The economy

The rapid expansion and diversifi cation of the economy in the twentieth

century brought immense wealth and many new opportunities to many

Australians. Real per capita income grew nearly sixfold in the century following

Federation. When the first federal parliament met on 9 May 1901, Australia

was still suffering the effects of the 1890s downturn, and it would wait

another seven years until average incomes returned to their pre-Depression

peak of 1891. The following four decades were marked by the uncertainty

surrounding two world wars and an inter-war Depression. Higher levels of

real income began to be achieved by the mid-1930s but it was not until the

second half of the century that incomes rose sharply over a long period that

was briefly interrupted by the minor recessions of the early 1980s and early

1990s.