1) Before 1901, Australia existed as six separate British colonies that came together to form the nation of Australia through a federation. 2) Henry Parkes, the Premier of New South Wales, was instrumental in advocating for Australian federation and convincing the other colony leaders to discuss forming a nation. 3) There was some concern from the smaller colonies about being dominated by the larger ones in a federal parliament, but this was addressed by guaranteeing equal representation for each state.