History – Federation
Australia has not always been this way. Before Federation, Australia was a continent with six separate colonies, NSW, QLD, VIC, WA, SA, and TAS. Each colony operated independent from the other colonies and had their own defence forces, trade, postal and railway systems and immigration laws.
Look at the pre-federation maps of Australia and compare what is the same or different to today’s map. Why are the territories (NT and ACT) not included at this point in history? (Interestingly, New Zealand, which was also a British colony, had the option of joining the other colonies and becoming a part of the nation!)
Four men, Henry Parkes, Edmund Barton, Alfred Deakin, and George Reid, are known as the Fathers of Federation. They felt that it was time the colonies came together to form one nation and were very important in Australian history. Discuss their contributions to the colonies joining together.
Explain that in order for Federation to take place, a referendum had to be held, where the people of the colonies were asked their opinion on the matter. Explain that a referendum is a popular vote on a topic, where voters either tick ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on their ballot paper.
Federation was a big decision for the colonies with arguments for and against the issue. In your history book, write:
- Arguments that may have been used for AND against federation.
- Which side do you agree/disagree with and why?
- Do you think the colonies make the right decision in the end by ‘joining forces’?
- How would life be different today if they had not come together to form Australia?
Explain to students that in order for the colonies to work together, they needed a set of rules. This is how the Australian Constitution was created. View snapshot video:
Individual task: ask students to imagine that they worked for a newspaper in 1899. Ask them to design a persuasive poster aimed at getting people to vote for or against Federation in the referendum. Remind them to think about the reasons for and against Federation in 1901 and how you could incorporate these into your poster. Have students share their finished posters with the class and display posters in the classroom.
