Was a continental railway a demand of Western Australia to joining the Federation of Australia in 1901?

Question

Or requirement requested by WA.

Answer 1

in order to hold the various states/colonies, territories of Australia together it was quite reasonable to expect some sophisticated form of communication program to be put into place. Without it, there was no real possibility of one country on this one continent. So, in short, the answer to your question is yes, although there is a great deal more to the story than a yes/no answer.