Summary

A pictorial souvenir published by E Whitehead & Co, Melbourne, to commemorate the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901.

Australia became a nation when the six self-governing colonies united in 1901. The Commonwealth of Australia was inaugurated on 1 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.

Physical Description

Small paper booklet. Front cover printed in full cover features a photograph of Queen Victoria in the lower left hand corner, the new state crests on a gold band and text. The inside is populated with black and white images, including portraits of the Duke & Duchess of Cornwall and York, Lord and Lady Hopetoun, the first federal parliamentarians, the desk on which the constitution was signed, etc. There is also a map of Australia and a table with data about population, revenue, public debt, etc for each new state.

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