Australia (Commonwealth of Australia)

Abstract

Australia was colonized as a series of British settlements between 1788 and 1829. By that time, Indigenous peoples had lived across the continent and on the island of Tasmania for at least 65,000 years. Between 1850 and 1891 six separate self-governing colonies were established, each with a constitution and institutions of government of its own. Throughout this period, there was also some pressure for uniting the colonies for economic, defence and other purposes. The final and most serious phase of the federation movement took place during the 1890s. The terms of federation and of the constitution on which it was based were negotiated in two major constitutional conventions in 1891 and 1897–98. The conventions were attended by delegations from each of the participating colonies; delegations of members of colonial Parliaments in 1891; and delegations that, for the most part, were directly elected by the voters in 1897.