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Difficulty: Very hardCreation and Federation (1901)

The transition to a federated nation required both democratic support from the colonists and a formal legal foundation. What was the final legal requirement and the resulting structural transformation that occurred on 11 January 19011901?

  1. After the people approved the Constitution in referendums, the British Parliament passed a law to establish the Commonwealth, which turned the colonies into states with shared powers.Answer
  2. B
    The colonies signed a treaty to abolish their separate constitutions and parliaments, creating a single centralized government that took over all local and national responsibilities.
  3. C
    The King issued a royal decree that renamed the colonies as federal territories, removing their independent law-making powers and placing them under the direct daily control of the Governor-General.

Answer

The establishment of the Commonwealth involved the approval of the Constitution through referendums followed by an Act of the British Parliament, resulting in the colonies becoming states within a federal structure.
The correct answer identifies that the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia required two critical pillars: the democratic approval of the Constitution by the people of the colonies via referendums, and the legal enactment of that Constitution by the British Parliament. This process transformed the six separate colonies into states within a federal system, where they retained their own governments while sharing specific powers with a new national government.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the democratic phase of Federation.
People in the six British colonies voted in referendums during the 18901890 s to approve a draft Constitution.
Democratic consent was the necessary first step to ensure the colonists supported the union.
2
Identify the legal authorization phase.
The British Parliament passed the 'Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 19001900'.
As colonies of the United Kingdom, legal force for the new nation had to be granted by the British Parliament.
3
Analyze the structural change on the effective date.
On 11 January 19011901, the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed, and the colonies became states.
This date marked the legal birth of the nation and the shift from separate colonial identities to a unified federal system.
4
Evaluate the division of power.
The new states retained their own parliaments and constitutions while sharing power with the new Federal Parliament.
Federation was a union of states, not a total merger into a single centralized government.

Key Concept

The Dual Process of Federation (Democratic & Legal)
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Creation and Federation (1901)

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