[Archive] The First Federation Conference [NZ]

[australia]

The First Federation Conference
6 February 1890
Victorian Parliament

Fidgeting in his seat, Alex sat impatiently, which was unusual for him, waiting for all the representatives to arrive. Having already heard what Parkes was going to say, he was nervous and excited for the prospect of Parkes’s idea potentially taking wing today.

Federation. Quite a strange concept to be honest. It would mean that he would have his own government, his own parliament with a Senate and a House of Representatives. Before a few months ago when Parkes had brought it up in a meeting with Alex and the New South Wales Governor, he hadn’t even considered this idea. To split from the rule of the British Government was quite an outlandish thought but with national pride growing every day, perhaps this just might work, he thought.

He liked the thought of being a country rather than a bunch of colonies stranded in the middle of nowhere. Also if he became a country, Fiji and New Zealand would join him. They wouldn’t live with him, per say, but they would be one with him. It was a nice thought. But before he could think about the possible problems, a sharp nudge interrupted his thoughts.

It was from the current Premier of New South Wales, Henry Parkes. He gave Alex a firm look telling him to not slouch and pay attention to the ‘guests’ who were arriving. Even in his old age, Parkes managed to keep a sharp and firm look about him. Age didn’t mellow the man at all, much to Alex’s disappointment. Since New South Wales and Victoria were the main and largest colonies on his land, he spent most of his time bouncing between there. Which meant he was more or less always under the guidance of Parkes or Gillies.

Speak of the devil, Victorian Premier Duncan Gillies entered the room with an air that only an ex-businessman could possess. An air of cool confidence followed him as he sat down to engage in small talk with the other ‘guests’ who had arrived.

Parkes must have also noticed the Victorian Premier as he was getting up to walk over to the man. Taking a few steps towards Gillies, Parkes froze for a second as if he just remembered that he was leaving a very impatient nation behind. Half turning, he looked Alex directly in the eye as he spoke,

“Alexander, I expect you remain here whilst I have a chat with Premier Gillies. I don’t want you causing any unnecessary hassle here. If another nation comes you can go off an have a chat but other than that stay here and keep out of trouble’s way. Also, stop playing with your cufflinks.”

“I got it, mate.”

Watching the old man walk away, Alex rolled his eyes at him with a fond smile on his face. Honestly, the man treated him like he was a child. He wasn’t that young, despite what his looks said. And as to him playing with the cufflinks, he just couldn’t help it. The suit was stuffy and it was all stiff. Also the heat wasn’t helping either. It just made him sweat and made the suit stick to him even more. However before he could truly get annoyed, again he was quite rudely interrupted from his thoughts but this time it was even more quickly forgiven once he saw the source of the commotion. Over the line of Representatives from all over, he saw a very familiar blond head.

[New Zealand]

Will yawned as they walked to the Victorian Parliament where they were to start a Conference about combining the six colonies of Australia, and New Zealand into one nation. Fiji had been mentioned as well, but he wasn't sure how interested Fiji was in taking part in this or if representatives from there had made it to Melbourne. The suit he was wearing itched, but thankfully wasn't completely unbearable in the heat. He was walking behind Captain William Russell and Sir John Hall, the representatives his boss had chosen to send to this conference.

Captain Russell used to be part of the British Army before he left in 1862 and became a sheep farmer like Will himself. Will had to give up his farm eventually, but he kept the section with the farm house and his sheep merged with his neighbours's flocks and they farmed the rest of Will's land. He wasn't sure if Captain Russell had to give up his farm as well, or if his family tended it in his absence. He decided that he might ask him that question someday.

Sir John Hall was also a sheep farmer before becoming a politician, and he was even Prime Minister a decade ago for a term. Both farmers were more than qualified to represent his people at this conference. Being a farmer was something that helped the three of them relate to each other aside from them being politicians and Will being their nation. Will couldn't relate to them on age seeing as he looked like a teenager despite being centuries old. Only fifty of those years had been officially counted by anyone seeing as it was fifty years ago today that the Treaty had been signed.

Will thought the idea of him and Alex combining their nations and people was interesting, but he also wondered if he and Alex would remain equal, or if Alex expected to become Will's boss. At present he considered Alex his brother, but he wondered if he could continue to do that should Alex become his boss.

"William." Captain Russell's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and the three of them stopped walking. By now they had reached the Parliament building, and could see representatives from Australia's other colonies arriving.

"Yes, Sir?" Will said, and Captain Russell continued to speak.

"I expect you to be on your best behaviour today, and not to cause trouble among the delegation. We will clarify anything you don't understand during breaks, and if you disagree on what's discussed we will listen. If there are other nations present you can spend time with them during the meeting if you choose to do so."

"I understand." Will said with a sigh. Just because he looked like a teenager doesn't mean they had to treat him like one. "I'll do my best not to cause any trouble."

Sir Hall seemed to pick up on how Will was feeling, and smiled at him. He pulled a small box out of his pocket and gave it to Will. Will opened it, and was amazed! Inside was a pair of cufflinks that looked to be set with greenstone!

"This is from both of us." Sir Hall said. "Happy Birthday, William."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Will removed the cufflinks he was wearing and replaced them with the new ones, and put the old ones into the box. He put the box in his pocket, and felt happier than he did before they arrived.

They then entered the building with the rest of the representatives from the other colonies, and made their way to the room where the conference was being held. Will noticed someone very familiar among the people gathered there, and excused himself before going over to see him.

"Hey, Alex!"

---

* The first day of this Conference was February 6th, 1890. February 6th is the day the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 so that day was the 50th anniversary of its signing (and also Will's birthday).
* Captain William Russell had a long political career, and later became the Leader of the Opposition.
* Sir John Hall was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1878 to 1881, and became Mayor of Christchurch for five months in November 1906.
* A lot of early politicians in New Zealand were farmers, and they eventually evolved into the National Party which still has strong roots in rural communities in the present.
* Sorry I took so long with this post! D:

[australia]

“Hey Will!”

Alex called out over the crowd of chatting politicians as he stood up abruptly. He was pretty sure that Will had already seen him and probably had called out but it didn’t hurt to make sure right? With a smile in place and one hand already waving, he started to bound over to the other nation. Bloody hell, it had been a while since he saw the other nation and damn straight he missed Will. The only thing between him and Will were a bunch of old men that Alex simply tried to wade through.

But before he could get to the nation on his mind, Alex was stopped by a hand grasping his shoulder firmly. For half a second, Alex considered simply brushing the hand off but from how it tightened like it had sensed his train of thought, he wasn’t getting off that easily. Looking over his shoulder, he was greeted with a face full of a displeased Henry Parkes.

Fine, maybe he could have walked around the gaggle of old men but it was so much quicker to walk through the crowd. With a sigh, he resigned himself to the fate of being scold so he turned completely to face the heat.

“Whoops, I forgot about the no causin’ hassle part? Oh c’mon, mate. Zea is here and I haven’t seen him in a while. You did say I could talk to other nations.” Alex finished off his little attempt of getting out of this mess with a hopeful smile and puppy eyes but Parkes didn’t fall for it. The old man simply raised an eyebrow and looked expectantly at him.

“Fine, I’m sorry for pushin’ past all the Pollies here. But look at them, they don’t seem to mind all that much. They’re too busy chattin’ amongst themselves, mate.” Immediately after saying that, Alex froze for a moment thinking that maybe the last part was unnecessary. Oh well, he thought, no use crying over spilt milk.

Well good for Alex, Parkes must have been somewhat satisfied with the apology as he was now just looking exasperated. Taking a deep breath to settle himself, Parkes spoke, looking Alex in the eyes. “Alexander, you represent most of all colonies here today. Hold yourself with more dignity. And don’t just push past people, walk around them unless it is an emergency. William isn’t going to disappear if you take your time walking over to him. And on the topic of William, did you get him anything?”

Standing in front of Parkes, Alex furrowed his brows, trying to figure out what possible occasion it must be that required him getting Will something. Unless…

“Is it the 6th of February by any chance?”

It was almost like Parkes had already foreseen this as he simply took out a small box out of his inner coat pocket. “Alexander, you buffoon. Do you ever pay attention when I talk to you? I told you a week ago. And yes, it is the 6th of February, William’s birthday to be precise. Now I got him a pocket watch, I figured you might of forgotten. Give it to him and say it’s from you. Now run along and this time, don’t cause trouble for real.”

“Thanks, mate! I will do!” Taking the small box, Alex went around the group of old men and then went straight to William. Skipping over to the blonde, he threw an arm around his back and drew him in for a hug. “Will! Long to no see, mate!”

---

*Sir Henry Parkes was the premier of NSW and is the Father of Federation. He was also considered to be the most commanding figure in Australian Politics at the time.
*I'm sorry for not writing little notes under the first post. Didn't know you were supposed to do that.
*And though my computer isn't fixed, my cousin has been kind enough to lend me her laptop while my computer is being fixed!

[New Zealand]

Will was standing on one side of the room, and the two politicians he'd arrived with had disappeared into the group of politicians from the Australian colonies. Still no sign of Fiji or any delegates from there so maybe they couldn't make it to the meeting. He could see Alex on the other side of the group of politicians, well, more accurately he could see the two spikes of Alex's hair over the top of the politicians. He wondered if any of the other colonies were present like New South Wales or Victoria, and looked around to see if there were any sign of them or the other colonies but there weren't. Alex must be representing all of them as a whole which made sense since he'd be their representative if they do decide to become one nation. Whether Will would fall into line beside them would be up to his people. He just hoped that everyone would be happy with what they decide since the last decision like this brought him into the British Empire and started 20 years of war with England. He may be older now, but he didn't want to jump into 20 more years of war, least of all against Australia.

He was soon jolted out of his thoughts by Alex, who'd grabbed him for a hug when he wasn't expecting it. Alex was as warm and friendly as always, but today he was excited too and Will couldn't blame him. If all went well here someday he would be representing at least the colonies of his land as one unified nation.

"Yeah, far too long bro! How've you been?" Had Arthur been here he probably would've told him off for blending words together like that and bastardising the English language or something. Oh well, Arthur wasn't here so he didn't care about the potential for being scolded, and everyone in his country seemed to be experimenting with the language anyway and making it their own. Will noticing it and changing how he spoke English was only a matter of time.

"No sign of Fiji yet, eh! I wonder if they're coming to the conference or not." Will said. It would've been nice if Fiji had been there for the conference, but it was a much longer trip for Fiji to come to the conference than it was for Will. Never mind. It meant that he and Alex can spend time catching up while the politicians from the different colonies talked about this federation thing, and it also looked like they were just about ready to start.

---

* No worries about notes! I use them for OOC stuff and historical facts. ^^
* Sorry I took so long to reply! D:

[australia]

Still refusing to let Will out of his death-grip of a hug, Alex got ready to give his long time friend a noogie but one firm look from Parkes, who managed to still be intimidating from the other side of the room, stopped him in his tracks. So he stopped after the intial hug and shot Will another beaming smile. Turning to cut off the old man from his line of view, Alex only half-heard what William was saying at him.

“Er, that’s great, mate! Sounds like it was a beauty!” Alex’s words came out far more rushed than planned as he hastily covered up for his lack of attention. His hands were in his pockets, moving the little box around waiting for the opportunity to give it but how to say it? Usually with his colonies he’d just throw them the gift and yank them into a bear hug. But as his colonies started to make more overseas relations, he’d been getting lessons on being politically correct and just having manners from Arthur. Though he didn’t really pay any real attention so he opted for winging it at the next best opportunity.

“Fiji? Oh righty, I think Fiji might come later or something… I don’t think she really wants a part in federation. She’s a tough sheila that one. Maneater and all. Hey Will, if I didn’t know better, I’d think she didn’t like me being around at all!” Alex might have been unintentionally onto something but he dismissed it. Fiji and him were like siblings, no way she’d not want him around.

The chattering began to die down and one sweep over the room gave away that the meeting was just about to start. Figuring it was now or never, he pulled out his hand from his pocket with the box and pressed it to Will’s hand as he walked off. Leaning forward, he spoke quickly,

“Happy Birthday Will. Now I think the meeting is starting. We should go right?”

Walking over to his section with all his colonies premiers, Alex had a bit of a dilema on where to sit. He couldn’t really show favouritism towards any of his colonies but Victoria and New South Wales were the biggest of them all. So down he sat, in between both Parkes and Gillies in a sandwich as the meeting proceeded.

The meeting began with whether it was the right time or not for federation. For a while the men debated with delegates from his colonies South Australia and New South Wales claiming that their respective colonies weren’t fond of the idea. Alex would have been lying if he said that he didn’t feel a little hurt but once he heard the explanation he though, fair enough. He didn’t agree but he thought, fair enough. The tariffs between colonies would have to be abolished and some of them weren’t fond of losing that form of income.

Then it was William’s delegates to give their countries views on the whole federation business. The meeting hadn’t been in the favour of federating so far so he hoped maybe a good word from William’s group could boost morale.

---

-My head canon is that Fiji is a girl
-Also my headcanon is that Australia's relationship with Fiji is pretty much very rocky with a lot of one-sided liking on Australia's side.
-South Australia and New South Wales were the main ones to not like the concept of federation at first.
-Also sorry for taking so long...

[New Zealand]

"Thanks, bro!" Will said as Alex gave him the present before going to sit down with his representatives. He looked around for his own two representatives, and sat down next to them. He took a quick look at his present before the meeting began, and decided to thank Alex when it was break time. He wasn't sure how this meeting was going to go, and whether the individual colonies wanted to become one nation or not. Well, he'd find out soon enough.

He listened as the different colonies presented their views on Federation and while it seemed like the idea of Federation was being received okay, there were specific concerns the Australian colonies had, especially South Australia and New South Wales.Will could relate to some of the concerns of those colonies as they were concerns his people also had, and he had a few more personal concerns that his representatives possibly weren't aware of. Not that he needed to trouble them with those unless he's asked.

Captain Russell got up to speak, and began to explain New Zealand's view on Federation. He explained that the experience of colonisation and settlement was completely different to what the settlers in Australia experienced: having to clear away vegetation just to get clear space to build buildings; the struggles to settle and co-exist peacefully alongside the Maori while respecting the Maori's right to their tribal lands, and the fact that the new federal Government of a unified Australasia might not understand the effort required to maintain that peaceful balance. Will agreed with all of that.

He also explained that while an unified navy would be a great thing, an unified army would not due to the distance between New Zealand and Australia. Help from either nation would take days to get there, and the risk of an invading force taking over before aid can come is potentially great. He then mentioned that agreeing to drop trading tariffs between New Zealand and Australia could potentially damage New Zealand's ability to gain revenue from trade, and was concerned that the colonies that have the highest population would put pressure on the smaller colonies to see things their way when it came to lawmaking.

Finally, he suggested that it should be an union of Australia rather than an union of Australasia, but still allow for the possibility of the countries agreeing to merge in the future. Will thought that a merger like that could never happen even in the future because their countries were just too different, but an open invitation to become part of Australia in the future if they chose to do so sounded all right to him.

Will hoped they would consider Captain Russell's ideas and opinions since they were good and feasible, and fair reasons not to become part of an unified Australia. He hoped that they would hear more from the other colonies on this and come to some kind of decision overall by the end of these early talks.

---

* I found the minutes of this meeting on the Australian Parliament website which really helped with who was doing what when.
* Sorry for taking so long! o: