What was the last colony to join the Australian Federation?

What was the last colony to join the Australian Federation?

Western Australia
Western Australia was the last colony to decide whether or not it would accept Federation. The other colonies each held special votes or referendums in 1898 and 1899 – and in all of them the majority of voters said ‘yes’ to the Constitution Bill, accepting the new Australian Constitution.

What are Australian colonies?

In 1901, the Australian colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia, together with the Northern Territory, federated into one country.

What happened before 1901 Australia?

Before 1900, there was no actual country called Australia, only the six colonies – New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia. While these colonies were on the same continent, they were governed like six rival countries and there was little communication between them.

Why were there so many colonies in Australia?

Well you can be pretty sure it was for one of two main reasons – either as a gaol for convicts, or because of the land, to graze sheep or cattle. Three of the states were started as gaols – New South Wales, where the First Fleet arrived; Queensland, which began when Moreton Bay was settled – now called Brisbane.

How many colonies were there before Federation?

Australia became a nation on 1 January 1901 when 6 British colonies—New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania—united to form the Commonwealth of Australia. This process is known as Federation.

What was Australia called before Federation?

After British colonisation, the name New Holland was retained for several decades and the south polar continent continued to be called Terra Australis, sometimes shortened to Australia.

What are the 6 colonies of Australia?

Australia became a nation on 1 January 1901 when 6 British colonies—New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania—united to form the Commonwealth of Australia.

What were the colonies before federation?

Its borders originally included the areas that are now Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland. These became separate colonies between the 1820s and 1850s; Western Australia was established in this period as well. Australia remained as six separate colonies until Federation in 1901.

How was Australia before Federation?

Australia in the late 19th century consisted of six self-governing British colonies that were subject to the British Parliament. Each colony had its own – often quite distinct – laws, railway gauge, postage stamps and tariffs. The colonies of New Zealand and Fiji were also part of Federation discussions.

What was Australia originally called?

Australia, once known as New South Wales, was originally planned as a penal colony. In October 1786, the British government appointed Arthur Phillip captain of the HMS Sirius, and commissioned him to establish an agricultural work camp there for British convicts.

What were the colonies before Federation?

How did the Australian colonies become a country?

All the colonies except Western Australia held referendums to approve to the proposed constitution and all the colonies agreed. On 1 January 1901, the colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia united and became the states of Australia, known as the Commonwealth of Australia.

What is the Federation of Australia?

Australia’s federation In 1901 the 6 British colonies united to become a new nation—the Commonwealth of Australia. This fact sheet examines the arguments for federation, the path to federation, the creation of the territories and the opening of the Australian Parliament. Children celebrating federation, Melbourne 1901.

How was Australia governed in the late 1800s?

In the late 1800s Australia was made up of six separate British colonies: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia. These colonies partly governed themselves, but they were also under the control of the British Parliament.

What was the military like in the early Australian colonies?

And each colony maintained a small militia, totally inadequate for the defence of Australia’s long coastline. In 1889 a report by a British Major-General, Sir James Bevan Edwards, recommended that the colonial military forces unite under a single command.