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Background

Land Grants

• Governor Phillip, in 25 April 1787, was empowered to grant land to emancipists. Each male was entitled to 30 acres, an additional 20 acres if married, and 10 acres for each child with him in the settlement at the time of the grant.
• To encourage free settlers to the colony, Phillip received additional Instructions dated 20 August 1789 entitling non-commissioned Marine officers to 100 acres and privates to 50 acres, over and above the quantity allowed to convicts.
• Other settlers coming to the colony were also to be given grants.
• In 1825, the sale of land by private tender began.
• In a despatch dated 9 January 1831, Viscount Goderich instructed that no more free grants (except those already promised) be given. All land was thenceforth to be sold at public auction.

Depasturing Licenses

Settlers were permitted to occupy Crown lands for grazing purposes if they obtained a license that could be renewed annually. The first of these licenses was the Ticket of Occupation, which was granted in about 1820. These licenses gave owners rights to grazing land within two miles of their residence. Later, depasturing licenses gave owners rights to the vacant Crown lands beyond the limits of the owners’ homes. (Today, depasturing licenses can be used as census substitutes.) The applications for depasturing licenses list:

• Name
• Trade or calling
• Residence
• Land applied for
• Marital status
• Number of children
• Name and condition of the person under whom stock are to be placed
• Real or personal estate possessed by applicant

Licensing impacted not only the grazing industry, but the mining industry as well. Mining licenses began with the gold rush in 1851. Mining is still licensed today.

Soldier Settlement

• Soldier settlement, also known as the Soldier Settlement Scheme or Soldiers Settlement Scheme, administered by the Soldier Settlement Commission, was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under schemes administered by the state governments after World War I and World War II.
• By 1924, 23.2 million acres (93,900 km²) had been allotted 23,367 farms across Australia.
• Other than supporting soldiers and sailors that were returning from those wars, the various governments also saw the opportunity of attracting both Australians and specific groups of allied service personnel to some of the otherwise little inhabited, remote areas of Australia.
• The states took responsibility for land settlement and thus enacted separate soldier settlement schemes.
• In addition to soldiers, nurses and female relatives of deceased soldiers were also able to apply for the scheme.
• The procedure of supporting such soldiers was repeated after World War II with all Australian state governments.