After settlement the new colony of New South Wales grew quickly. Soon European settlers spread out across Australia. By 1860, all settlements except Western Australia were separate colonies, each with its own government and laws. There was no such thing as a nation of Australia. This caused lots of problems. Then, a New South Wales politician named Henry Parks had an idea of joining all colonies together in a federation to form one nation. It took many years, But Federation was finally achieved in 1901. This is a story of the people, the ideas and how the events that led to Federation in 1901 and how it changed Australia forever.