The expansion of the wool industry and the gold rushes showed Australia was more than a stopping point between the Pacific and Indian oceans, and the use of Sydney as a base during the Maori Wars in New Zealand emphasised its strategic role. At the same time the agitation for, and then the granting of, responsible government to NSW in 1856 resulted in the elected colonial politicians campaigning for the use of Sydney Harbour as a base for the Royal Navy in the South Pacific.