♥ AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION♥

♥By Matilda♥

WHY AND HOW DID AUSTRALIA BECOME A NATION?

Before 1901 the 6 separate colonies of Australia avoided having much to do with each other. But in 1872 when telegraphs came, the colonies were a bit more linked together, and the idea of all working together started to be composed in melodies and rhymes. In the1890s the thought of federation was often discussed by Australia’s citizens. People started to comprehend matters like the army and defence force, trading and transport, would be much easier together than as separate nations. Sir Henry Parkes the Premier of New South Wales, persuaded the other colonies’ premiers to discuss an alliance and again in 1890 to discuss the Australasian Federation Convention, including legislative bodies from New Zealand, took place in Melbourne. In 1891, the National Australasian Convention was organised in Sydney. Seven representatives were put forward by each colony. Work began on an Australian constitution. A committee drew up a draft: Edmund Barton from New South Wales, Andrew Inglis Clark from Tasmania, Samuel Griffith from Queensland, and Charles Kingston from South Australia. They studied the government structure and laws of Great Britain, the United States, Canada and Switzerland.

HOW DID SOCIETY CHANGE DURING 1890-1915?

66% of Australian people lived in cities and towns that were very isolated from one another other. The other 44% of the citizen didn’t live in either. Over time the main reasons for change were more telegraphs and telephones and joining and improving railways and other transport including the cars becoming available not just for super rich citizens. In 1890 the government’s main focus for education was primary school but by 1915 they had evened out more and done more for secondary schools. Entertainment changed from only being able to watch live music at concerts and the same with dance, and other concerts to being able to have gramophones and silent movies.

WHO WERE THE PEOPLE WHO CAME TO AUSTRALIA?

During federation, virtually all the immigration was British people. Between 1906-1914 390,000 immigrants disembarked at Australia from Brittan and there were only ever few that were not British. Even before federation a law was, Chinese people were not allowed to come to Australia because they did not want the Chinese people to take over the English and Australians jobs and Australia was originally wanted to be preferable just white people.

AUSTRALIAN SUFFRAGETTES• Suffrage (the right to vote), hasn’t always been granted to all Australian adults. Our country

was in fact the first country in the world to provide women with a voting right in the federal elections, as well as the right to become a candidate in the election on a national basis. After that New Zealand followed in with the same rules. Suffragettes described women who campaigned for the right to vote in elections. In the 1880s right to the 1890s suffragettes were everywhere and each colony had at least one society of the women. In their attempt to gain voting rights, the women published leaflets; organised meetings and campaigns where they did letter- writing. In 1891 Vida Goldstein and the suffragettes gathered 30,000 signatures from women in Australia and proceeded to the Victorian Parliament. 1894, Mary Lee along with others proceeded to the South Australian and Northern Territory’s government with 11,600 signatures. The Suffragettes argued that women should be treated as equals and part of the country rather than men only having to right to vote and that laws effect women just as much as men. At one point in time the Suffragettes gathered 1% of Australians to sign the petition by going round knocking on doors, they gain 40,000 signatures. The first petition was in 1891 and was that ‘Women should vote on equal terms with men.’

BIBLIOGRAPHY• Info:• http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/federation.htm• http://www.myplace.edu.au/decades_timeline/decade_timeline_landing.html • http://pearson.com.au

• Images:• www.theaustralian.com.au• robhoskins.com• commons.wikimedia.org• www.ralphmag.org