Federation HousePrint Page

Sir Richard Chaffey Baker's former house in the Lincoln College was restored and renamed Federation House to commemorate the centenary of Federation. 

Sir Richard took a strong interest in the proposed federation of the Australian colonies in the 1880s and 1890s, and prepared A Manual of Reference to Authorities for the Use of the Members of the Sydney Constitutional Convention, which was published early in 1891 and distributed at the convention of that year. It influenced to some extent the first draft of the Constitution of Australia, which was drawn up as a result of the 1891 convention. Baker continued his involvement throughout the decade, and was elected as a representative of South Australia at the 1897 convention, where he served as chairman of committees and as a member of the constitutional committee.

With the onset of federation in 1901, Baker left his post as President of the Legislative Council and chose instead to run for the Australian Senate as a Free Trade Party candidate. He was successful in this move, and when parliament met, was elected as the first President of the Australian Senate. He was re-elected in 1903, and retired from politics in 1906.

The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia agreed to unite and form the Commonwealth of Australia, establishing a system of federalism in Australia. They kept the systems of government (and the bicameral legislatures) that they had developed as separate colonies, but they also agreed to have a federal government that was responsible for matters concerning the whole nation. When the Constitution of Australia came into force, on 1 January 1901, the colonies collectively became states of the Commonwealth of Australia.

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