British colonisation of South Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Province of South Australia |
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| British Colony | |||||||||
| 1836–1901 | |||||||||
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| Government | |||||||||
| • Type | Self-governing colony (1836–1842); Crown colony (1842–1901) | ||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||
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• 1834–1837
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William IV first | ||||||||
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• 1837–1901
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Victoria last | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
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• 1836–1838
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John Hindmarsh first | ||||||||
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• 1899–1901
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Hallam Tennyson last | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
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• Independence from the Colony of New South Wales
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1836 | ||||||||
| 1901 | |||||||||
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The British colonisation of South Australia is the story of how the British government planned and set up the colony of South Australia. This period started around 1829, when a man named Edward Gibbon Wakefield first shared his ideas for a new type of colony. It ended in 1842, when the way the colony was governed changed.
Wakefield's ideas, which he started sharing in 1829, led to the creation of the South Australian Land Company in 1831. However, this first attempt to start the colony didn't work out, and the company closed down.
Later, in 1833, Wakefield, Robert Gouger, and others formed the South Australian Association. They came up with a new plan that was less extreme than before. This plan finally gained support and was presented to the British Parliament.
The British Province of South Australia was officially created by the South Australia Act 1834 in August 1834. Then, the South Australian Company was formed in October 1835. Its job was to help set up the new colony by selling land.
The first settlers arrived on Kangaroo Island in July 1836. Soon after, all the ships moved north to Holdfast Bay. This move was suggested by the Surveyor-General, Colonel William Light. The foundation of South Australia is usually celebrated on 28 December 1836. This was when Governor Hindmarsh officially announced the new Province at Glenelg.
However, the government set up by the 1834 Act struggled to manage its money. Because of this, the South Australia Act 1842 was passed. This new Act cancelled the old one and made South Australia a Crown colony. This meant the British government had more direct control. It also created an appointed Legislative Assembly and gave more power to the Governor of South Australia (who was then Sir George Grey).
Later, in the mid-1800s, there were efforts to give the colony more control over its own government. South Australia officially became a self-governing colony in October 1856.
Contents
Why South Australia Was Settled
Before British settlement, French explorer Nicolas Baudin and British explorer Matthew Flinders sailed around the southern coast of Australia. They met at what is now Encounter Bay in South Australia in April 1802. Both explorers named many places around Kangaroo Island and the two gulfs (Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf).
The British government wanted to claim the area before the French. So, they sent out new expeditions and set up the first free settlement, the Swan River Colony, in 1829. Unlike other colonies in Australia, South Australia was planned to be a "free settlement." This meant it would not use convict labour.
Historians say there were three main steps to founding the colony. First, explorers found the land. Second, thinkers like Wakefield and Gouger came up with ideas for how to set up the colony. Finally, the settlers arrived and had to make those ideas work in real life.
Wakefield's New Ideas
Edward Gibbon Wakefield had ideas about how to solve social problems, like too many people living in Britain. In 1829, he wrote letters to a London newspaper. In these letters, he pretended to be a settler in New South Wales. He shared his new ideas for colonisation.
Wakefield suggested creating an "Emigration Fund." This fund would come from taxes on landowners and money from land sales. This money would then be used to pay for workers to move to the colonies. Robert Gouger, who supported Wakefield, helped publish these letters as a book.
Wakefield believed colonies should be like "extensions of an old society." This meant all types of people, from different social classes, would move there. He also thought the colonies should mostly govern themselves. While his ideas weren't completely new, Wakefield brought many theories together into one clear plan. He worked hard to spread these ideas and convince the British government to try them.
After Charles Sturt discovered the River Murray in 1830, more people became interested in Wakefield's plan. A key part of his plan was to set the price of land high enough. This would stop people from buying up huge amounts of land just to sell it later for profit (called land speculation).
In 1831, a group including Gouger and others proposed founding a colony on the southern coast. However, their ideas were seen as too extreme, and they couldn't get enough money to start.
Early Company Fails
After his first plan didn't work, Wakefield published a new idea for a company. This company would buy land in Southern Australia and prepare it for new settlers. So, the South Australian Land Company (SALC) was formed in 1831.
The SALC wanted a special permission from the King (a Royal Charter). This would allow them to buy land, raise money for immigrants, and govern the new colony. The company thought the main government center would be on Kangaroo Island or at Port Lincoln.
However, the British government did not approve this plan. The ideas of free trade, self-government, and letting the company choose the Governor were seen as too radical.
Planning the New Colony (1833–1835)
The South Australian Association
In 1833, the South Australian Association was created. This group began to push the government to establish a colony in South Australia. They wanted the colony to be governed by people appointed by the King.
Robert Gouger was very active in setting up this association. Its main goal was to make Wakefield's idea of "systematic colonisation" happen. They wanted a new colony in South Australia that belonged to the British Crown but was managed by a group of trustees.
The association held a large public meeting in London in June 1834. More than 2,500 people attended, including famous thinkers and social reformers. The meeting lasted seven hours, and afterwards, hundreds of people asked about moving to the new colony.
The South Australia Act of 1834
The Association worked hard for years, negotiating with the British government and changing their plans many times. Finally, with help from the Duke of Wellington, a bill was presented to Parliament. The South Australia (Foundation) Act was passed on 15 August 1834. This Act officially created the Province of South Australia. It also set rules for selling land, funding the colony, and how it would be governed.
Running the Colony: The Colonization Commission
The South Australia Act 1834 created a new group called the South Australian Colonization Commission. This group was based in London and was meant to govern the new colony. However, the Act also gave control to the Colonial Office, which led to problems later on.
The Commissioners were in charge of:
- Selling land.
- An Emigration Fund to help poor people move from Britain and Ireland to South Australia.
- Hiring a treasurer, surveyors, and other staff.
The British government appointed thirteen Commissioners in London. A Resident Commissioner was also appointed to live in the colony. The first Commissioners were appointed in May 1835. They included Colonel Robert Torrens (Chairman) and Rowland Hill (Secretary).
Power was split between the Governor of South Australia, John Hindmarsh, who represented the King, and the Resident Commissioner, James Hurtle Fisher. Fisher reported to the Colonisation Commissioners and was responsible for surveying land, selling it, and managing migration and money.
This split of power caused many arguments between Governor Hindmarsh and Resident Commissioner Fisher. They couldn't work together well. Because of this, both were called back to London in 1838. A new Governor, George Gawler, was then appointed to do both jobs.
The South Australian Company (1835)
The Colonization Commission created rules for selling land in 1835. These rules said that land had to be surveyed and maps made before it could be sold. Land would be sold at a set price per acre. If more than one person wanted the same land, it would be sold at auction. Money from land sales would go into the Emigration Fund. This fund helped poorer people move to the colony. These rules were very important because the success of the colony depended on selling land.
However, selling land was difficult at first. People weren't eager to buy wild land for 20 shillings an acre. It was the South Australian Company, formed in October 1835, that bought the remaining land needed for the settlement to begin. This company played a key role in saving the colony.
Choosing Leaders
The South Australia Act was finally approved in February 1836, and the first leaders were appointed.
Choosing the Governor was tricky because it was the most important and best-paid job. Captain John Hindmarsh worked hard to get the position. He was appointed the first Governor of South Australia in January 1836. William Light was appointed Surveyor-General in December 1835.
The First Settlers Arrive (1836)
Official Documents
To officially establish the South Australian province, Letters Patent were presented to the government in February 1836. These documents, along with an Order-in-Council, officially founded the province.
An important change in the Letters Patent was to update the wording from the 1834 document. The original document had called the land "unoccupied." The new version recognised the rights of the "Aboriginal Natives" to live freely within the lands of the Province of South Australia.
First Ships and the Proclamation
Under the emigration plan, "worthy" workers and their families could travel for free. They had to be between 15 and 30 years old, preferably married, and needed two references. People who paid for their own passage had different prices depending on the class of travel.
Colonel Light helped prepare two ships, the Rapid and Cygnet. They suggested new rules for ships carrying many passengers. These rules included having a minimum deck height and a doctor on board. These changes helped reduce deaths during the journey and were later used by all British emigrant ships.
Four ships hired by the South Australia Company sailed for South Australia in early 1836:
- The John Pirie sailed on 22 February with 24 passengers.
- The Duke of York sailed on 24 February with 42 passengers.
- The Lady Mary Pelham left London on 30 March with 29 passengers.
- The Emma left London on 21 April with 22 passengers.
All four ships arrived at Nepean Bay on Kangaroo Island between July and October 1836. More ships followed, making a total of at least nine, often called the First Fleet of South Australia. Most of them went to Nepean Bay first.
A small settlement was started at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island in July 1836. This is now a heritage-listed site as the first formal European settlement in South Australia. However, this settlement was soon left behind for a new one on the mainland. Some of the original ships sailed to Holdfast Bay in November and December.
The official founding of South Australia is usually celebrated on 28 December 1836. This was when Governor Hindmarsh made the Proclamation of South Australia at Glenelg.
Colonel Light was given two months to find the best place for the main colony. He needed to find a spot with a harbour, good farming land, fresh water, easy travel, building materials, and good drainage. Light decided that the Adelaide plains were the best location.
The River Torrens was found nearby, and Light and his team began to plan the city's exact location and layout. The survey was finished in March 1837. Light's team then had the huge job of surveying a large area of rural land. Even though Light was becoming ill, he managed to survey about 605 square kilometres (150,000 acres) by June 1838.
How the Settlement Grew
The settlement grew steadily. In 1836, the South Australian Company brought in pure merino sheep from Germany. Cows and goats were also shipped over. More sheep and other farm animals came from Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) and New South Wales. The wool industry was very important for South Australia's economy in the early years. The first wool auction in Adelaide was held in 1840.
Most of the early settlers were British. However, some German settlers, mainly "Old Lutherans" (a religious group), also moved to South Australia. The first large group of Germans arrived in 1838. Many of them moved out of Adelaide to places like the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills (such as Hahndorf). They often lived in their own communities.
Adelaide's First Council
The City of Adelaide Municipal Corporation was set up in 1840. Its first meeting was held in November 1840, making it the first local government in Australia. James Hurtle Fisher was elected as Adelaide's first mayor. However, this new council faced money problems. Some of its actions were not approved by the British government, which led to a lot of debt. Because of this, the council closed down in 1843.
Changes in Government
As it became clear that the colony was almost bankrupt in 1840, the South Australian Colonization Commission lost its powers. The South Australia Act 1842 was passed in July 1842. This Act cancelled the earlier 1834 Act and changed how the colony was governed. It gave the British Government full control of South Australia, making it a Crown Colony.
Steps Towards Self-Government
By the mid-1800s, people in the Australian colonies strongly wanted to govern themselves. The Australian Colonies Government Act 1850 was a very important law. It gave New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania the right to create their own governments. The colonies eagerly wrote their own constitutions to set up democratic parliaments, with the British monarch as the symbolic head.
In 1855, London granted limited self-government to New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. An innovative secret ballot system was introduced in Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia in 1856. This system, where the government provided voting papers and voters could choose in private, was later adopted around the world and became known as the "Australian Ballot". In the same year, all British men aged 21 or over were given the right to vote.
South Australia Becomes Self-Governing (1856)
South Australia became a self-governing colony in October 1856. This happened when the British parliament approved a new constitution through the Constitution Act 1856 (UK). This Act created a two-house Parliament with the power to make laws. The Legislative Council was elected only by property owners. However, the 37-member House of Assembly was elected by all adult men. A parliament was elected by secret ballot on 9 March 1857. At that time, 109,917 people lived in the province.
Many decades after the federation of Australia in 1901, the Constitution Act 1856 was replaced by the Constitution Act 1934.
Images for kids
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An advertisement from 1835 for the new colony.
