Tenterfield Oration

The Tenterfield Oration was a speech given by Sir Henry Parkes at the Tenterfield School of Arts, New South Wales, Australia on 24 October, 1889 advocating the Federation of the six Australian colonies, which were at the time self-governed but under the distant central authority of the British Colonial Secretary.

The town of Tenterfield suffered from the disunited administration of the States, as it was distant from the New South Wales state capital of Sydney and rather closer to commercial centres across the border in Queensland. Border importation tariffs were imposed by Queensland at this time and people in neighbouring districts were strongly in favour of free trade.

The primary reason Parkes gave for Federation in the Tenterfield Oration was the united defence of the Australian continent.

An excerpt from the speech follows: SIR HENRY PARKES AT TENTERFIELD BANQUET TO THE PREMIER

Sir HENRY PARKES, who was received with applause, said, in reply… "General Edwards had also advised that the forces of the various colonies should be federated for operation in unison in the event of war, so as to act as one great federal army. If an attack were made upon any of the colonies, it might be necessary for us to bring all our power to bear on one spot of the coast. More, however, was necessary if they were to have the federal system, so strongly recommended, and which must appeal to the sense of every intelligent man. … There were two very important questions to which their attention ought to be directed. They must have heard something of the Federal Council … if they were to carry out the recommendations of General Edwards, it would be absolutely necessary for them to have one central authority, which could bring all the forces of the different colonies into one army. Some colonial statesmen had said that this might be done by means of the Federal Council; but this Federal Council had no power to do anything of the sort, as it was not an elective body, but merely a body appointed by the Governments of the various colonies. … The great question which they had to consider was, whether the time had not now arisen for the creation on this Australian continent of an Australian Government … Australia had now a population of three and a half millions, and the American people numbered only between three and four millions when they formed the great commonwealth of the United States. The numbers were about the same, and surely what the Americans had done by war, the Australians could bring about in peace. (Cheers.) Believing as he did that it was essential to preserve the security and integrity of these colonies that the whole of their forces should be amalgamated into one great federal army, feeling this, and seeing no other means of attaining the end, it seemed to him that the time was close at hand when they ought to set about creating this great national government for all Australia. This subject brought them face to face with another subject. They had now, from South Australia to Queensland, a stretch of about 2,000 miles of railway, and if the four colonies could only combine to adopt a uniform gauge, it would be an immense advantage to the movement of troops. These were the two great national questions which he wished to lay before them. … He believed that the time had come, and if two Governments set an example, the others must soon of necessity follow, and they would have an uprising in this fair land of a goodly fabric of free Government, and all great national questions of magnitude affecting the welfare of the colonies would be disposed of by a fully authorised constitutional authority, which would be the only one which could give satisfaction to the people represented. This meant a distinct executive and a distinct parliamentary power, a government for the whole of Australia and it meant a Parliament of two Houses, a house of commons and a senate, which would legislate on these great subjects."

Sir Henry Parkes at Tenterfield, 24 October 1889, reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, 25 October 1889, p. 8.