interests.
Vashti writes for all ages and has had over 60 adult short stories published as well as articles and book reviews. She has also written plays, poetry and stories for primary and secondary school and is a regular contributor to School Magazine.
Plagues and Federation is her fourth historically based novel for 9–14 year olds. Others include Escape to Eaglehawk, Eureka Gold and Ned’s Kang-u-roo.
Vashti’s great-uncle went to the Boer War, and she has always been interested in the Rocks area of Sydney and the movement towards federation.
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First edition published by Scholastic Australia in 2011.
This electronic edition published by Scholastic Australia Pty Limited, 2014.
E-PUB/MOBI eISBN: 978-1-925064-24-7
Text copyright © Vashti Farrer, 2011.
Cover copyright © Scholastic Australia, 2011.
Cover photography—Cambridge Street looking to Argyle Cut, The Rocks held by the Tyrrell Photographic Collection, The Powerhouse Museum.
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