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Explore the Federation tapestries. Much has changed in the representations of Australia as a nation.

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Twenty two artist-weavers from the internationally acclaimed Victorian Tapestry Workshop (renamed the Australian Tapestry Workshop in 2010), South Melbourne, spent an estimated 20,000 hours at their looms creating the Federation Tapestry.

Almost 41 metres in length, the tapestry was commissioned to mark the centenary of Australia's Federation. It gives Australians pointers to who they are today...and why. The images in its 10 panels range from Aboriginal dreamtime legends to a solitary shepherd in the bush with his sheep and dog, from the clamour and rejoicing that marked Federation in 1901 to the enigmatic 'Sorry' etched across the sky above the sails of the Sydney Opera House in the year 2000.

Murray Walker, the artist responsible for planning, designing and coordinating the Federation Tapestry over a two year period, likens it to an epic poem. He says, 'The folk history of this nation is strong and rich, and it is animated by the Federation Tapestry. This is not textbook history, but a series of visual markers that trigger memories and inspire reflection. It can be interpreted on many levels. It is a people's tapestry.'

Most significant for this public art work is the involvement of many artists to present their views of Australia. The 10 panel are varied in scale and concept. They are based on works by cartoonist Bruce Petty, indigenous artist Ginger Riley, popular Sydney artists Reg Mombassa and Martin Sharp, botanical artist Celia Rosser, Melbourne artist Mirka Mora, Norman Lindsay, noted Aboriginal artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries, 18th and 19th century British artists, lively Aboriginal school children from Echuca, Bathurst Island and the Cape Barren Islands, students from Malvern Central school, and the tapestry's artist/ designer Murray Walker. Their modes of expression range from cartooning to botanical art, from pop culture to photograph and historic images. Text woven into the panels comes from writers such as Patrick White, Joseph Furphy, poet Les Murray, Mirka Mora, aboriginal school children and students from Melbourne.

The concept for the tapestry was sparked when Sue Walker, Director of the Victorian Tapestry Workshop saw the Bayeux Tapestry in France, which depicts one of the defining moments in western civilization, the Battle of Hastings in 1066: 'At Bayeux I was struck by the way the tapestry enthralled a party of British school children. Seeing it, they were seeing the heritage of their country - perhaps for the first time. I thought Australia too was about to celebrate a defining moment, the centenary of Federation. And it seemed to me an ideal project that a monumental Australian tapestry, like the Bayeux, would be a legacy that would endure down the centuries.'

The Federation Tapestry was supported by a $1.6 million grant from the Commonwealth Federation Cultural and Heritage Projects Program.

The titles are:
We All Live in Australia
Ngak Ngak in Limmen Bight Country
Alone in the Bush
And Now Exploration and Settlement are Underway
Making Do
Home Sweet Home
The Heidelberg School
Cavalcade
Federation Celebrations Melbourne 1901
Celebrations 2001

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Twenty two artist-weavers from the internationally acclaimed Victorian Tapestry Workshop (renamed the Australian Tapestry Workshop in 2010), South Melbourne, spent an estimated 20,000 hours at their looms creating the Federation Tapestry. Almost 41 metres in length, the tapestry was commissioned to mark the centenary of Australia's Federation.

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The first parliament was held in the Royal Exhibition Buildings which have their own interesting history

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The Royal Exhibition Building is a product of the optimism, enthusiasm and energy of the people of Melbourne in the late 19th century. In 1879, when the foundation stone was laid, Melbourne was an extremely prosperous city, basking in the wealth from the richest gold rush in the world. The future seemed unlimited, and Victorians wanted to publicise their achievements in an international exhibition.

The building was designed by Joseph Reed and erected in less than 18 months. The first exhibition opened on 1 October 1880. The excited crowd included many who had immigrated during the 1850's gold rush. They had seen Melbourne change from a scatter of wooden houses to a marvellous modern city. The new Exhibition Building, the largest building in Australia, was a symbol of their confidence in the future. The 1880-81 International Exhibition attracted entries from 33 countries and over a million visitors.

The boom times continued, and in 1888 at the Centennial International Exhibition, annexes full of displays covered the gardens north to Carlton Street, and people made 2 million visits.

The Opening of the First Federal Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia on 9 May 1901 saw 12,000 people attend the ceremony in the Great Hall. The restored interior replicates the decorative scheme designed for that event.

In 1919, the building was used as a temporary hospital for Spanish Flu sufferers; from 1921-1925 the first Australian War Museum was housed there (the precursor to the Australian War Memorial); between 1941 and 1945 the building was requisitioned by the RAAF No 1 Technical Training School; from 1949-1962 a migrant reception centre was housed in the grounds north of the great hall; and in 1956 weight liftingting, basketball and wrestling competitions were held as part of the Melbourne Olympics. Between these events the building has continued to be used for trade fairs, motor shows, balls, meetings, flower shows, examinations and rock concerts.

To mark its centenary in 1980, Princess Alexandra, cousin to Queen Elizabeth II, bestowed Royal title on the Exhibition Building. Its significance as the only surviving 19th century 'Palace of Industry' located in its original landscape setting, still used for events, saw the Royal Exhibition Building listed on the World Heritage Register in July 2004.

The Royal Exhibition Collection of well over 5,000 objects reflects all aspects of the building's history: objects displayed at the two great International Exhibitions; souvenirs; certificates and medals awarded to exhibitors and commissioners; invitations to concerts, balls and the opening of parliament: catalogues to the International Exhibition and museum displays. The collection also contains photographs of the building from the 1880s to the present day, and other pictorial reproductions including watercolours, postcards and lithographic prints.

More Information

Keywords

8 Hours Day Celebrations, Advertising, Agricultural Societies, Aquariums, Architecture, Art, Art Exhibitions, Art Fairs, Artworks, Assemblies, Australian Bicentenary, 1788-1988, Australian Centenary of Federation, 2001, Australian Federal Parliament Opening Ceremony, 1901, Australian Federation, 1901, Australian Military Forces, Boer War, 1899-1902, Building & Construction, Celebrations, Civic Mementoes, Commemorations, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Melbourne, 1981, Community Organisations, Conferences & Conventions, Economic Depression, 1890s, Entertainment, Exhibitions, Exhibitions: Melbourne International Centenary Exhibition, 1980, Exhibitions: Melbourne International Centennial, 1888-1889, Exhibitions: Melbourne International, 1880-1881, Exhibitions: Melbourne, All Australian Victorian Centenary, 1934, Flower & Garden Shows, Holiday & Travel Shows, Home Shows, Influenza Epidemic, 1919, International Motor Show, Keepsakes, Medal Presentations, Migrant Reception Centres, Motor Cycle Shows, Motor Shows, Museum History, National Trust, Olympic Games: Melbourne, 1956, Politics, Popular Culture, Postcards, Public Ceremonies, Public Gardens, Public Health, Royal Exhibition Building, Royal Exhibition Building Trustees, Royal Visits, Souvenirs, Sport, Tobacco Industry, Trade Exhibitions, Trade Fairs, Trade Shows, Victoria Centenary, 1934-1935, Women's Issues, World Fairs, World Heritage, World War I, 1914-1918, World War II, 1939-1945

Cite this page

Willis, E. (2004) Royal Exhibition Building Collection in Museums Victoria Collections https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/articles/359
Accessed 26 April 2018

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We support the open release of data and information about our collections.

Text content on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence

Authors

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The Royal Exhibition Building is a product of the optimism, enthusiasm and energy of the people of Melbourne in the late 19th century. In 1879, when the foundation stone was laid, Melbourne was an extremely prosperous city, basking in the wealth from the richest gold rush in the world.

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Processions are a part of Chinese culture.

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Photograph - 'The Chinese Procession', Melbourne, May 1901

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One of a set of 47 original photographs of the Australian Federation celebrations in Melbourne 1901 to mark the opening of the first Federal Parliament of Australia. The photographs trace the Royal Visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York for the occasion, from their arrival in Melbourne on the Royal Yacht 'Ophir' at St Kilda Pier on 6 May 1901 to their departure for Brisbane at Port ...

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Henry Parkes is often referred to as the father of federation

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Henry Parkes is perhaps the most significant figure in ninteenth century Australian politics, and is known as the 'Father of Federation'.

Parkes was born on 27 May 1815 in Warwickshire, England. The family was forced off the farm by debt when Parkes was eight years old, and his father took work in Birmingham as a gardener and odd-job man. Parkes briefly attended a local parish school in Warwickshire, and later joined the Birmingham Mechanics Institute. He helped the family by working as a road labourer and brickie before being apprenticed to a bone and ivory turner. At 17 he joined Thomas Attwood's Political Union, and four years later he married Clarinda Varney. At 22 he was ready to set up his own business. The business failed within a year, and Henry and Clarinda moved to London. After pawning his tools to enable them to survive they applied to migrate to New South Wales as bounty immigrants.

The Parkes family arrived in Australia in 1839. Parkes found work as a labourer, then worked in an ironmongery and brass foundry. In 1840 he became a tide-waiter with the Customs Department, and the steady income enabled him to buy tools of trade again. In 1840 he set up business in Hunter Street, Sydney, as a ivory turner and importer of fancy goods. He optimistically opened branches in Geelong and Maitland, but both failed, and by 1850 he was again facing financial difficulties, this time with a growing family to support. He was, however, showing considerable talent as a writer and organiser, had become involved in literary and political activities. He set up the radical, liberal newspaper The Empire, and soon gave up working as a shop keeper in favour of being a full time journalist and politician. He strongly supported universal suffrage and land reform, and argued for the cessation of transportation.

After assisting in political campaigns including that of John Dunmore Lang in 1850, Parkes was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1854. He moved to the Legislative Assembly in 1856. In 1866 Parkes became a Minister in the government of James Martin, and became Premier of New South Wales in 1872 for the first time. His political career included five periods as Premier of New South Wales, despite interruptions through insolvency.

Parkes expressed interest in Australian federation as early as 1867 - 'these colonies should be united by some federal bond of connection' - and reiterated his position in speeches at the 1880-1881 inter-colonial conference.

On 24 October 1889 Parkes addressed a group in Tenterfield calling for 'a great national government for all Australians.a convention of leading men from all the colonies, delegates appointed by the authority of Parliament, who would fully represent the opinions of different Parliaments of the colonies.' Parkes pursued his dream passionately, resulting in the inter-colonial conference in Melbourne in 1890. In 1891, considering issues such as tariffs, trade and defence, Parkes introduced the first conciliation and arbitration legislation in the Australian colonies, and presided over the first Federal convention held in Sydney. The draft constitution of this convention provided the basis for the next 10 years of discussion and negotiation between the colonies. Ill health forced him to retire from proceedings but Sir Samuel Griffith took his place representing Queensland, with Edmund Barton (NSW), Andrew Inglis Clark (Tas.), Charles Cameron Kingston (S.A.), all contributing to the constitution.

Parkes died on 27 April 1896, four years before Australia became a Federation, having established the political directions for the new country. He was survived by his third wife and 11 of his 17 children.

References:
National Library of Australia website http://www.nla.gov.au/guides/federation/people/parkes.html
Australian Dictionary of Biography

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Henry Parkes is perhaps the most significant figure in ninteenth century Australian politics, and is known as the 'Father of Federation'. Parkes was born on 27 May 1815 in Warwickshire, England. The family was forced off the farm by debt when Parkes was eight years old, and his father took work in Birmingham as a gardener and odd-job man.

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Summary

Australia became a nation when the six self-governing colonies united in 1901. Before this, the colonies were politically separate, with their own laws and parliaments. During the long political process that led to Federation, a stronger sense of what it meant to be Australian was formed; and as this narrative shows, that meant being of British descent.

'[It is] of no use to shut our eyes to the fact that there is a great feeling all over Australia against the introduction of coloured persons. It goes without saying that we do not like to talk about it, but it is so.' (John Forrest, later the Commonwealth Minister of Defence, at the Federation Convention of 1898.)

At the time of Federation, most Australians feared that the introduction of people from non-European backgrounds would threaten the security and unity of the new nation. They believed that Australia should be a nation of people of British descent and that an increase of the population was necessary for Australia's survival. Over the first few years, the new nation primarily encouraged British immigration, but tolerated migrants from Northern Europe and to a lesser degree from Southern Europe. Few Europeans sought to migrate to Australia before World War One, but after the war, Southern Europeans as well as non-European migrants, were excluded from migrating to Australia.

The majority of the leaders of the Federation movement felt that steps should be taken to produce a 'White Australia'. Federation would make this goal easier by making strict immigration restrictions more enforceable. This vision of the future Australia overlooked both Aboriginal people and people who had already come to Australia from non-European countries like China, the Pacific Islands, India and Japan.

At the time of Federation, 'coloured people', women and young people, were paid less than white adult male employees. White male workers felt these groups were stealing jobs and there was particular hostility towards Chinese workers. Animosity was also directed at Pacific Islander labour in Queensland.

A major point of discussion was 'blackbirding', the practice whereby people from the Pacific Islands were kidnapped or fraudulently recruited by sailors and taken to the Queensland sugar farms where they worked in conditions that verged on slavery. Workers and unions were strongly opposed to this practice, as they felt it undermined wages and denied white men jobs. But others argued that the sugar industry was not viable without this cheap labour. The new Governor General, Lord Hopetoun, summarised the scale of costs to employers in a letter to the Prime Minister, Edmund Barton: ' A Kanaka [a person from the Pacific Islands] costs ½ crown [2 shillings 6 pence] a day including wages, food, clothing, cost of introduction from the islands and return journey thither. A Jap costs about 3s[shillings] a day on the same basis. A Chinaman about 4s 4d[pence]. An Indian about 5s. While I sympathise with the sentiment of the people which is, rightly I think, in favour of a White Australia, I don't want to see a great industry brought to a standstill and I know your feelings are the same as mine.' The average white male wage was about 7 shillings per day.

Much hostility was directed towards Chinese workers on the issue of wages, but it was rarely advocated that all people should receive equal wages. During preparations for the May 1901 Trade Union procession, the unions refused to allow the Chinese community to participate in the march. Instead, a separate Chinese march was held on 7 May 1901.

The six colonies had begun to restrict immigration to non-Europeans before Federation. However, central to the goals of Federationists was the further restriction of immigration, particularly from China. The Immigration Restriction Act was one of the first major acts to be passed by the new Parliament. This act abolished nearly all non-European immigration. Britain was opposed to any system of immigration restriction based solely on race. It wanted British subjects to be able to travel freely within the Empire, with no limitations based on colour. Because of this, Australia adopted the South African dictation test, given in any European language, to screen out virtually all non-white immigrants. Alfred Deakin explained in the Morning Post: ' Mr Chamberlain [the British Colonial Secretary] long ago laid down the principles that no discriminations could be authorised if they applied by name to particular peoples or complexions. It is for this reason that our Immigration Act sanctions in unlimited phrases the exclusion of all comers, although designed and used only to exclude the coloured races...In fact and in effect our colourless laws are administered so as to draw a deep colour line of demarcation between Caucasians and all other races. No white men are stopped at our ports for language or any other tests...On the other hand all coloured men are stopped unless they come merely as visitors.'

On arrival, immigrants had to pass a dictation test, by writing 50 words in a European language which the Immigration Officer would choose. At the same time, laws were passed to limit licences for Pacific Island labourers and, after 1906, to deport them. In 1903, the Naturalisation Act made non-Europeans ineligible for Australian citizenship. These restrictions on immigration became known as the White Australia Policy.

There was very little discussion about Aboriginal people in the development of the constitution and Federation. Most Australians wrongly believed that Aboriginal people and their culture would die out in the near future. The new constitution stated that they were not to be included in the national census. Nor did the Commonwealth have the right to make laws regarding Aboriginal people; this remained a responsibility of the States. By 1912, all Aboriginal people of mixed descent were removed from Aboriginal reserves around Australia, with the goal of assimilation into the white community. The principle of assimilation also led to the removal of Aboriginal children from their families and cultures.

Aboriginal people were not given the right to vote in Federal elections, except in states that had granted Aboriginal people the vote prior to Federation. However, the legal interpretation of this clause was unclear. In 1902, the first Solicitor General interpreted it to mean that no new Aboriginal voters could be enrolled to vote in Commonwealth elections. Despite a successful challenge in 1924, and Aboriginal activism throughout the 1930s and 40s, it was not until 1962 that all Aboriginal people were given the Commonwealth vote, and not until 1965, that Aboriginal people could vote in all state elections.

Most of the people sitting in the Exhibition Building at the opening of the first Commonwealth Parliament believed in the creation of a 'White Australia'. One man who had fought against the Immigration Restriction Act is visible in the Tom Roberts painting of the event. Mr Eitake, the acting Japanese Consul General had lobbied the leaders against the Immigration Restriction Act for two years before Federation. By the end of 1901, his fight was unsuccessful; the White Australia Policy had begun to be implemented and would not be dismantled until the 1950s.

Since then, Australia has become a more racially tolerant society. Today, most Australians recognise the contribution greater cultural diversity has made to the community. Many are working towards a meaningful reconciliation with Aboriginal people and some official recognition has been given to their prior ownership of the land in the Mabo judgement of the High Court. The injustice and prejudice in Australia's history is now beginning to be acknowledged.

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Our Federation Journey - A 'White Australia'

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'[It is] of no use to shut our eyes to the fact that there is a great feeling all over Australia against the introduction of coloured persons. It goes without saying that we do not like to talk about it, but it is so.'

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Federation did not acknowledge the First Peoples.

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Summary

Australia became a nation when the six self-governing colonies united in 1901. Before this, the colonies were politically separate, with their own laws and parliaments. During the long political process that led to Federation, a stronger sense of Australian nationalism developed. But as this narrative explains, not everyone celebrated Federation in 1901.

'Melbourne has been transformed into a huge madhouse and its citizens into a crowd of gibbering lunatics. Never in its whole history has such a wild wave of lunacy swept with such blizzard force through its streets, never has common sense been so prostituted, never has the shrine of lickspittledom been knelt at by such a mass of hypnotised devotees.' ('A Few Days in a Mad House' in Tocsin, 16 May 1901)

Our national celebrations reflect Australian society and identity. Those excluded or opposed to the festivities of 1901 represent the political and cultural diversity of Australia at the time of Federation. While thousands of Victorians turned out on the streets to celebrate the final step of the Federation process, it is important to recognise that not everyone was celebrating. Although Australia had politically united as a nation, there were still divisions and some Australians were denied a place in the celebrations of 1901.

Some Australians were excluded from the Federation celebrations of 1901, and others disagreed with the way Federation was being celebrated. Although Federation brought many Australians together, through the unification of the six separate colonies, it was also a time when many people felt divided or excluded and the identity of Australians was being debated widely.

Aboriginal people received little attention in the celebrations and press reports of May 1901. However, occasionally reports mention their exclusion from the Melbourne celebrations. For instance, the Warnambool Standard reported on 16 May 1901: ' A dozen aboriginals have tramped from Encounter Bay, South Australia, to witness the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. They were detained by the police, and will be sent back to their homes for the present.'

On 18 May 1901 they reported another story of an attempt to participate in the celebrations: ' Billy Hewitt, one of the few remaining members of the Port Fairy tribe of aboriginals, was provided, by collection, with money enough to visit Melbourne during the past week's festivities, and has returned full of wonderment at the gorgeous sights he witnessed, but greatly disappointed because he didn't shake hands with 'the King.' He essayed an entrance to the gates of Government House, to secure a private audience with the Duke, but the sentries declined to allow Billy to enter the precincts of the Royal home. Equally futile were his efforts to reach the Duke whilst he was at Parliament House, the police there being just as discourteous to the dusky Australian prince as had the Government House sentries been. However, Billy consoles himself that he alone of the tribe went to Melbourne and 'saw the king'.

When Aboriginal people were included in the festivities and royal engagements, it was generally as Australian curiosities, for the Duke's interest. On a day's hunting near Geelong, a 'surprise' was arranged for the Duke: ' The fine herds of cattle grazing on Mr Pearson's lands were admired by the Duke, for whom a surprise had been prepared on the road to Kilmany. Two Australian Royalties, King Billy and King Bobby, with their suite of half a dozen coloured brethren, had come in from Ramayuck [sic] station to pay a kind of courtesy call on His Royal Highness, and had built their mia-mias on the side of the road....'

In the later part of the nineteenth-century a strong republican movement had developed in Australia. During the celebrations republican newspapers railed against the sycophancy of the dignitaries, accusing them of coveting honours and awards.

The royal couple featured prominently in all the festivities of May 1901. There was a great surge of popular enthusiasm for royalty and the Empire. But most republicans felt that although Federation itself was of benefit, the celebrations were too coloured by royalty and the British Empire. The Bulletin pointed out that it would be a foreigner opening the first Federal Parliament on 9 May: ' One day this week George, Duke of Cornwall and York, and various other kinds of dignitary, enters Melbourne in a glittering vehicle, with many flags and much Jingo howling, and opens Parliament. He will do it by reading, or looking on while someone else reads, a speech which he didn't compose, about things he doesn't understand, and then he will go away again - once more among the yells and banners of a devoted people.'

There was also criticism of the amount of money spent on the celebrations and decorations. John Fleming, a Melbourne bootmaker and activist for the unemployed, organised a protest of unemployed people, at the procession of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York on 6 May, the day they arrived. Fleming decided that the unemployed should be represented amongst the dignitaries at the official concert on the evening of the 9 May. The Tocsin reported: ' So he just strolled in, and after a friendly confab with one or two Labour members, who greatly enjoyed the idea, proceeded to luxuriate in the toffiest part of the whole assemblage. His presence was a grief of mind to Detective Macnamany, who assiduously tailed him for up to three hours and a half. At the end of that time Fleming got tired of the sport and considerately gave the officer an opportunity of showing him the door. The unemployed, however, had been officially represented, and 'tis a good omen.' Unemployed people also attempted to present an address to the Duke, which was sent back, unseen.

General dissatisfaction with the amount of money spent on the decorations led the women's column in the Tocsin to comment: How many poor children could be beautifully and comfortably clad with the red and blue velvet used on the arches? We women have heard nothing but expressions of dissatisfaction from workers of all classes at the reckless waste of public money in all these theatrical arches etc.

The Chinese community participated in the May celebrations in a spectacular way. However, anti-Chinese feeling was prevalent amongst many people, and they must have felt vulnerable in the newly federated nation, as one of the main policies of the new Commonwealth was a 'White Australia'. The Chinese communities spent £200 on the decorations and the arch in Swanston Street; they also presented addresses to the Duke of York, emphasising their loyalty to the King. In this way, they made sure they were visible in the 1901 celebrations, but the anti-Chinese climate of Federation Australia gave them no cause for celebration.

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Our Federation Journey - Who Didn't Celebrate in May 1901?

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'Melbourne has been transformed into a huge madhouse and its citizens into a crowd of gibbering lunatics. Never in its whole history has such a wild wave of lunacy swept with such blizzard force through its streets, never has common sense been so prostituted, never has the shrine of lickspittledom been knelt at by such a mass of hypnotised devotees.'

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Tom Roberts' 'Big Picture': now hanging in the new Parliament House, Canberra depicts the same event. Both artists 'interpreted' the preceedings to create their paintings. It's worth comparing the two and discussing their difference.

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Maxicard - Tom Roberts Working on His Painting, First Day Issue, Melbourne, 3 May 2001

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A first day of issue postcard commemorating the centenary of Australia's Federation, May 2001. The postcard features and black & white photograph of artist Tom Roberts working on his painting of the opening of federal parliament which took place in the Exhibition Building on 9 May 1901.

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Summary

The Commonwealth of Australia was inaugurated on 1st January 1901 in Centennial Park, Sydney. In March, elections were held for the new Federal Parliament, and in May the celebrations focused on Melbourne, where the first Federal Parliament was opened in the (Royal) Exhibition Building. The opening event was captured by two contemporary artists, as is explained in this narrative.

'The atmosphere was radiant and illuminated the vast spaces of the building and the great sea of faces with a bright Australian glow. A sight never to be forgotten was the assemblage which, in perfect order but with exalted feeling, awaited the arrival of the Duke and Duchess in the great avenues which branch out from beneath the vast dome of the Exhibition Building.' (Argus 10 May 1901)

On 9 May 1901 the Royal Exhibition Building hosted the opening of the first Federal Parliament. Prime Minister Barton wanted it to be as inclusive as possible. No other public building could accommodate such a large group of people, and the organisers were eager to make the occasion spectacular and memorable. The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York visited Melbourne for the event, creating great excitement as they attended receptions, processions and other functions held in their honour. Melbourne's streets and buildings were elaborately decorated, and people from all over Australia visited for the celebrations surrounding the opening.

The Duke and the Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun, read speeches and prayers, including a message from the King, and then the federal parliamentarians were sworn in, before an audience of 12 000 dignitaries and their families. After the long process of negotiation, drafting the constitution and referendums leading up to Federation, the Commonwealth of Australia now had an elected federal government.

The importance of the opening of Federal Parliament required a significant visual record of the event, and a group of businessmen commissioned Charles Nuttall to produce a large painting depicting as many of the dignitaries as possible. Another group asked Tom Roberts to do a painting. Both artists painted large paintings, but in a very different style. Charles Nuttall's painting aims for clarity, while Tom Roberts' painting is more evocative and impressionistic.

Both painters used some artistic licence in their depictions of the event. The dais and steps depicted in Robert's painting do not resemble the actual dais and steps. Nuttall arranged the parliamentarians in curved rather than straight rows in order to include more faces, substituted spiky palms for massed chrysanthemums around the dais, and included George Reid (a former NSW premier and future Prime Minister) who missed the event due to illness. Both artists aimed to create a moment of mythical importance to Australian history in their depictions. They chose the moment the sun burst through the clouds and cast a beam of light onto the scene.

Tom Roberts' painting now belongs to Queen Elizabeth II, but is on loan to Parliament House in Canberra. The Charles Nuttall painting is in the collection of Museum Victoria.

Charles Nuttall was born in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, in 1872, and was a well-known illustrator and cartoonist, whose work appeared in books, postcards and publications such as the Bulletin. He began work on The Opening of Federal Parliament on 19 August 1901, setting up a studio in the Exhibition Building. He commented in 1905, 'It was a somewhat fearsome work, involving endless trouble, a tremendous amount of labour, and a great deal of running about'. In his large painting, almost 4 by 2.3 metres, he sought to communicate the grand scale of the event. The painting has an unusual sepia tone, partly adopted by Nuttall due to his colour-blindness.

Following his brief to represent as many 'heads' as possible, among the vast crowd he included 344 recognisable portraits of local and international dignitaries. To achieve this, he had to organise sittings of the various subjects so that he could make sketches. He said of these sittings: ' Posing ... is not as easy as it looks. It is largely a matter of nerves and effects people in different ways. Mr Barton [the Prime Minister] was restless and irritable but finally settled down and sat well; Mr Reid promptly went to sleep, and only consented to sit seriously when I threatened to publish a sketch I made during his nap.'

In 1905 Nuttall travelled to America, where he worked as a staff artist for the New York Times and contributed to other publications. He returned in 1910 and continued to paint and draw, as well as write for books and magazines.

Reproductions of Charles Nuttall's painting in photogravure (the largest ones then on record) were made by Goupil et Cie in France. In the first half of the twentieth-century the Nuttall was the painting that was well known throughout Australia as representing Federation. Reproductions were sold with the slogan 'No Australian Home will be complete without a Copy'. For the next fifty years the painting was the predominant image of Federation, hanging in many homes, public buildings, schools and libraries.

It was expected that the painting would hang in the main hall of the Federal Parliament but it returned to the Exhibition Building. Unfortunately the painting was somehow forgotten and neglected in the basement and became extensively damaged by damp. In the early 1980s, conservator Amam Siddique and his team spent two years restoring the painting. The photogravure's provided valuable information for the repainting of missing sections.

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Our Federation Journey - A Nation's Portrait: Charles Nuttall & the Opening of Federal Parliament

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'The atmosphere was radiant and illuminated the vast spaces of the building and the great sea of faces with a bright Australian glow. A sight never to be forgotten was the assemblage which, in perfect order but with exalted feeling, awaited the arrival of the Duke and Duchess in the great avenues which branch out from beneath the vast dome of the Exhibition Building.'

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Here are some useful resources available on MV Collections On-line to promote further enquiry and critical reflection on the story of Federation. Click through and read the summary of this historic event.

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Summary

Australia became a nation when the six self-governing colonies united in 1901. Before this, the colonies were politically separate, with their own laws and parliaments. During the long political process that led to Federation, a stronger sense of Australian nationalism developed. This narrative describes some of the organisations and individuals who supported the move toward Federation.

'The Federal movement was a People's movement. In its inception it sprang from the People and the People have set their seal upon the great cause.' (Editorial in the Mildura Cultivator, 4 May 1901)

From 1901, many writers portrayed the movement for Federation as a popular one, stemming from the people of the colonies of Australia. But, in fact, the idea of Federation did not emerge from a spontaneous popular movement. The initial impetus came from the political leaders in some of the colonies. Later, other community organisations and political interest groups embraced the idea. The final result was achieved through negotiation, compromise and collaboration with many groups of people in the Australian colonies.

Politicians were the leaders in the move towards Federation. Politics at the end of the nineteenth century was in a state of flux, governments changed much more quickly than they do today. Coalitions and alliances were frequently formed and reformed. There were generally three political groupings: conservatives, liberals and labour. Federation was not an issue on which there were strong party allegiances. The young Labor Party argued against the proposed constitution, in some colonies, because it felt it was undemocratic, but the party was not against Federation in principle.

The final achievement of Federation was a collaboration, and there were many politicians who contributed significantly. The most well known are men like Alfred Deakin, Edmund Barton, Henry Parkes, Charles Kingston, Andrew Inglis Clark, and Samuel Griffith, but there were many other participants in the process. Many went on to the Federal parliament, where, as Deakin had predicted, politics became dominated by party allegiances rather than state allegiances.

In the 1890s clubs and societies were formed to advocate for Federation. Many groups formed in towns along the Murray River because of the effect of customs duties on importing goods. Others joined the Federal Leagues because they felt that Federation could provide greater freedoms and democracy; the right to vote could be extended and the political system made more democratic. Stronger defence against invasion was also a motivation, along with greater immigration restriction, which was advocated by many of the groups. The Leagues played a key role in encouraging popular support for Federation and in shaping the democratic nature of the constitution.

Women began their own Federal Leagues in many areas, principally to try and win the right to vote in the new nation. In 1894, they won the vote in South Australia, and in 1899 in Western Australia. In the other colonies they could not yet vote, and many women were determined to win the franchise in Federal elections, and to make sure they did not lose the right in those colonies in which they were already enfranchised.

Catherine Helen Spence stood for election as a delegate to the 1897-98 Federation Convention. The right for women to stand for election had been newly won in South Australia. She was a highly respected public figure, but it was Premier Kingston's male candidates who won the places as South Australian delegates. Spence was also the inventor and advocate of a system of proportional representation, similar to that used in the Senate today. This system allocates seats to parties according to the proportion of votes won overall in an election.

The Australian Natives Association was an organisation set up in 1871 to provide health and other benefits for white men born in Australia. They were strong nationalists, and were politically active from the 1880s. In 1889 they enthusiastically took up the cause of Federation, and this became one of their main political goals. The colony in which they were most popular was Victoria, which was also the strongest supporter of Federation. Many of the leading federalists such as Alfred Deakin, Isaac Isaacs and George Turner were members of the ANA. In the election for the Victorian delegates of the 1897-98 Federation Convention, ANA men won the first five places. The ANA also played a major role in setting up the Federal Leagues in the 1890s.

Throughout the meetings, conventions and conferences leading up to Federation, the press played an important role. They were admitted to nearly every major discussion, apart from the Premier's Conference of 1899 which they dubbed 'secret'. The two major Victorian newspapers, the Age and the Argus, were both supporters of Federation, the Age being persuaded to this view in the referendum campaign of 1898. David Syme, the proprietor of the Age, was a friend and mentor of Alfred Deakin, and had great power to sway voters and politicians in Victoria. In the 1897 election for the delegates to the Federal Convention all 10 Victorian candidates on the Age ticket were elected.

Writing a constitution for the new nation was a complex task. Different constitutions and political systems from around the world were examined and discussed. Many of the politicians and other proponents of Federation were lawyers. Their expertise greatly aided the drafting of bills and the general understanding of legal issues involved in unifying six colonies into one nation. Samuel Griffith, Charles Kingston, Robert Garran and John Quick were some of the prominent lawyers advocating Federation. Some of the leading federalists also went on to serve on the bench of the newly formed High Court, including Edmund Barton, Samuel Griffith and Isaac Isaacs.

The end of the nineteenth-century was a time when many writers and philosophers were imagining what the future would be like, and how society could be improved. Around the world, modern nation states were forming, and political systems were being invented and reformed. Many people felt that a new nation like Australia could avoid the worst of the Old World, particularly poverty and the class system. Australia would be more democratic, progressive and caring. New books were written depicting utopian visions of a future Australia. In 1888 Catherine Helen Spence wrote a novel in which a woman travels to Australia in 1988 for a week. The woman sees a country improved by better education, legislation and new technology. The people work only a six-hour day and Australia is an independent nation as there is no longer an Empire. Other utopian writing focussed on achieving women's suffrage, improving the tax system, or making Australia wealthier. As well as visions of Australia's future, writers also imagined new political systems and experimental policy in health and education. These new ideas led to discussion and debate, and influenced the federalists, who saw themselves as creating in reality, what had been imagined by writers and philosophers.

The voters of each colony were asked to approve the constitution for the new nation. Not everyone was eligible to vote. Apart from South Australia and Western Australia, women could not vote in elections. Aboriginal men could not vote in Western Australia or Queensland (unless they owned property valued over £100). Aboriginal women could vote only in South Australia. Other restrictions on adult suffrage applied according to property ownership or income. Voting in elections was not compulsory, so not everyone who could vote, did vote in the referendums. Only 57 per cent of the Victorian electorate turned out to vote in the 1899 referendum. Nevertheless, it was the voters who finally decided that the colonies of Australia would federate.

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Our Federation Journey - Who created the nation?

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'The Federal movement was a People's movement. In its inception it sprang from the People and the People have set their seal upon the great cause.' (Editorial in the Mildura Cultivator, 4 May 1901) From 1901, many writers portrayed the movement for Federation as a popular one, stemming from the people of the colonies of Australia.

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The founding of the nation was marked by great festivities. Click on this link to find out more.

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Summary

The Commonwealth of Australia was inaugurated on 1st January 1901 in Centennial Park, Sydney. In March, elections were held for the new Federal Parliament, and in May the celebrations focused on Melbourne, where the first Federal Parliament was opened in the (Royal) Exhibition Building. This narrative describes the street parades and public celebrations held during Federation festivities in Melbourne.

'...down the narrow obscure lanes, in the humble homes of the poor, the loyal citizens had each done their best to play a part in the demonstration. By day, if it were only a tiny twopenny flag, it was something ... By night, a candle-lit kerosene tin, punched with holes to form a map of Australia [or] a crown...' (The Age, 7 May 1901)

The festivities of May 1901 were a spectacular way to celebrate the founding of a new nation - the Commonwealth of Australia.

Melbourne and towns around Victoria decorated buildings and streets. Public holidays allowed people to flock to Melbourne for a glimpse of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, or to wander along the streets looking at the ceremonial arches and listening to the bands playing around the city.

In the evenings, while official guests were entertained with receptions, concerts and dinners, the Melbourne public could enjoy fireworks, music, processions and a military tattoo. Public buildings, ships in the bay and street arches were illuminated with strings of electric lights.

The 12,000 guests invited to the opening ceremony were mostly from Australia or New Zealand. More than half were Victorians. Around 1700 invitations were issued to Australasian Parliamentarians, and another 1500 to municipal representatives. Other dignitaries included international representatives, consuls, judges, and Naval and military officers. When we first look at the images of the event, it seems as if only men were at the opening of Federal Parliament, but a closer look reveals women and even a few children.

The streets of Melbourne were full of people wanting to participate in the festivities or enjoy their holidays. The Warnambool Standard reported on the 8 May 1901: ' The streets, or at any rate, Spring, Collins, Bourke and Elizabeth streets, were crowded to excess. In places, locomotion was so difficult that it took a quarter of an hour to travel a hundred yards .... Old and young - all were out for the evening. Devoted sons or daughters piloted aged and feeble parents, mothers carrying babes in arms deserved and won sympathy, and the affectionate fathers who led children through the throng had an anxious time.'

Large temporary arches were erected by Chinese and German communities, the dairy industry, councils and the state government. The Citizens Arch was funded through public subscription. Committees of residents and businesses took on responsibility for decorating sections of the city. Individual businesses and private homes were also decorated. There was both praise and criticism for the decoration of the city. The Weekly Times reported: ' While some people are saying, 'What a waste of money,' others of a more philosophical mind, point to the decorative effect with genuine satisfaction.... Certainly, much of the money expended has gone direct into the pockets of the workers. For weeks quite a small army of people have been engaged in shaping...ornamental devices.'

People travelled from all over Victoria to participate in a range of processions. There were two main royal processions, one on the arrival in St Kilda of the Duke and Duchess, and one along the route to the opening of Parliament at the Exhibition Building. The royal couple rode in an open carriage for the huge crowd to see them.

The Stockman's Procession and display of 'rough riding', on 7 May, involved around 200 stockmen from all parts of Victoria, including the Mallee, the Western District, the Riverina and the Gippsland region. The Argus described the procession: ' As they rode along with their stock whips cracking like the rattle of a Maxim gun, and the cooees passing from front to rear, a loud and spontaneous cheer arose from the immense crowds that lined the route of the march.'

On the same day there was a Chinese procession beginning in Little Bourke Street. It included Chinese dragons, and bands playing Chinese music. Newspapers often represented the Chinese community as exotic and strange. In April, the Argus had reported: ' The Chinese residents of the city are making great preparations for their procession, which has been fixed for Tuesday May 7. All the strange properties and mysterious paraphernalia which made past processions so weirdly attractive are being furbished up anew, while a number of gorgeous costumes and banners, just arrived from China, will be used for the first time.'

After the procession, the Riverine Herald described the procession: ' The two dragons were wonderful and marvellous constructions, hundreds of feet long, and wriggling in a most diabolical manner, with mouth open and the ears flapping to and fro.'

That evening around 1300 firemen, mostly from the Country Fire Brigades, took part in the Fire Brigades' Torchlight Procession. Each fireman held a lit torch, a spectacular sight for the crowds that lined the streets. The description in the Argus conjures up what it must have been like: ' At times the brightness of the stream of light on street level shot up the side of the buildings ... A curious effect was produced wherever this occurred. As the Venetian masts and the festoons of flags were between the light of the procession and the high grey walls of the streets, strange fantastic shadows flitted and danced in the yellow glare until it seemed that the whole place was a mass of fluttering flags and poles.'

On 11 May the Trades and Friendly Societies Procession was conducted. It featured fifteen friendly societies (representing around 100,000 members), Eight-hour Day committees and a diverse range of 77 different trade unions. The trades included tailoresses, ironmoulders, cigar makers, hairdressers' assistants, felt hatters and felt hat trimmers and binders, milkmen, clerks, bookbinders, professional orchestral musicians, undertakers' assistants, quarrymen, soap and candle makers, confectioners, glass blowers, stevedores, coach-makers and bakers. Interspersed were various marching bands, including the East Brunswick Brass Band, the Collingwood Imperial Band, The Yarraville Band, Sim's Fitzroy Military Band and the South Melbourne Military Band.

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Our Federation Journey - The Celebrations in May 1901

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'...down the narrow obscure lanes, in the humble homes of the poor, the loyal citizens had each done their best to play a part in the demonstration. By day, if it were only a tiny twopenny flag, it was something ... By night, a candle-lit kerosene tin, punched with holes to form a map of Australia [or] a crown...'

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Many arches were built to commemorate the event. What does the preponderance of arches tell us about the significance of the event. Read about the development of the arches to help you understand.

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Summary

The Commonwealth of Australia was inaugurated on 1st January 1901 in Centennial Park, Sydney. In March, elections were held for the new Federal Parliament, and in May the celebrations focused on Melbourne, where the first Federal Parliament was opened in the (Royal) Exhibition Building. This narrative describes the temporary street decorations installed for the celebrations.

'The arches rose over the great masses of the people in the gorgeousness of their colours like so many rainbows set against a cloudless sky. The senses were whirled away with the bewildering spectacle, and for moments together buildings, people and arches alike were blended in a dizzy hundred-tinted wave of colour.' (The Age, 7 May 1901)

When Australia became a nation in 1901, the occasion prompted a flurry of arch building. In May, nine temporary ceremonial arches were built in Melbourne, two in St Kilda and four in Ballarat. Even small towns like Rokewood joined in with simple arches of greenery.

On 1 January 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia was inaugurated in Sydney. Arches decorated the streets. Victoria's contribution was an arch declaring 'Melbourne rejoices in the Commonwealth'. With Victoria's major figures away in Sydney, the celebrations back home were generally restrained. No inauguration arches were built in Melbourne. Some towns and suburbs organised their own events. Sale held a procession and erected a small arch.

In May, Victoria became the centre of attention. The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York visited to open the first Commonwealth Parliament in the (Royal) Exhibition Building. This combined honour ensured great revelry in Melbourne and throughout Victoria. Brightly painted banners, fluttering flags and sparkling lights decorated the streets and buildings. New plaster and paint finishes gave timber arches the solid appearance of marble and stone. The elaborate and vividly coloured arches were finished with rich fabrics, gold trim and patriotic decorations.

For the May 1901 celebrations, the Prince's Bridge was transformed into an imposing gateway to Melbourne. The Municipal Arch was the centrepiece of the bridge decorations which also included Venetian flag poles and flaming towers. The Municipal Arch's design was described as "early Renaissance" or "Roman-Doric". Like the Commonwealth Arch in Sydney, it was similar to the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (1808) in Paris and the Marble Arch (1828) in London. All drew inspiration from Roman structures such as the Arch of Septimius Severus (203 AD) in Libya, and the Arch of Constantine (316 AD) in Rome. Following the Roman tradition, the arch was inscribed with mottoes and poetry. It included the Latin motto from the British Coat of Arms and lines by the poets Virgil and Tennyson. Extending from the arch was the bow of the "Austral", a Roman-style ship. The six oars were inscribed with the names of the States. A lion's head symbolised imperialism.

The arch was intended to stand for 12 months. A protective galvanised iron roof, and new finishes such as rubberoid and waterproof paint were used. Sadly, only two weeks after the celebrations ended, the Argus commented: ' The once beautiful arch on the bridge is daily becoming less and less beautiful, and the 'ravages of time' are likely soon to convert it into a disfigurement of the chief entrance to the city.'

Although it was a new nation, Australia had a British head of state, sang 'God Save the King' as its anthem and flew the Union Jack. Unlike the Sydney arches in January, the Melbourne arches had a strongly royal theme. The Victorian Government built arches to honour the King, the Duke and the late Queen Victoria. These were covered in royal symbols, images, colours and patriotic mottoes. Loyalty to the monarch was also obvious in the other arches and decorations. Table Talk's female columnist freely admitted that the 'revelry and pageantry' of the Commonwealth celebrations was really in honour of the royal couple.

Radical newspapers like Tocsin and the Bulletin criticised the 'grovel' made to the 'Jookoyork'. The Bulletin's female reporter in Melbourne complained: 'There was too much Cornwall-and-York and too little Commonwealth on all the mottoes and designs'. The cost was also criticised, as in this poem from the Bulletin:
And who will pay the bill?...
For the fireworks, gorge, and swill,
For the arch on the street and hill?
Why - the common people will!

We see what wonders can be worked with arches, what pleasure they give to the eye, what charming interruption to the skyline. Why not...discuss the advisability of erecting a permanent arch or two in granite or marble to be a beauty and a joy forever? (Table Talk, 2 May 1901)

From the late 1880s to the early 1920s, Australia was influenced by the City Beautiful movement. The movement, from the United States, sought to create beautiful and harmonious civic designs. It promoted classic Renaissance principles including the use of arches. Ballarat's Avenue of Honour Arch is a rare example of a permanent arch.

In 1901 Davis Syme, owner of the Age, began a fund to build a memorial to the late Queen Victoria. A marble version of the Municipal Arch was suggested. Donations were slow, indicating a lack of public support, and no arch eventuated.

During the Centenary of Federation in 2001 the Tattersall's Federation Arch will stand on the Princes Bridge, in the same spot as the Municipal Arch in 1901. Then it will be shifted to another location in Melbourne for 10 years. It acknowledges the use of Federation arches a century ago and, with a modern twist, keeps the tradition alive.

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Our Federation Journey - Celebrating with Arches

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'The arches rose over the great masses of the people in the gorgeousness of their colours like so many rainbows set against a cloudless sky. The senses were whirled away with the bewildering spectacle, and for moments together buildings, people and arches alike were blended in a dizzy hundred-tinted wave of colour.'