From Devon to South Australia
South Australia was a planned colony for free settlers. The proposal for systematic colonization was put forward by Edward Gibbon Wakefield in 1830. In 1834 the South Australian Association was formed and the British Government passed the South Australia Colonization Act incorporating the principles of free settlement suggested by Wakefield.
Different from other British colonies in Australia, settlement in South Australia was based on the sale of land for prospective colonists. A Board of Commissioners was appointed to oversee the land sale and be responsible for immigration. The land was to be divided into sections and wealthy investors were to purchase it by the acre at an attractive, fixed price. The funds obtained from the sale of land were then to be used to transport responsible and skilled workers to the colony.
Different from other British colonies in Australia, settlement in South Australia was based on the sale of land for prospective colonists. A Board of Commissioners was appointed to oversee the land sale and be responsible for immigration. The land was to be divided into sections and wealthy investors were to purchase it by the acre at an attractive, fixed price. The funds obtained from the sale of land were then to be used to transport responsible and skilled workers to the colony.
The Colonization Act required that the promoters sell £35,000 worth of land and also raise a further £20,000. George Fife Angas purchased the last of the sections at a reduced price and then transferred them to The South Australian Company.
By the end of 1835 the requirements had been met and officials had been selected for the major offices:
Governor – Captain John Hindmarsh
Colonial Treasurer – Osmond Gilles Colonial Secretary – Robert Gouger The South Australian Company had dispatched three vessels to the site of the new colony by April 1836. The first was the John Pirie, a small ship carrying just 18 passengers, 10 crew, livestock and provisions. It departed England on 22 February 1836 and arrived in Nepean Bay (Kangaroo Island) on 16 August 1836. The Duke of York departed England on 5 April 1836 and arrived in Nepean Bay on 27 July 1836 with 37 passengers. Two days later the Lady Mary Pelham, carrying 29 passengers, departed, arriving in South Australia on 28 July 1836. The Commissioner’s followed with Rapid and Cygnet in April 1836. The South Australian Company then dispatched Emma with a further 22 passengers. The Africaine and Tam O’Shanter were dispatched by private charter in June 1836, bringing another 75 settlers each.
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The eight ships all arrived in the colony of South Australia before the Buffalo carrying the Appointed Governor – Captain Hindmarsh. Most of the ships took supplies and settlers to Kangaroo Island, just off the coast of the mainland. They landed at Kingscote to await official decisions on the location and administration of the new colony.
Surveyor Colonel William Light was given two months to locate the most advantageous location for the main colony. He was required to find a site with a harbour, arable land, fresh water, building materials and drainage. After rejecting potential locations on Kangaroo Island, Port Lincoln and Encounter Bay, Light decided that the Adelaide plains were the best location for settlement.
Surveyor Colonel William Light was given two months to locate the most advantageous location for the main colony. He was required to find a site with a harbour, arable land, fresh water, building materials and drainage. After rejecting potential locations on Kangaroo Island, Port Lincoln and Encounter Bay, Light decided that the Adelaide plains were the best location for settlement.
Most of the settlers were moved from Kangaroo Island to Holdfast Bay to await the arrival of the Governor. Upon his arrival on 28 December 1836 there was a population of 375 settlers to greet him and his party. Under the shelter of ‘The Old Gum Tree’ the proclamation which established the government was read and the Province of South Australia was officially proclaimed.