The Federal Council of Australasia was a forerunner to the current Commonwealth of Australia, though its structure and members were different. It consisted of the then British colonies of New Zealand, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Fiji, and others. However, the largest colony in the region, New South Wales, never joined the Council. It was a limited legislative body that met eight times in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, starting in 1885, to discuss matters of importance and common interest. It had no power to enforce its decisions beyond that provided by the member colonies.
