Federation Gallery
See the nation’s key constitutional documents in the
Federation Gallery at the National Archives of Australia in
Canberra. To help preserve them for future generations, they
are available for viewing at special events or as part of a booked
group. You can also view them online http://www.naa.gov.au/
visit-us/exhibitions/federation-gallery/index.aspx
These notes will introduce you to the exhibition and help you
and your class interpret it.
Teachers notes
The gallery and the exhibition
Significance
The documents that underpin our democracy are on
display together here for the first time in history. Australia’s
founding documents are as important in our constitutional
history as the Magna Carta in Britain or the Declaration of
Independence in the United States.
Unlike many nations, Australian states united without war
over the issue. These documents tell the story of how that
was achieved.
Gallery design
The gallery was opened in January 2001 by the then
prime minister, John Howard.
The gallery was purpose-built to display these documents
of national significance. Due to preservation restrictions
these documents are available for public viewing at
special events and for booked groups.
The gallery design communicates aspects of the
Australian landscape and identity:
• Australian timbers from each state and territory line
the entrance
• ‘Desert flower’, a Balarinji textile design, is used both
on wool carpeting and fabric wall panelling. Unique
to this gallery, it acknowledges the importance of
Indigenous beliefs and culture
• Red granite and stainless steel (in the Coat of Arms
display) symbolise Australia’s mineral wealth.
Inside the gallery
Inside the gallery, you will first see the Coat of Arms,
mounted on a vertical granite slab. Three flat display
cases contain Australia’s ‘birth certificates’:
• the red-ribboned Constitution Act and the ornate
Royal Commission of Assent
• the Letters Patent constituting the office of GovernorGeneral
• the Royal Proclamation of Inauguration Day.
Encased in the wall opposite are key charters of
constitutional change in Australia’s first 100 years:
• the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) Act
• the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act
• the Australia Act.
At the far end of the gallery is a space dedicated to the
interactive Constitution for a Nation, that tells the story of
10 tumultuous years (1890–1900) of the creation of the
Constitution.
Coat of Arms
Coats of arms date back to feudal times in Europe. They
evoke hand-held weapons – man-to-man combat. The
shield represented the power and kinship of its bearer,
and the virtues and achievements of the clan.
The first Australian Coat of Arms was granted in 1908 by
King Edward VII. Prime Minister Andrew Fisher marked
Australia’s tenth birthday by naming wattle as the national
flower and redesigning the Coat of Arms. On the shield,
the state emblems were added, and at the top, the sevenpointed star. The Royal Warrant for the new Coat of Arms
was granted in 1912 but did not mention the sprays of
wattle and other embellishments that continue to grace
our Coat of Arms.
Examine the Coat of Arms and interpret each emblem:
• Star – unity – six points for the states, and one for the
territories
• State badges mounted on coat of arms – colonial
identity:
New South Wales – lion on a St George’s cross,
with a star on each arm
Victoria – southern cross beneath a crown
Queensland – Maltese cross with a crown in its
centre
South Australia – piping shrike, erect, with wings
outstretched
Western Australia – black swan swimming
Tasmania – lion
• Native flora and fauna – uniquely Australian,
progressive spirit embodied in imagery (especially the
kangaroo and emu, which can only move forward).
Display case 1 – Constitution Act and Commission of
Assent
The Constitution Act and its Commission of Assent
originated in England. These documents created the
Commonwealth of Australia.
The Constitution Bill was passed by British parliament in
1900, uniting six British colonies as the Commonwealth
of Australia. For the constitution to be legally binding – for
it to become an Act – it needed the authority or assent of
the monarch of the time, Queen Victoria. Her signature
can be seen at the top of the document.
The Constitution is a living charter that shapes – and is
shaped by – the Australian nation, our government, and
us, the people of Australia. In contrast, the Commission of
Assent is ceremonial. Its function is to confer monarchal
authority on the Australian nation.
The writing surface of the Commission of Assent is a
specially treated parchment, or vellum, made from animal
skin (usually goat, calf or sheep). Europeans have been
writing manuscripts on vellum for over 2000 years. With
proper care, it lasts longer than paper, and it has beautiful
qualities of colour, texture and luminosity (glow).
The ornate silver case with the Royal Arms and silk tassels
contains Queen Victoria’s seal. By attaching this seal to a
document, the monarch indicates that he or she will abide
by it. The seal denotes the authority of the Crown, and
cannot be separated from the document.
A bit like a job description, the Letters Patent establishes
and defines the office of Governor-General.
This change meant that Indigenous Australians would be
counted in the national census and it gave the Australian
parliament the power to make laws for all Australians.
As the Queen’s representative in Australia, the GovernorGeneral can assent to laws in her stead. (You will see
evidence of this in the wall display opposite.)
These slight amendments had a powerful effect. In effect,
they eliminated the discrimination against Aboriginal
people that was in the Constitution.
Display case 2 – Letters Patent and seal
Australia’s first eight governors-general were chosen by
the monarch on the advice of the British government.
But since the appointment of Melbourne-born Isaac
Isaacs in 1931, Australia’s Prime Minister has chosen the
Governor-General. We may take this for granted today,
but this change reflected a growing confidence in the
young nation.
The constitutional power of the Governor-General
was made clear in 1975, when John Kerr dismissed
the government of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
The powers he exercised were originally laid down in
the Letters Patent signed by Queen Victoria and the
Constitution Act.
The Letters Patent manuscript is hand-written on
parchment. It has an ornate printed border – printed
before the calligraphy – of symbolic imagery, with origins
in classical Greek legends and the tradition of northern
European heraldry.
Queen Victoria’s seal is attached to the Letters Patent,
and can be seen here outside its case. On one side of the
seal, the Queen is shown on the throne. On the other, she
is shown much younger, on horseback. The two sides of
the seal are made in moulds from a mixture of wax and
shellac – it looks a bit like clay. They are then heated and
the ribbon is sandwiched in between.
2. Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942
The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 declared
the independence of Australia under the Crown, making
the Australian parliament the equal of Britain’s. From then,
our laws could no longer be overruled by an act of the
British parliament.
Britain adopted the Balfour Declaration in 1929, declaring
in the Statute of Westminster that the dominions and
Britain were ‘free and equal’. In Australia, some ministers
favoured continued close ties to Britain, so Australia did
not ratify the Statute of Westminster until 1942.
Enactment of this law also allowed Prime Minister John
Curtin to establish Australia’s own diplomatic service
during World War II, rather than operating through the
British Foreign Office.
3. Australia Act 1986
The Australia Act defines Australia as a ‘sovereign,
independent and federal nation’ and is a further stage
of Australia’s independence.
This Act enabled Australian law to become independent
of British parliaments and courts – no more appeals to
the Privy Council in London. The Act also meant that laws
passed by the British parliament did not apply anywhere
in Australia.
Display case 3 – Proclamation
By the document displayed here – The Royal
Proclamation of Inauguration Day 1900 – Queen Victoria
fixed the date for the creation of the Commonwealth of
Australia.
The Queen was 81 years of age when she put her seal
and signature to this document on 17 September 1900.
Queen Victoria died on 23 January 1901, only weeks
after the Inauguration Day celebrations. An official state
of mourning was declared, and was still being observed
at the opening of the first parliament in Melbourne on
9 May 1901.
Wall display – key charters since 1901
1. Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967 Act
Resulting from a referendum in 1967, the Constitution
Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967 Act is part of the struggle to
achieve equal rights for Indigenous Australians.
Australia’s Constitution can be amended only as the result
of a referendum that gains approval of a majority of voters
in a majority of states, and by a majority of all voters.
This is one of only eight changes we have approved
during our Constitution’s first century.
Conservation
The National Archives is committed to ensuring the future
survival of the documents as well as encouraging and
facilitating Australians access to them. New preservation
research techniques measure the impact of light on
documents. Consequently, the gallery now opens for
special public viewing days, and for group and school
bookings.
Temperature and humidity controls inside the gallery
protect the documents against deterioration – parchment
tends to want to return to the shape from which it came.
Light levels are kept as low as possible, to reduce the
risk of the documents fading while they are on display.
Lighting is movement-activated, so a slight increase in
the light level occurs when visitors are in the space. Each
floating case contains a blue wool-fading strip, used to
monitor the effect of light exposure on the case contents.
The Federation Gallery is a high security area, with
surveillance cameras, highly sensitive smoke detectors
and reinforced glass cases.