Pre-1908 Federation of Australia The idea of a federation of the six Australian colonies was occasionally debated among Australian politicians, officials and others from about 1850 onwards, and there was support for the idea in official circles in Britain, especially after the Canadian colonies federated in 1867.

The first practical step towards federation was the creation of the Federal Council of Australasia in 1885. It met several times between 1886 and 1899, but it had no executive powers, New South Wales remained aloof, and it was generally ineffective.

In October 1889, in a speech at Tenterfield, the veteran New South Wales politician Sir Henry Parkes called for federation, with a strong executive controlled by the Australian people, to ensure that the colonies were properly defended.

Following an informal conference in Melbourne in 1890, all the Australian colonies and also New Zealand sent delegates to a convention in Sydney in March 1891. It was chaired by Parkes.

A sub-committee comprising Sir Samuel Griffith, Charles Kingston, Edmund Barton and Andrew Inglis Clark drafted a Constitution Bill. However, the colonial legislatures were slow to adopt it and, in particular, there was strong opposition in New South Wales.

In 1893 popular support for federation began to grow, with the formation of federation leagues in most colonies and a conference of leagues in Corowa in New South Wales.

In 1895 the premiers agreed that another convention should be held, with the delegates directly chosen by the electors. The Federal Convention met in Adelaide in March 1897 and was reconvened in Sydney in September 1897 and Melbourne in January 1898. There were 50 delegates and only Queensland was not represented.

A Drafting Committee consisting of Barton, Sir John Downer and Richard O’Connor drafted a Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Bill which, with amendments, was adopted by the Convention.

The Bill was then submitted to referenda in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. There were majorities in each colony, but only a slim one in New South Wales, where leading politicians such as George Reid remained half-hearted.

In January 1899 the premiers made some amendments, mainly at the instigation of New South Wales, and new referenda were held in every colony apart from Western Australia.

In 1900 delegates from the six colonies met Joseph Chamberlain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in London. The negotiations resulted in a few slight amendments and the Constitution Bill was then passed by the British Parliament.

Queen Victoria gave her assent on 9 July 1900 – and in the same month a referendum was held in Western Australia and the federationalists were victorious.

A proclamation was signed by the Queen on 17 September 1900 declaring that on 1 January 1901 the six colonies would be united under the name of Commonwealth of Australia.

Lord Hopetoun was appointed Governor General and on 31 December 1900 he commissioned the first Commonwealth Ministry, headed by Edmund Barton. The first Commonwealth Parliament was opened by the Duke of York in Melbourne on 9 May 1901.