Did South West Australia vote 'for' or 'against' Federation?

Answer 1

Southwestern Australia was the one region in Australia that was against Federation. There were fears that, being so far away, the residents would be largely left out of major issues affecting the rest of Australia, so they did not feel they stood to gain much from Federation. When it looked like Western Australia was going to refuse to join the Federation, the goldfields area considered separating from the rest of the colony and joining the eastern states. Western Australia held back from agreeing to join the federation as Premier and former explorer John Forrest wanted to ensure the economic security of the state, given its distance from the more highly populated eastern states. Western Australia itself was divided over the decision to join, as the people of Albany pushed to be included as part of South Australia, rather than aligning themselves with Perth and Fremantle. Despite this, Forrest's 31 July 1900 referendum on whether the Western Australians wished to join the rest of the commonwealth was resoundly accepted throughout the state. Even in Albany, 914 voted "yes" and 67 voted "no".

Answer 2

Tasmania voted entirely in favour of Federation. They had a history of this, as they were quite desparate not to be left out - when federation along the New Zealand constitutional model was first proposed by Colonial Secretary Lord Grey in 1849, the only colony to be enthusiastic was Van Diemen's Land (later Tasmania), as it saw it had no future if left isolated. Even the description of Australia was telling up to federation - Australia and Tasmania. There was no chance they would miss this bus in 1900. Further information: Tasmanian politicians were very much in favour of Federation, although it took awhile for the people to get caught up in the fervour and benefits. Tasmania's interest in the idea was even greater than that of New South Wales. The politicians' interest originated from the time Tasmania became self-governing in the 1850s. It was fuelled by the goldrushes in Victoria, as this event actually created an economic disadvantage for Tasmania. At the same time as Victoria's wealth was being fed by the goldrushes, the Victorian government adopted a protectionist policy. Tasmania felt this most keenly, as Victoria was its nearest neighbour. Federation, which would mean free and more available trade across state borders, would be to Tasmania's benefit.