Australia's Federation

Explore the unique journey that the Australian colonies took to federation, while discovering the importance of active citizenship.

Getting It Together is segmented into seven packages. The National Story package addresses the journey to Federation from a national perspective. There are also packages for each of the six Australian colonies.

Using historical sources such as newspaper extracts, cartoons, speeches and biographies, the packages examine the story of colonisation and the Australian Federation.  

Each package is divided into three themes:

• People and Places explores the way of life in each colony, prior to Federation.
• Road to Federation examines the political issues debated by colonial parliaments in deciding whether or not to join in Federation.
• Celebrations and Futures looks at the way Federation was celebrated in 1901 and its continuing importance today.

Teacher Guide

• Teacher Guide (3.9MB PDF)

The National Story

• Introduction (2.3MB PDF)
• People and Places (8.8MB PDF)
• Road to Federation (7MB PDF)
• Celebrations and Futures (6.3MB PDF)

New South Wales

• Introduction (2.3MB PDF)
• People and Places (5.7MB PDF)
• Road to Federation (6.8MB PDF)
• Celebrations and Futures (4.6MB PDF)

Victoria

• Introduction (2.3MB PDF)
• People and Places (5.7MB PDF)
• Road to Federation (5.5MB PDF)
• Celebrations and Futures (5.1MB PDF)

Queensland

• Introduction (2.3MB PDF)
• People and Places (7.5MB PDF)
• Road to Federation (4.5MB PDF)
• Celebrations and Futures (4.2MB PDF)

South Australia

• Introduction (2.3MB PDF)
• People and Places (6.6MB PDF)
• Road to Federation (5.6MB PDF)
• Celebrations and Futures (4.7MB PDF)

Western Australia

• Introduction (2.3MB PDF)
• People and Places (5.2MB PDF)
• Road to Federation (4.7MB PDF)
• Celebrations and Futures (3.4MB PDF)

Tasmania

• Introduction (2.3MB PDF)
• People and Places (4.4MB PDF)
• Road to Federation (3.7MB PDF)
• Celebrations and Futures (3.3MB PDF)

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