Australia Act 1834, which enabled the province of South Australia to be established. Separation of New Zealand On 16 November 1840, the British government issued the Charter for Erecting the Colony of New Zealand. The Charter stated that the Colony of New Zealand would be established as a Crown colony separate from New South Wales on 1 July 1841. Separation of Victoria On 1 July 1851, writs were issued for the election of the first Victorian Legislative Council, and the absolute independence of Victoria from New South Wales was established proclaiming a new Colony of Victoria. Separation of Queensland A public meeting was held in 1851 to consider Queensland's proposed separation from New South Wales. On 6 June 1859, Queen Victoria signed Letters Patent to form the separate Colony of Queensland. Brisbane was named as the capital city. On 10 December 1859, a proclamation was read by British author George Bowen, whereby Queensland was formally separated from the state of New South Wales. As a result, Bowen became the first Governor of Queensland. On 22 May 1860 the first Queensland election was held and Robert Herbert, Bowen's private secretary, was appointed as the first Premier of Queensland. Federation The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia agreed to unite and form the Commonwealth of Australia, establishing a system of federalism in Australia. This effectively changed New South Wales from being a colony to a state of Australia. Australia Act In the Australia Act 1986,the states of Australia achieved independence from the United Kingdom as constituents of Australian confederation. The Act followed discovery that, When Australia ratified the 1931 Statute of Westminster, only the federal state became independent of the United Kingdom because it was forgotten that Australia was a confederacy. The 1986 Act thus clarified the British government no longer had any authority over the six Australian unitary states in confederation, as well as no longer having authority over the Australian federal state, and that all colonial-era laws no longer were subject to power of disallowance and reservation. Acts of the federal state, i.e. the Commonwealth of Australia, remain subject to power of disallowance and reservation by the monarch of Australia, per sections 59 and 60 of the Australian Constitution. But as the Australian monarch can act only on the advice