The Australian Constitution Bill was firstly drafted by Sir Samuel Griffith together with others and was revised by Sir Samuel, Mr Charles Kingston, Sir Edmund Barton and Mr Andrew Inglis Clark when aboard the Queensland Government yacht Lucinda, during the Easter break of the 1891 Convention which was held in Sydney. This draft was later revived and debated at the 1897–98 Convention, and final changes were made at a 'Premiers' Conference' which was held behind closed doors early in 1899. 

The  Constitution is essentially ‘the birth certificate of a nation’ and is the fundamental law of Australia binding everybody including the Commonwealth Parliament and the Parliament of each State.

The Constitution came about at a series of conventions held during the 1890s and attended by representatives from each of the then the colonies. These colonies became our current States following implementation of the Constitution which resulted in the States federating into one nation.

At referendums held at the end of the 19th century, the terms were agreed upon by the people of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and later Western Australia. The Constitution was then passed as part of a British Act of Parliament in 1900 and took effect on 1 January 1901.

It was necessary for the British parliament to pass the Act because before 1901 Australia was a collection of six self-governing British colonies and ultimate power over those colonies rested with the British Parliament. However, it should be made clear that the Constitution was drafted by Australians and voted upon by Australians.

The Australian Constitution
Produced by the Parliamentary Education Office, Canberra

The Original Australian Constitution.

There have been 42 attempts to amend the Australian Constitution but only eight have succeeded. These are:

Senate Elections (1906): Minor tweaks to Senate election processes and terms.
State Debts (1910): Gave the Commonwealth power to take over state debts.
State Debts (1928): Formalised the Loan Council to manage state borrowing.
Social Services (1946): Granted the Commonwealth power to provide social services.
Aboriginals (1967): Allowed the Commonwealth to legislate for Aboriginal people and include them in the census.
Casual Vacancies (1977): Ensured replacement Senators came from the same party as the departing Senator.
Territory Votes (1977): Gave Territory residents the right to vote in referendums.
Judges' Retirement (1977): Set a retiring age of 70 for federal judges.