The Australian statesman Sir Henry Parkes (1815-1896) was a champion of Australian federation, and his eloquent appeals to colonial leaders to forget their differences were a potent influence in bringing success to the federal movement.

The son of a tenant farmer, Henry Parkes was born in Warwickshire, England, on May 27, 1815. He had only sketchy schooling and began working at the age of 8. As a young man, he joined the Birmingham Political Union (a Chartist-inspired group) and began to read widely. Parkes reached Sydney in 1839 as an assisted immigrant. He worked as a farmhand before setting up a small business. His interest in politics was rekindled through contact with local Chartists, and in 1850 he established the Empire as the workingman's voice at a time when self-government was being granted New South Wales. Leading the attack on sections of the Constitution Bill that were considered to support landholding privileges, Parkes...