AUSTRALIA SINCE FEDERATION, begins with the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 as an independent nation. (Note it was not an ‘end of the colony’ where the colonists returned to the home country and left the land to the indigenous people as later happened elsewhere). Shortly after women gained the right to vote. Australia “came of age” through its involvement in World War I, particularly with the Anzacs landing at Gallipoli in 1915. Following World War II, in which Australia came under threat from Japan, massive numbers of migrants arrived to make Australia their home. They have had a profound influence in shaping the modern Australia. Another landmark was the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in a referendum in 1967. In 2001 we commemorated the Centenary of Federation.
This most recent period embraces the lives and times of our grandparents, our parents and ourselves. Therefore we are part of history, we are making history, and in 2006 we will be commemorating our history
