The Tenterfield Oration was a

speech Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...

delivered by Sir

Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive Premier of New South Wales, premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in ...

, Premier of the Colony of New South Wales, at the Tenterfield School of Arts in

Tenterfield, New South Wales Tenterfield is a regional town in New South Wales, Australia, situated at the junction of the New England and Bruxner highways, along the Northern Tablelands, within the New England, New South Wales, New England region. At the , Tenterfield ha ...

, Australia, on 24 October 1889. In the oration, Parkes called for the

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

of the six

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

, which were then self-governing but remained under the authority of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Colonial Secretary. The speech is regarded as the catalyst for the federation process in Australia, ultimately leading to the establishment of the

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 ...

12 years later, in 1901.

Background

The northern region of the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

suffered from administrative disunity, as it was geographically distant from the colony's capital,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, yet closer to commercial hubs across the border in

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 ...

. The imposition of border import

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

s by Queensland further complicated trade, frustrating many in neighboring districts who strongly supported

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

. The primary reason given by Premier Parkes for federation in the Tenterfield Oration was the necessity of a united defence of the Australian continent. In a 1999 address,

Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the New South Wales Labor Party, New South Wales branch of the A ...

, Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, compared the significance of the Tenterfield Oration for Australia to that of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address is a Public speaking, speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, U.S. president, following the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The speech has come to be viewed as one ...

in the United States. At Tenterfield, Parkes urged the seven colonies (including the

Colony of New Zealand The Colony of New Zealand was a colony of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom from 1841 to 1907. British authority was vested in a List of governors-general of New Zealand, governor. The colony had Capital of New Zea ...

) to "unite and create a great national government for all Australia." He explicitly cited the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as an inspiration, emphasizing its achievement of independence from British rule. This call for unity resonated deeply with the colonists. The speech was widely published in Australian newspapers, and Parkes' subsequent efforts in petitioning the Queen and drafting the Constitution earned him the title of "Father of Federation". The site of the Tenterfield Oration was formally commemorated by the Commonwealth Governor-General in 1946. Prompted by Parkes' Tenterfield Oration, the colonies agreed to send delegates to a Constitutional Conference in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1890. This initiated the process of drafting and adopting the Commonwealth Constitution over the course of the 1890s, ultimately leading to the unification of the colonies and the establishment of a system of

federalism in Australia Federalism was adopted, as a constitutional principle, in Australia on 1 January 1901 – the date upon which the six self-governing Australian Colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, a ...

The Speech

The speech referred to the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...

and the

Parliament of Queensland The Parliament of Queensland is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature, legislative body of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists o ...

, and quoted the poem ''The Dominion'' by

James Brunton Stephens James Brunton Stephens (17 June 1835 – 29 June 1902) was a Scottish-born Australians, Australian poet, and author of ''Convict Once''. Early life Stephens was born in Bo'ness, on the Firth of Forth, Scotland; the son of John Stephens, th ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1889 in Australia 1880s speeches 1889 works Speeches by politicians

Background

The Speech

See also

References