Federation Gallery

Silver case enclosing the seal from Queen Victoria's Commission of Assent

Seeing is believing! The Federation Gallery contains a permanent exhibition that brings together seven key documents in Australia's history:

1. Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900
2. Royal Commission of Assent – the parchment signed by Queen Victoria, which brought the nation into being
3. Letters Patent constituting the office of Governor-General
4. Proclamation of inauguration day
5. Statute of Westminster Adoption Act – recognised that Australia was independent of the British government
6. Constitutional Alteration (Aboriginals) Act 1967 – a referendum to remove discrimination against Aboriginal people from the Constitution
7. Australia Act 1986 – made Australian law independent of British parliaments and courts