Australia, New Zealand and Federation, 1883-1901

This two-part essay began with a belief that it would be in keeping with the international mandate of the University of Edinburgh to mark the centenary of Australian federation with a public lecture from Scotland. When the University decided to charge for a lecture room, the event was held in the hospitable surroundings of the Royal OverSeas League on Princes Street, on 14 December 2000. From the distant and neutral perspective of Scotland, the lecture argued that it was impossible to account for the coming of federation in Australia without also explaining why New Zealand stood aloof. A revised version was published by the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies at king's College London in 2001. The origin of the project will explain (if not excuse) two features: its allusions to Scotland, and its concentration on surveying earlier research, since some of the Centennial literature had not then reached me.