Looking Back at The Dawn of Federation: Was it truly significant?

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‘The crimson thread of kinship … runs through us all.’ – Sir Henry Parkes’ speech at the Australasian Federation Conference
It was at the Grand Federal Banquet, held during the 1890 Federation Conference within Melbourne’s Parliament House, that Sir Henry Parkes spoke these words to the gathered members of the 6 colonial parliaments, as well as representatives from New Zealand and Fiji.
11 years after, in the summer of 1901 Australia was born into the modern age as a united country amid nationwide celebration and incredible excitement. Edmund Barton, Alfred Deakin, all of them well established political figures in their own right, came together to form the first cabinet of the Commonwealth of Australia – becoming one of the first examples of a colonial colony peacefully creating a national identity unique to itself.
While the question of exactly how significant the act of Federation was in influencing our history will no doubt continue to be questioned for decades in the future, the contents of this essay will at the very least show the most well-known issues and acts of 20th century Australia that were directly shaped by Federation, and in that regard will argue that Federation was the most significant event in Australian modern history bar the landing of Botany Bay.

Although Australia had experienced a new beginning under Federation, it would still be a long time before it could truly be recognised as a country separate from the control of the British Empire. Citizens of Australia were still considered to be subjects belonging to the United Kingdom and the British Empire as whole. Laws made in Melbourne parliament had to be examined and allowed by the House of Lords in London before being ready for passage back in Australia....

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...rchives of Australia. Sourced from: http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=209956&isAv=N (PLACEHOLDER REFERENCE)
7. Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962. Sourced http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_act/cea1962311962260/
8. Yirrkala Bark Petition Documents, 1963. Sourced: http://foundingdocs.gov.au/scan-sid-57.html
9. Native Title Act 1993 - SECT 4, Commonwealth of Australia Consolidated Acts. Sourced from: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/nta1993147/s4.html
10. The Dismissal of Gough Whitlam,1975, Fact sheet, National Archive of Australia. Sourced: http://naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs240.aspx
11. United Nations Development Programme, Table 1: Human Development Index and its components, 2012, https://data.undp.org/dataset/Table-1-Human-Development-Index-and-its-components/wxub-qc5k

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