How and Why did Federation take place in Australia

Federation in Australia was a long, hard and controversial process. Suggestions of Federation had been made since the early 1800s. However, due to the split opinions of the public, it was not until January 1st 1901 that the colonies united and federation took place.

As with any change in government, federation presented both positive and negative outcomes. However in the end, the advantages of federation were so immense that they simply outweighed the disadvantages. Advantages in immigration, trade, foreign policy, defence and a growing feeling of nationalism were some of the many reasons why the people of Australia decided to federate.

Different immigration policies between the different colonies created problems. An example of this was the problem of Chinese Immigrants in the goldfields. Victoria had banned Chinese immigrants, whereas South Australia had no policies against immigrants from that area. This meant that people from China could come to South Australia and then make...