The
South Australia Colonisation Act 1834 (4 & 5 Will. IV c. 95) is the
short titleThe short title is the formal name by which a piece of primary legislation is usually referred to in the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions . It contrasts with the long title which, while usually being more fully descriptive of the legislation's purpose and effects, is...
of an
ActAn act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament....
of the
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
with the
long titleThe long title is one of the parts, together with the short title, and the operative provisions , which comprise an Act of Parliament or Bill in the United Kingdom and other countries with Westminster-based political systems...
- An Act to empower His Majesty to erect South Australia into a British Province or Provinces and to provide for the Colonisation and Government thereof.
It provided for the settlement of a province or multiple provinces on the lands between
132 degrees eastThe meridian 132° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and
141 degrees of eastThe 141st meridian east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole to the South Pole through Asia, New Guinea and Australia.- Geography :...
longitude, and between the
Southern OceanThe Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean south of 60° S latitude. The International Hydrographic Organization has designated the Southern Ocean as an oceanic division encircling...
, and
26 degrees southThe 26th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 26 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
latitude, including the islands adjacent to the coastline.
The
South Australia Colonisation Act 1834 (4 & 5 Will. IV c. 95) is the
short titleThe short title is the formal name by which a piece of primary legislation is usually referred to in the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions . It contrasts with the long title which, while usually being more fully descriptive of the legislation's purpose and effects, is...
of an
ActAn act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament....
of the
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
with the
long titleThe long title is one of the parts, together with the short title, and the operative provisions , which comprise an Act of Parliament or Bill in the United Kingdom and other countries with Westminster-based political systems...
- An Act to empower His Majesty to erect South Australia into a British Province or Provinces and to provide for the Colonisation and Government thereof.
It provided for the settlement of a province or multiple provinces on the lands between
132 degrees eastThe meridian 132° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and
141 degrees of eastThe 141st meridian east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole to the South Pole through Asia, New Guinea and Australia.- Geography :...
longitude, and between the
Southern OceanThe Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean south of 60° S latitude. The International Hydrographic Organization has designated the Southern Ocean as an oceanic division encircling...
, and
26 degrees southThe 26th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 26 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....
latitude, including the islands adjacent to the coastline. It was put into effect on 15 August 1834.
The
Act largely reflected the views of
Edward Gibbon WakefieldEdward Gibbon Wakefield was a British politician, the driving force behind much of the early colonization of South Australia, and later New Zealand. Wakefield, who in 1816 married Eliza Pattle , was the eldest son of Edward Wakefield and Susanna Crash...
, who saw control of land sales as a way to finance the development of a colony and encourage the emergence of a
classSocial classes are the hierarchical arrangements of people in society as economic or cultural groups. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political economists and social historians...
structure similar to that of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Overview
The
Act recognized that these lands were inhabitable, and made provision for colonization, government, and the funding of the new settlement on these lands. The
Act states that the land specified by the
Act is 'waste' and 'uninhabited' (this statement was subsequently modified by the
Letters Patent establishing the Province of South AustraliaThe Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia formally titled;was the document presented to the King to formally seek the approval to establish the province of South Australia. The Letters were dated 19 February 1836....
in 1836). The
Act specifically provided for a limited independence of Government, whereby all laws made by the government in
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
were to be presented to the
King in CouncilAn Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, typically those in the Commonwealth of Nations. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the Queen by the Privy Council , but in other countries the terminology may vary.-Assent:Although the Orders are...
in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. The Act stated that would be allotted to the colony and to be convict-free. The plan for the colony to be the ideal embodiment of the best qualities of British society, that is, no religious discrimination or unemployment.
The
Act allowed for three or more appointed commissioners, called
The Colonization Commissioners for South Australia, to oversee the sale and leasing of land in South Australia to
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
subjects. The province and its capital were named prior to settlement. The "Act" further specified that it was to be self-sufficient; £20,000 surety had to be created and £35,000 worth of land had to be sold in the new colony before any settlement was permitted. These conditions were fulfilled by the close of 1835. The
Act specifies the minimum price of land at twelve
shillingThe shilling is a unit of currency used in current and former English Commonwealth countries and still used in countries which have become republics, such as Kenya. The word shilling comes from schilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of...
s
sterlingSterling may refer to:* Sterling silver, a grade of silver* Pound sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom- Businesses :* Hotel Sterling, a former hotel in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States* Sterling Airlines...
per English
acreThe acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre....
, and for the selling price of land to be an equal price per acre, irrespective of the quality of the land. The money raised by the sale and leasing of land constituted what was called an
Emigration Fund which was to be applied to the cost conveying further immigrants from
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
and
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
.
These commissioners were empowered by the
Act in a number of areas. They were able to appoint officers, delegate responsibilities, and make payment for the services provided. They were empowered to seek financing for the costs of starting the settlement. One method specifically prescribed in the
Act was for the issuing of
bondsIn finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
under the
Seal of the commissioners in two separate and distinct areas. Firstly, they were able to issue what was named
South Australia public lands securities up to a sum of fifty thousand
poundsThe pound sterling , often simply called the pound, is the currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory...
. This financing was to pay for the cost of transporting immigrants, until the time when the funds from land sales was sufficient to cover the cost of transportation. Secondly, they were able to issue what was named
South Australian Colonial Revenue Securities, up to a sum of two hundred thousand pounds. This funding was a public debt on the colonial governance, which was to provide money for the operation of the settlement. It was to be repaid by the rates and taxes imposed on the colonists. The commissioners were required to submit to Parliament once a year a full and detailed report of the proceedings in South Australia.
The
Act authorized the appointment of trustees, who would oversee a guarantee against the expense of settling South Australia, purchased out of the funds raised as
South Australian Colonial Revenue Securities. This guarantee could be either
Exchequer billA banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. Along with coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern money...
s or other government securities in England. The amount was specified as twenty thousand pounds.
The
Act specified that those immigrating to South Australia, under the
Emigration Fund, should be a married couple under the age of thirty, and that they both, along with any children they had, must immigrate to South Australia. The
Act also specifically forbade the transportation of
convictA convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". After a conviction, convicts often become prisoners. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
s to South Australia.
The
Act provided for the establishment of local government, specifying that the local population should exceed fifty thousand.
The
Act allowed for the liquidation of public land, if at the end of a ten year period, the population of the province or provinces had not reached twenty thousand
"natural born Subjects of His Majesty". This was to also repay any remaining debts of the
South Australian Public Lands Securities.
The
Act finally placed a proviso on any establishment of settlements in South Australia. The
Act specifically forbade the commencement of settlements until twenty thousand pounds had been raised and invested in the government securities or Exchequer bills. In addition no settlement could proceed until public lands to the value of thirty-five thousand pounds had been sold.
This
Act was repealed by the
South Australia Act 1842The South Australia Act 1842 is the short title of an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom with the long titlewith the citation 5 & 6 Vict c...