The Federal Council of Australasia was a forerunner to the current

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the sixth-largest country in ...

, though its structure and members were different. The final (and successful) push for the Federal Council came at a "Convention" on 28 November 1883, which met in Sydney, and at which the six Australian colonies,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

were represented.Federal Council of Australasia by Alfred Deakin (at University of Sydney Library)
/ref> The conference was called to debate the strategies needed to counter the activities of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and French in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and in

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...

. Sir Samuel Griffith, the

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

, drafted a bill to constitute the Federal Council. The Federal Council was a limited legislative body. It had powers to legislate directly upon certain matters, such as in relation to

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

, regulation of fisheries, patents of invention and discovery and copyright, and so on, but it did not have a permanent secretariat, executive powers, or any revenue of its own. The representatives considered that the formation of the council was a constitutional change that required an Act of the British Parliament. In July and August, 1884, the Legislatures of Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia, and Fiji petitioned the Imperial Parliament to enact the bill. The bill became law on 14 August 1885 as the ''Federal Council of Australasia Act 1885'',note 2, at 18-21. and gave any Australasian colony power to join or withdraw from the council. The first assembly of the Federal Council took place on 25 January 1886 in

Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent (Tasmania), River Derwent, it is the southernmo ...

, and consisted of representatives of the self-governing colonies of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

and Victoria, and the Crown Colonies of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and Fiji were involved. New South Wales and New Zealand did not join the Federal Council. South Australia was briefly a member between 1888 and 1890. The Federal Council met eight times between 1886 and 1899, to discuss matters of importance and common interest. It had no power to enforce its decisions beyond that provided by the member colonies. Furthermore, the absence of the powerful colony of New South Wales weakened its representative value. Robert Hamilton from Tasmania presided over the Federal Council meetings held in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

in 1887, 1888, and 1889. Adye Douglas,

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the Government of Tasmania, executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the Tasmanian House of Assem ...

from 1884 to 1886, represented Tasmania on the Federal Council. Thomas Joseph Byrnes represented Queensland at meetings of the Federal Council in 1895 and 1897. He became

in 1898 and died in the same year.Rosemary Howard Gill
'Byrnes, Thomas Joseph (1860 - 1898)'
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Vol. 7, ''

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text ...

'', 1979, pp 517-519. Retrieved 19 April 2010 Robert Frederick Sholl, a member of the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia, which constitutes the legislative branch of the state's political system. The parl ...

, was also a representative at the Australasian Federal Convention of 1897. Sir Alexander Matheson, 3rd Baronet, member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

from 1897 to 1901, was also a member of the Federal Council from 1897 to 1900. The Federal Council was abolished by the '' Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900'', section 7. The final meeting of the Federal Council had taken place in January 1899.

References

External links

Year Book Australia 1908Federal Council of Australasia by Alfred Deakin (at University of Sydney Library)
{{Authority control 1885 establishments in Oceania 1885 in British law 1900 disestablishments in Oceania 1900 in British law Australasia Organizations established in 1885 Organizations disestablished in 1900 Political history of Australia Political history of Fiji Political history of New Zealand Political organizations based in Oceania

See also

References

External links