Why is Henry Parkes called the Father of Federation?
Henry Parkes is called the Father of Federation because his 1889 Tenterfield Oration launched the campaign to unite the Australian colonies into one nation. He was Premier of New South Wales five times.
Born in England in 1815, Parkes arrived in Sydney in 1839 as a poor immigrant. He worked as an ivory turner, journalist and newspaper owner before entering politics in 1854.
On 24 October 1889, at the School of Arts in Tenterfield, northern New South Wales, Parkes called for a national government, especially for defence. The speech sparked a series of conferences on Federation.
The conventions
Parkes chaired the 1890 Federation Conference in Melbourne and the 1891 National Australasian Convention in Sydney, which produced the first draft constitution.
He died in 1896, five years before the Commonwealth was created, and so never saw the nation he helped inspire. His leadership passed to Edmund Barton.
As premier, Parkes also reformed education through the Public Instruction Act of 1880, which made schooling compulsory and moved toward free, secular state education. He supported Florence Nightingale-trained nurses for Sydney Hospital and helped establish parks and public institutions.
Did You Know?
The town of Parkes in New South Wales, home of a famous radio telescope, is named after him.