South Australia Act 1834
Encyclopedia
The South Australia Colonisation Act 1834 (4 & 5 Will. IV c. 95) is the short title
of an Act
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
with the long title
It provided for the settlement of a province or multiple provinces on the lands between 132 degrees east
and 141 degrees of east
longitude, and between the Southern Ocean
, and 26 degrees south
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 Wakefield
, who saw control of land sales as a way to finance the development of a colony and encourage the emergence of a class
structure similar to that of England
.
in 1836). The Act specifically provided for a limited independence of Government, whereby all laws made by the government in South Australia
were to be presented to the King-in-Council
in the United Kingdom
. The Act stated that 802511 square kilometres (309,851 sq mi) 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 British
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 shilling
s sterling
per English 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 Britain
and Ireland
.
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 bonds
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 pounds
. 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 bill
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 convict
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 1842
Short title
The short title is the formal name by which a piece of primary legislation may by law be cited in the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions , as well as the United States. It contrasts with the long title which, while usually being more fully descriptive of the...
of an Act
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
with the long title
Long title
The long title is the formal title appearing at the head of a statute or other legislative instrument...
- 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 east
132nd meridian east
The 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 east
141st meridian east
The 141st meridian east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
longitude, and between the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
, and 26 degrees south
26th parallel south
The 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 Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield was a British politician, the driving force behind much of the early colonisation of South Australia, and later New Zealand....
, who saw control of land sales as a way to finance the development of a colony and encourage the emergence of a class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
structure similar to that of England
England
England 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, with the North Sea to the east and 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 AustraliaLetters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia
The 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 Australia
South Australia
South 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.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
were to be presented to the King-in-Council
Queen-in-Council
The Queen-in-Council is, in each of the Commonwealth realms, the technical term of constitutional law that refers to the exercise of executive authority, denoting the monarch acting by and with the advice and consent of his or her privy council or executive council The Queen-in-Council (during...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The Act stated that 802511 square kilometres (309,851 sq mi) 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 British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
per English acre
Acre
The 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. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
, 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 Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
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 bonds
Bond (finance)
In 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 to use 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 pounds
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
. 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 bill
Banknote
A 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. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat 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 convict
Convict
A 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". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. 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 1842
South Australia Act 1842
The 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...