The Swan River Colony, established in June 1829, was the only British colony in Australia established on the basis of land grants to settlers. Under the conditions stipulated by the Colonial Office, settlers would be granted land in proportion to the value of assets and labour that they brought to the colony. To ensure productive use of land, settlers were not given full title to their grants until they had been sufficiently improved. The system of land grants continued until 1832, after which crown land was disposed of by sale at auction. Admiral Sir James Stirling The founding father of modern Western Australia was James Stirling who, in 1827, explored the Swan River area in HMS Success which first anchored off Rottnest, and later in Cockburn Sound. ... 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... In politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a geographically-distant state (or city, in ancient times). ... The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet level position responsible for the army and the British colonies (other than India). ... 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Crown land is a designated land belonging to the Crown, the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it. ...

Land grants for settlers

Under the initial land grant conditions, settlers were granted 40 acres (162,000 m²) of land for every £3 of assets invested in the colony. Assessment of the value of assets was left to the discretion of the authorities, whose valuations were inaccurate and inconsistent. One settler observed a tendency to overvalue cattle while undervaluing general cargo, and Statham (1981) cites an example where two rabbits entitled a settler to a grant of 200 acres (809,000 m²).

For the purposes of assessing land entitlements, assets had to be physical capital applicable to land use; money was not assessed. In consequence, many settlers maximised their land entitlements by arriving with large amounts of expensive capital but very little cash. This gross overcapitalisation caused the financial ruin of many early emigrants, and had a lasting deleterious effect on the colony's economy. Moreover, much of the larger machinery that was imported was useless in Western Australian conditions. Motto: Cygnis Insignis (Distinguished by its swans) Nickname: Wildflower State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Governor Premier Const. ...

Settlers were also entitled to 200 acres (809,000 m²) of land for every adult introduced at their expense, with lesser entitlements for children. This condition had the effect of encouraging settlers to bring out indentured servants, and some brought out more than they were capable of employing and supporting in the long term. Indentured servants received their keep, but earned no wages until they had paid off their passage; thus the widespread use of indentured servants tended to immobilise the labour workforce and reduce the market for goods and services.

When the first settlers arrived at the colony, it was quickly discovered that the quantity of good land had been greatly exaggerated. In fact the only good farmland near the site of the colony was a narrow corridor of alluvial soil along the Swan and Canning rivers, and much of this was immediately taken up by government officials and military personnel. The vast amounts of land promised to settlers was so far out of proportion to the available good land that Stirling was obliged to limit the amount of river frontage per grant, forcing the Surveyor-General John Septimus Roe to grant long thin "ribbon" allotments each with a small amount of river frontage. Stirling also limited the amount of land that each settler could claim near Perth, with the balance of their entitlements to be claimed further out, in areas yet to be opened up. Alluvium is soil land deposited by a river or other running water. ... View from Kings Park over Perth Water Location of the Swan River, with Canning River in light blue The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. ... The Canning River (32°00′S 115°51′E) is a river in Western Australia. ... The Surveyor General of Western Australia is the person nominally responsible for government surveying in Western Australia. ... John Septimus Roe (May 8, 1797–28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. ... Perth is the state capital and most populous city of Western Australia. ...

Improvement conditions

To ensure that land holdings were used productively, and to discourage speculation, settlers were initially granted only right of occupation. Full ownership of the land, including the right to sell, was withheld until every acre had been improved by at least one shilling and six pence, through clearing, fencing, cultivation, and so on. Settlers who failed to improve at least a quarter of their grant within three years could be fined, and land not wholly improved within ten years would be resumed by the crown. The shilling (or informally: bob) was a British coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII was the first shilling. ... A variety of coins considered to be lower-value, including an Irish 2p piece and many US pennies. ...

Settlers were not permitted to average their improvements over their grant; the conditions specifically stated that every acre had to be improved by 1s 6d. This was to cause much inefficient use of capital in the early years of the colony, as settlers were forced to spread their efforts across their entire grant, rather than consolidating a smaller area first.

Despite the conditions, some settlers found creative ways to retain their land without working it. For example, when George Fletcher Moore arrived in the colony in 1830, he obtained half of William Lamb's grant on the Swan River, by agreeing to perform the improvements necessary to secure title to the entire grant. George Fletcher Moore (10 December 1798–30 December 1886) was a prominent early settler in colonial Western Australia, and one [of] the key figures in early Western Australias ruling elite (Cameron, 2000). ... 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Other land grants

Although the land grants to settlers were conditional on their meeting improvement conditions, many unconditional grants were also made. A number of important officials and capitalists were granted large areas of land as reward for service; James Stirling, Charles Fremantle and Thomas Peel were all recipients of such grants. In addition, military personnel were permitted to claim land in lieu of pay, and these grants did not have conditions attached. Much of the land obtained in this way was not developed, being instead held for speculative reasons. The large amounts of good land tied up in this way was often blamed later for the slow progress of the colony. Admiral Sir James Stirling Admiral Sir James Stirling (January 28, 1791–April 23, 1865) was the first Governor of Western Australia (1828–38) and on his own initiative signed Britains first limited treaty with Japan in 1854. ... Admiral Sir Charles Howe Fremantle (June 1, 1800 _ May 25, 1869) was a Captain of the British Royal Navy. ... Thomas Peel (1795-1864) was one of the very early settlers of Western Australia. ...

Changes to conditions

Land grant conditions changed a number of times in the following years. In 1830, in an attempt to discourage speculation, Stirling halved the rate of land grants to 20 acres (81,000 m²) per £3 of assets plus 100 acres (404,000 m²) per adult, and reduced the time limit for improvements from ten years to four. 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1831, the Colonial Office published what became known as the Rapon Regulations, which declared that crown land in Australia would from 1832 onwards be sold rather than granted. In Western Australia, public opinion held that the abolition of land grants would end emigration to the colony. So concerned were the settlers that Stirling was sent to England to plead their case on this and other matters. He was largely unsuccessful, and the granting of crown land ceased in 1832. 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Settlers who had previously been granted land continued to be bound by the grant conditions. In 1837, the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, Lord Glenelg, responded to constant complaints by settlers about the strict enforcement of improvement conditions, by introducing land surrender provisions that allowed settlers to claim title to part of their grant by surrendering the remainder. Glenelg's intention was to enforce concentrated settlement in accordance with Edward Gibbon Wakefield's colonisation principles, which were in vogue at the time. However because most settlers had elongated grants of which only a small portion was productive, the effect was to allow many settlers to secure title to their productive land by discarding the unproductive land. Being no longer obliged to improve their holdings, settlers of means could then invest their time and money in discovering and buying good land further from the settlement. Thus the effect was to further disperse the colony, and to concentrate the colony's wealth in a few hands. 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet level position responsible for the army and the British colonies (other than India). ... This article is about the Scottish politician. ... Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 1796 – May 16, 1862) was the driving force behind much of the early colonization of South Australia, and later New Zealand. ...

References

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Colonial Office Circular, 5 December 1828

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Colonial Office Circular, 3 February 1829

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Colonial Office Circular, 20 July 1830

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Memorandum, 14 April 1831

• Appleyard, R. T. and Toby Manford (1979). The Beginning: European Discovery and Early Settlement of Swan River Western Australia. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, Western Australia. ISBN 0855641460.
• Cameron, James (2000). George Fletcher Moore in Bob Reece (ed). The Irish in Western Australia. Studies in Western Australian History 20. Centre for Western Australian History, Department of History, University of Western Australia.
• Statham, Pamela (1981). Swan River Colony. in Charles Stannage (ed). A New History of Western Australia. University of Western Australia Press. Nedlands, Western Australia. ISBN 0855641703.