Why was Australia Split into states and territories?

States developed in Australia out of the original colonies that were established when different areas of Australia were settled at different times. Colonies developed first at Sydney, followed by Newcastle (still part of New South Wales), then further in the south at Van Diemen's Land (Hobart, in Tasmania), north in Brisbane (Moreton Bay), in the west at Perth, and finally south at Melbourne and Adelaide. On 1 January 1901, they federated as one nation.