A MULTICULTURAL NATION
At the turn of the century, Australia was already multicultural. While the majority of the settlers were from the British Isles, a significant number also came from other countries in Europe as well as from China. This was largely a result of the gold rushes.

When Australia became a nation, all of these ethnic groups were involved in the celebrations, for they too became Australian subjects. In this image we can see the contribution made by the Chinese community in Melbourne to the street parades. Only two years later, the Chinese were excluded from voting as a result of the Naturalisation Act of 1903, which denied non-European migrants the right to citizenship.

"Chinese dragon on parade in Melbourne", 1901. By permission of the National Library of Australia.

POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE -
THE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT
The opening of Federal Parliament was immortalised for all Australians by an official painting by Tom Roberts. Roberts was, of course, a very popular painter at the time. As a member of the Heidelberg School he was seen as a painter who depicted Australia through Australian eyes. Roberts' painting now hangs in Parliament House. The reproduction here (image 1, above) is of one of Roberts' preparatory sketches, now held in the collection of the National Library of Australia. At the time, many prints were made of the painting. These were framed and sent to public places like schools. You can see an example of this in this exhibition.

The opening of parliament in Melbourne in May 1901 was also celebrated with a series of parties, just like the celebrations of Federation in Sydney. There were lots of occasions, from street parades to horse racing such as this Royal Review at Flemington. Racing was already a popular pastime in Australia and here it was made into a 'national' event by the presence of the King's representatives. Parliament House - Melbourne's Exhibition building -was decorated for the event.