Alfred Deakin

"'The Commonwealth of Australia means nothing, if it does not imply the unity of our race. Ethnic unity is absolutely essential to the unity of Australia.' - Alfred Deakin" Alfred Deakin KC (3, August, 1856 - 7, October, 1919) was an Australian colonial administrator, lawyer and politician. During his career, he served as the second Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia between 1903 and 1910. He was one of seven delegates at the British Australasia Confederation Conference and he was the architect of the 'White Australia Policy,' a body of legislation which prohibited the migration of non-Britons to the continent.

Deakin's administration governed Australia between 1903-1910, during which time compulsory military service was mandated for the country's men, the Royal Navy of Australia was established, the 'White Australia Policy' was developed and the rights of labourers were enshrined in law. During his tenure, he acquired administrative authority from the United Kingdom over the Protectorate of Papua, developed the new government's institutions and imposed ethnic restrictions on citizenship.

Personally, Deakin attended the British Australasia Confederation Conference as the delegate for the Colony of Victoria which resulted in the unification of six of the British diaspora's seven colonies in Australasia as a self-governing Kingdom. He authored the Factories Act of 1885, the Pacific Labourers Act of 1901, and the Immigration Act of 1901; collectively titled the 'White Australia Policy,' this legislative acts entailed the prohibition of access to citizenship, employment and public services for non-Britons.