Colonial South Australia

The Province of South Australia was enacted when the South Australia Act of 1834 (UK) received Royal Assent. In contrast to other Australian colonies, South Australia was to be a planned colony without convicts.

The proposal for the colony was based on Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s concept of systematic colonisation outlined in A letter from Sydney, the principal town of Australasia / edited by Robert Gouger. Together with the Outline of a system of colonization, which can be found in the library’s collection.

Systematic colonisation’s principles included that colonists would be free settlers and land should be purchased not granted. The land would be bought at a sufficient price to fund a scheme of assisted passages for agricultural labourers.
More information can be found in the Centre of Democracy’s resource Governance in the early colony.

The Colonization Commissioners established the South Australian Company in London in 1835, chaired by George Fife Angas. The library holds the original Deed of Settlement which established the Company and the original business records of the Company. The Company became the financial basis for the province and it organised the early building of infrastructure and a banking service.

Emigration to South Australia was promoted by posters placed in towns across the United Kingdom with preference for married couples with useful occupations such as agricultural labourers and certain trades.

The State Library of South Australia archival collections include colonial era primary sources such as letters, diaries, photographs, sketches, artworks, maps, posters and objects. Discover a selection related to colonial South Australia below.