Australian Federation, 1901
A set of study materials for Years 7-10 Australian History
These notes are included on the educational multimedia CD-ROM Oz I.D. -The Search for Australian Heritage and Identity published by the Board of Studies NSW.
| 1. Reasons for federation
| 2. Background to Colonial politics |
| 3. A Classroom Simulation
| 4. Sydney in 1901 |
What was the economy like at the turn of the century?
In the early 1890s the Australian colonies were in serious depression. Governments and private enterprise had borrowed enormous amounts from British investors, and there was a huge financial crash in mid-1890. Farmers and squatters were hit by drought and low prices, up to 50% falls in some cases. Public works stopped, and so did most private building. Over the next two or three years, thirteen banks had failed.
In the 1880's efficient and militant unions had gained good wages and conditions for workers, such as miners and shearers, but in the 1890s, employers tried to break down the conditions won by the unions. Rising unemployment helped the employers in their fight for "freedom of contract" - the right to employ anyone at reduced rates of pay. This resulted in many strikes by ships officers, seamen, waterside workers, shearers, miners and many other workers. The unions lost as the employers were supported by the colonial governments. Great bitterness resulted.
By 1901, the Australian colonies had generally recovered, but production was still 15% lower than in the 1880's.During the 1890's, many people in Sydney lived on the streets and searched the garbage for food.
Many of the directors of banks and financial institutions began to urge the creation of a federal government with the power to make laws that governed currency and banking. The premiers at a conference in May 1893 in Melbourne also resolved: "That recent eventss prove that laws require to be enacted with respect to banking in all the colonies, and that the legislation should be uniform."
Background to Colonial Politics
When the British first settled here in 1788, all the territory on the Australian continent that they knew about was named New South Wales, including what is now Tasmania. New settlements were established - Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1803, Moreton Bay (Brisbane) in 1824, and Port Phillip (Melbourne) in 1835. These were governed from Sydney at first, but it was very difficult. They complained of neglect and demanded to govern themselves, like the new independent settlements on the Swan River (Perth) in 1829, and South Australia in 1836. Tasmania did it in 1825, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The far north (Northern Territory) of the New South Wales colony was transferred to South Australia in 1863.
Far from Australia moving towards being unified under on government and one set of laws, most developments seemed to be moving towards further divisions and differences. Indeed, even while Federation was being discussed, there were groups of people pushing for NSW, (and Queensland), to separate into three more "states".
The history of voting in Australia
An act of the British parliament in 1828 made the first provision for some participation by the people in the government of the colony of NSW. It established a Legislative Council of between ten and fifteen members, all nominated by the Crown.
In all states, the right to vote in these early elections was limited to certain people. In NSW, those eligible to vote after 1842 were men who were owners of freehold worth #200 and householders paying rent of #20 per year. Any man who had the necessary qualifications in any electorate could vote in that electorate. some men, therefore, could vote in more than one electorate.
South Australia was among world leaders in the introduction of adult male suffrage. after 1856, all adult males were entitled to vote in the election of the first House of Assembly in 1857.
In early elections in Australia, voting was open, and there was evidence of intimidation and even murder at election time. Again South Australia was first with the secret ballot in 1857, followed by NSW and Tasmania in 1858, Qld in 1859, New Zealand in 1870, and Western Australia in 1879. The secret ballot became known as the "Australian ballot" in the USA, and in the 1870's Britain, Canada, Belgium and other countries adopted it.
When voting was introduced, the minimum age was twenty-one. During the First and Second World Wars, servicemen under the age of twenty-one could vote in some State elections, but lapsed when the wars were over. In 1970, Western Australia reduced the voting age to eighteen, and South Australia in 1971. Eighteen-year-olds voted in a federal election for the first time in 1974. The Commonwealth Electoral act of 1911 made enrolment to vote compulsory, while compulsory voting was introduced in Queensland in time for the general elections of 1915.
What was happening in politics in 1901?
In 1840, the British government finally stopped sending convicts to New South Wales, and in 1842, limited representative government was granted to NSW, so government wasn't really democratic. Only the very wealthy had any say in the elections, and the Governor was able to veto any laws passed.
Reforms began to take place quite rapidly, in some states, slower in others. The most significant step was the development of the Labor Parties. From 1891, no government could stay in power without Labor support. What follows is a list of when each state achieved reform in each of five areas.
When Australian States achieved political reforms:
State |
Vote for all |
Vote for |
Secret Ballot |
Triennial |
Payment |
| NSW | 1858 |
1902 |
1858 |
1874 |
1889 |
| Vic | 1857 |
1908 |
1856 |
1859 |
1870 |
| SA | 1856 |
1894 |
1856 |
1856 |
1887 |
| Tas | 1900 |
1903 |
1858 |
1891 |
1890 |
| Qld | 1872 |
1905 |
1859 |
1890 |
1886 |
| WA | 1893 |
1899 |
1877 |
1900 |
1900 |
Try this
Go through the above table and see if you can find the state that achieved most of the reforms first. Which State achieved most of the reforms the slowest?
Women given the vote
Women were given the right to vote for the first time in a British country in South Australia in 1894, the first election in which women actually voted was in 1896. Some women were allowed to vote in Western Australia in 1899. In 1902, women were given the vote for federal elections, almost forcing the States that did not already have it to do so for their State elections.The last State to do this was Victoria in 1908.
Investigate this
Some important women in Australia fought for the vote and other rights for women. Research these people: Vida Goldstein, Louisa Lawson, Catherine Spence, Emma Miller and Leontine Cooper.
What was the Role of the Governor-General to be?
"If he (the Governor-General) becomes a personage in the political
life of the country, his office must be elective.We cannot afford
to have in our constitution any man exercising authority, unless
he derives it from the people."
The Constitutional Convention in Sydney 1891 p570
"The Governor-General will be required to act in this, as in other matters, on the advice of his executive. In no case is he to be endowed with the personal power to act over the heads of Parliament and the Ministry."
Alfred Deakin, at the Melbourne Convention, 1898 p2252
Investigate this
-
There was a lot of discussion before the constitution was accepted about the role of the Governor-General. What is his role in the Constitution?
-
What happened in 1975 that has caused great controversy about the role of the governor-general?
The Australian Flag: The Search for a uniquely Australian symbolism?
Australia did not have a an official flag. a Competition was held in September 1901 and over 30,000 people sent in their ideas about how the flag should look. They were all displayed in the Exhibition Building in Melbourne. The prize of 200 pounds was shared between 5 people whose ideas were similar, and 2 shared the prize for a National Seal.
What did most of the entries in the contest look like?
The Bulletin, 14 September 1901 gives us a clue; "a monotonous Study in Jacks, an all-pervading symphony in ensigns, with variants of stars, bars and stripes."
Some were ingenious: a kangaroo shooting at the Southern Cross, two emus galloping towards the North Pole, a six-tailed kangaroo. Most had the Union Jack and the Southern Cross.
Talk about this
-
Can you think of a better flag for Australia?
-
What do you think of some of the flags described here?
-
How different would a flag look if you were designing one now? (The six pointed star stood for the 6 states. In 1908, another point was added for Papua, an Australian territory.)
-
How about designing your version of Australia's first stamp, (which was in 1913)?
What was Australia to do about a Capital?
A few months later, Melbourne celebrated the opening of Australia's first parliament..
Many places for a new capital were considered: Albury, Orange, Yass, Bombala, Dalgety, Tumut, Armidale, and Tamworth. Some suggestions were made for the name: Woolgold, Sydmeladperbrisho, Engirscot, and Cooeeton were some names.
Section 125 of the Commonwealth Constitution required that the Capital be established in NSW, but not within 100 miles of Sydney.
Talk about this
-
Can you think of a better name for Australia's capital city?
-
Do you think that it was a good idea not to make Sydney or Melbourne the capital city?
-
Can you think of a better place to put a capital than at Canberra?
Better communications: did this make federation more likely?
Some students may wish to argue that centralisation and federalisation is easier because distance doesn't seperate states as much with better coommunication links.
The first telephone exchange opened in Melbourne in 1878 (Brisbane in 1880, Sydney in 1881, Adelaide and Hobart in 1883 and Perth in 1887)
One people, one culture, one language, one nation?
By 1861, over 50% of the population had been born in the United Kingdom. By 1871 nearly 60% had been born in the Australian colonies, by 1891 75% and by 1901, 82%.
Important events of the time...
During the time of the referendums, a number of events of national pride occurred that brought Australians together occured. Some students may wish to refer to these, and others, in their speeches:
Jubilee Day in Melbourne, 22 June 1897
"Melbourne, the capital city of the colony honoured by the Queen's
name, believed it must be pre-eminent in celebrating the occasion.
On jubilee day in Melbourne, 22 June 1897, even the weather performed
a miracle. The rain which had come down in a never-ending torrent
early in the day ceased at midday.... At night a huge concourse
of people gathered in the streets. Rows of streamers, strings of
brightly coloured Chinese lanterns, together with the general animation
and the bustle, provided ample evidence that Australians looked
upon Queen Victoria as "the representative and symbol of sixty years
of peace, progress and prosperity"
Manning Clark, A History of Australia, Volume V, p148
First embarkation day of troops to the Boer War. 28 October 1899
"As the troops of the NSW contingent marched through the streets
of Sydney on the first embarkation day. 28 October 1899, a wave
of patriotism spread over the city. Rain fell in torrents, but the
spirits of both troops and crowd were not dampened. A huge crowd
lined the streets. At the barracks clergymen read out passages from
the Psalms which promised the assistance of Jehovah to those fighting
for a righteous cause. Some sang 'Auld Lang Syne', some 'The Minstrel
Boy', some 'Rule Britannia' and some 'Soldiers of the Queen'. War
fever, jingoism, or a type of national insanity swept over the people
as they expressed their pride in their fellow New South Welshmen,
and their delight that the aid they had offered had been accepted
by the British."
Manning Clark, A History of Australia, Volume V, p171
What was it like to live in Sydney at the time of Federation?
The big Federation Day procession moved past Sydney homes. What were those homes like?
The people of Sydney lived mostly in terrace houses. The plague in the Rocks in 1900 meant that most of those old homes were pulled down or burnt that year, and only some new ones were being built.
A typical Sydney house was furnished in Victorian style: heavy curtains of velvet, with tassels, floral-papered walls crowded with reproductions of popular paintings, a bamboo table, various uncomfortable chairs, a horse-hair sofa with elaborately carved back, shells, china, a silver-mounted emu-egg, perhaps an upright piano, palms and ferns in ornate pots scattered about the room and in corners... This was the typical way in which most people decorated their houses.
What did Sydney look like on January 1st, 1901?
The Town Hall was begun in 1868 was completed in 1894, the GPO was begun in 1865 and completed in 1887, and the Queen Victoria Markets begun in 1893 were complete by 1900. Prosperous middle class people built houses that copied British styles of architecture.
Investigate this
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Find out about Sydney's landmark buildings that were present in 1901.
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How many are still standing? If you live in any large town in New South Wales, you will be able to get an idea of what it would have been like to walk down the street in 1901 by looking at the foundation stone dates on public buildings.
-
Find old photographs of the streets and compare them to the present-day.
| 1. Reasons for federation
| 2. Background to Colonial politics |
| 3. A Classroom Simulation
| 4. Sydney in 1901 |
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