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Clip description
The Commonwealth of Australia is inaugurated on 1 January 1901. Alfred Deakin is sworn in as attorney-general.
Curator’s notes
A priceless piece of archival footage. The only known moving image of Alfred Deakin is a fleeting glimpse of him during the inauguration of the Australian Commonwealth. Deakin was largely responsible for drafting the Australian Constitution and was appointed to the second-highest position of attorney-general in Edmund Barton’s provisional government.
Given the scarcity of moving images of Deakin, this clip makes effective use of still images and drawings and what archival footage does exist. It also relies heavily on voice-over narration to convey information, which was typical of television documentaries from this time. Roger Climpson adopts a warm and authoritative tone that helps maintain the audience’s interest while he imparts a considerable amount of factual information.
The footage is a reminder of how peacefully Australia made the transition from a collection of British colonies to a self-governing Commonwealth. Australia, which remains in the Commonwealth of Nations (formerly known as the British Commonwealth), is one of the world’s longest-running uninterrupted democracies.
