Editing History of Australia (section)

===Dominion status===
[[File:ImperialConference.jpg|thumb|left|[[George V]] with his prime ministers. Standing (left to right): [[Walter Stanley Monroe|Monroe]] ([[Prime Minister of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]]), [[Gordon Coates|Coates]] ([[Prime Minister of New Zealand|New Zealand]]), [[Stanley Bruce|Bruce]] ([[Prime Minister of Australia|Australia]]), [[J. B. M. Hertzog|Hertzog]] ([[Prime Minister of South Africa|Union of South Africa]]), [[W. T. Cosgrave|Cosgrave]] ([[President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State|Irish Free State]]). Seated: [[Stanley Baldwin|Baldwin]] ([[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|UK]]), King George V, [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|King]] ([[Prime Minister of Canada|Canada]]).]]

Australia achieved independent Sovereign Nation status after World War I, under the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]]. This formalised the [[Balfour Declaration of 1926]], a report resulting from the [[1926 Imperial Conference]] of [[British Empire]] leaders in London, which defined [[Dominion]]s of the British empire in the following way: "They are autonomous Communities within the [[British Empire]], equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to [[the Crown]], and freely associated as members of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]] of Nations."; however, Australia did not ratify the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]] until 1942.<ref>Cited in Jan Bassett (1986) p. 271. It has also been argued that the signing of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] by Australia shows de facto recognition of sovereign nation status. See Sir Geoffrey Butler KBE, MA and Fellow, Librarian and Lecturer in International Law and Diplomacy of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge author of ''A Handbook to the League of Nations''.</ref> According to historian [[Frank Crowley (historian)|Frank Crowley]], this was because Australians had little interest in redefining their relationship with Britain until the crisis of World War II.<ref>Frank Crowley (1973) p. 417</ref>

The [[Australia Act 1986]] removed any remaining links between the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] and the Australian states.

From 1 February 1927 until 12 June 1931, the Northern Territory was divided up as [[North Australia (territory)|North Australia]] and [[Central Australia (territory)|Central Australia]] at [[20th parallel south|latitude 20°S]]. New South Wales has had one further territory surrendered, namely [[Jervis Bay Territory]] comprising 6,677 hectares, in 1915. The external territories were added: [[Norfolk Island]] (1914); [[Ashmore Island]], [[Cartier Islands]] (1931); the [[Australian Antarctic Territory]] transferred from Britain (1933); [[Heard Island]], [[McDonald Islands]], and [[Macquarie Island]] transferred to Australia from Britain (1947).

The [[Capital districts and territories|Federal Capital Territory]] (FCT) was formed from New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of [[Canberra]] ([[Melbourne]] was the seat of government from 1901 to 1927). The FCT was renamed the [[Australian Capital Territory]] (ACT) in 1938. The [[Northern Territory]] was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911.