Nationhood
Creation of Australia
01 January 1901
Australia becomes a nation when 6 British colonies unite. This moment is known as Federation.
Australia was proclaimed an independent nation on 1 January 1901 in a ceremony in Centennial Park, Sydney. About 100 000 spectators watched as Queen Victoria’s proclamation was read and the first Governor-General of Australia, Lord Hopetoun, was sworn-in. The first ministry, led by Prime Minister Sir Edmund Barton, was also sworn-in after a 21-gun salute.
The procession to the ceremony was cheered on by up to 500 000 people. The route was decorated with elaborate Federation arches and decorations. Australians celebrated around the country with processions, parades, school pageants, firework displays, sporting events and special dinners.
Five months later the Australian Parliament opened for the first time in a lavish ceremony in the Exhibition Building, Melbourne. Victoria’s Parliament House served as the temporary home for Parliament until 1927, when Provisional Parliament House opened in the new national capital, Canberra.