What is Henry Parkes' Tenterfield Oration?

Sir Henry Parkes's famous Tenterfield Oration, delivered on 24 October 1889 at the Tenterfield School of Arts, was a significant step in the movement towards Federation of the Australian colonies. In this speech, Parkes campaigned heavily for Federation of the six Australian colonies. Tenterfield was selected as the place to make his stand as it was part of New South Wales but a long distance away from Sydney. This meant that the town was disadvantaged by the steep tariffs imposed on the transportation of goods across the border to Queensland, where the closer trade centre of Brisbane was located. His promotion of Federation was based on the fact that it would enable free trade across the borders. Parkes made a significant contribution to the Federation movement in Australia