When did Australia become independent from the UK?

Answer 1

Australia has never official been fully independent, even to this day the head of state is the British Monarch which is represented by the Governor-General. Though Australia was declared an official country and not a colony of Britain in 1901.

Answer 2

Australia is not a city: it is a country and a continent.

For information on when Australia became an independent country, see the related question below, as the answer is quite complicated.

Answer 3

In 1834, British Parliament passed the South Australian Colonisation Act. Adelaide, capital of South Australia, was founded by Colonel Light in 1836. Light was the first Surveyor-General of South Australia. He arrived in South Australia in 1836 to decide on a suitable site for a new settlement, which would be the first in that region of Australia. The first settlers, all of whom were free settlers, arrived in 1836, accompanied by Governor John Hindmarsh. South Australia is the only state in Australia not to have been founded by convicts.

South Australia was officially proclaimed on 19 February 1836 in England. The Old Gum Tree at Glenelg North, South Australia, was the location of the reading of the Proclamation by Governor Hindmarsh on 28 December 1836.

Answer 4

Australia's independence was been achieved over a period of some 85 years.

Prior to 1901, Australia was made up of six self-governing colonies; New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania. These colonies were under British rule from the time the First Fleet landed, in 1788, until 1901. Numerous politicians and influential Australians through the years had pushed for federation of the colonies, and self-government. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved and the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed by Australia's first Governor-General, John Hope, at Centennial Park in Sydney. This gave Australia the right to govern itself.

Although the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia came into effect at Federation, this did not mean that Australia was now independent of Britain. When the UK approved colonial federation, it simply meant that the six self-governing states of Australia allocated some functions to a federal authority. Australia gained the status of a Dominion, which meant it remained a self-governing colony within the British Empire, with the Head of State being the British monarch. The British government appointed Australia's Governor-General and State Governors, who answered to the British government.

All Dominions within the British Empire were declared "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations" at the Imperial Conference of 1926. The Statute of Westminster 1931 ratified the discussions of the Imperial Conference. This meant that Australia and other Dominions such as South Africa, New Zealand and Canada could now conduct treaties and agreements with foreign powers, and manage their own military strategies. No longer were the Australian Governor-General, Parliament and individual governors answerable to the UK. The British monarch could only act on the advice of the Australian Government, and the Governor-General was no longer appointed by and answerable to the British monarch.

The defeat of the large British garrison at Singapore in January 1942 came as a very unwelcome shock to the Australian government. It exposed the weakness of Britain and led Australia to seek much closer ties with the US and it was felt that for this the country needed full independence; hence the date for activating the 1931 Statute of Westminster. Australian Parliament formally adopted the Statute of Westminster 1931 under the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, on 9 October 1942.

Australia reached the next stage of independence on 3 March 1986, when the Australia Acts came into effect. The Australia Acts declared that Australia had the status of a Sovereign, Independent and Federal Nation. The nation still retains Elizabeth II as head of state, but her position as Australia's head of state is a completely separate position from her position as the head of state of any other country, including the UK. What the Australia Act effectively did was remove the ability of the British Government to make laws for Australia and removed the last legal link with the UK by abolishing the right of appeal to the judicial committee of the Privy Council. Also it was not until 1988 that the last state, Queensland, removed this from their statutes as well.

Some might say Australia is still on a path to independence as the country is still technically ruled by the British monarchy, even though that monarchy does not have any right to interfere with Australian laws. There will always be those who disagree with the above, as it could be said that Australia received independence in varying degrees.

Answer 5

The process of Australia gaining independence from Britain was a gradual one, beginning with Federation, when the six states came together as one federated nation, under an Australian Prime Minister. This occurred on 1 January 1901 and gave Australia the right to govern itself. Australia gained the status of a Dominion, which meant it remained a self-governing colony within the British Empire, with the Head of State being the British monarch. The British government appointed Australia's Governor-General and State Governors, who answered to the British government.

All Dominions within the British Empire were declared "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations" at the Imperial Conference of 1926. The Statute of Westminster 1931 ratified the discussions of the Imperial Conference. This meant that Australia and other Dominions such as South Africa, New Zealand and Canada could now conduct treaties and agreements with foreign powers, and manage their own military strategies. No longer were the Australian Governor-General, Parliament and individual governors answerable to the UK. The British monarch could only act on the advice of the Australian Government, and the Governor-General was no longer appointed by and answerable to the British monarch.

The defeat of the large British garrison at Singapore in January 1942 came as a very unwelcome shock to the Australian government. It exposed the weakness of Britain and led Australia to seek much closer ties with the US and it was felt that for this the country needed full independence; hence the date for activating the 1931 Statute of Westminster. Australian Parliament formally adopted the Statute of Westminster 1931 under the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, on 9 October 1942.

Australia reached the next stage of independence on 3 March 1986, when the Australia Acts came into effect. The Australia Acts declared that Australia had the status of a Sovereign, Independent and Federal Nation. The nation still retains Elizabeth II as head of state, but her position as Australia's head of state is a completely separate position from her position as the head of state of any other country, including the UK. What the Australia Act effectively did was remove the ability of the British Government to make laws for Australia and removed the last legal link with the UK by abolishing the right of appeal to the judicial committee of the Privy Council. Also it was not until 1988 that the last state, Queensland, removed this from their statutes as well.

Answer 6

The Commonwealth of Australia became an independent nation on January 1, 1901.