AlthoughBritishauthorsremainedfarmorepopularthanAustralianwriters,colonialcontributionstotheartskeptpacewiththeincreasingeconomicandsocialdevelopmentofthesixcolonies
Twowriters,CatherineHelenSpence,authorofClaraMorison(1854),andMarcusClarke,authorofFortheTermofHisNaturalLife(1874),produceddistinctivenovelsthatdealtwithlocalthemes
Australiaheldaspecialfascinationfor19thcenturyscientists,andlargenumbersofbotanists,zoologists,anthropologists,andgeologistsfoundamplematerialthereforresearch
Bythe1860s,Australianshadalsocompletedtheinitialexplorationoftheinterior,includingthedesertsintheNorthernTerritory
MovementTowardFederationFederationoftheAustraliancoloniescamelateandwithoutthedisplayofnationalismthatcharacterizedsimilarmovementselsewhere
Theideaofunificationappearedasearlyas1847inproposa