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EARLY DAYS
IN
NORTH QUEENSLAND
[Illustration: (Signature: Edw^d. Palmer.)
_From photo, by "Tosca," Brisbane._]
EARLY DAYS
IN
NORTH QUEENSLAND
BY
THE LATE
EDWARD PALMER
SYDNEY
ANGUS & ROBERTSON
MELBOURNE: ANGUS, ROBERTSON & SHENSTONE
1903
TO THE NORTH-WEST.
_I know the land of the far, far away,
Where the salt bush glistens in silver-grey;
Where the emu stalks with her striped brood,
Searching the plains for her daily food.
I know the land of the far, far west,
Where the bower-bird builds her playhouse nest;
Where the dusky savage from day to day,
Hunts with his tribe in their old wild way.
'Tis a land of vastness and solitude deep,
Where the dry hot winds their revels keep;
The land of mirage that cheats the eye,
The land of cloudless and burning sky.
'Tis a land of drought and pastures grey,
Where flock-pigeons rise in vast array;
Where the "nardoo" spreads its silvery sheen
Over the plains where the floods have been.
'Tis a land of gidya and dark boree,
Extended o'er plains like an inland sea,
Boundless and vast, where the wild winds pass,
O'er the long rollers and billows of grass.
I made my home in that thirsty land,
Where rivers for water are filled with sand;
Where glare and heat and storms sweep by,
Where the prairie rolls to the western sky._
_Cloncurry, 1897._ --"_Loranthus_."
_W. C. Penfold & Co., Printers, Sydney._
PREFACE.
The writer came to Queensland two years before separation, and shortly
afterwards took part in the work of outside settlement, or pioneering,
looking for new country to settle on with stock. Going from Bowen out
west towards the head of the Flinders River in 1864, he continued his
connection with this outside life until his death in 1899. Many of the
original explorers and pioneers were known to him personally; of these
but few remain. This little work is merely a statement of facts and
incidents connected with the work of frontier life, and the progress of
pastoral occupation in the early days. It lays no claim to any literary
style. Whatever faults are found in it, the indulgence usually accorded
to a novice is requested. It has been a pleasant task collecting the
information from many of the early settlers in order to place on record
a few of the names and incidents connected with the foundation of the
pastoral industry in the far north, an industry which was the forerunner
of all other settlement there, and still is the main source of the
State's export trade.
NOTE BY MR. G. PHILLIPS, C.E.
The author of this book, the late Edward Palmer, was himself one of that
brave band of pioneer squatters who in the early sixties swept across
North Queensland with their flocks and herds, settling, as if by magic,
great tracts of hitherto unoccupied country, and thereby opening several
new ports on the east coast and on the shores of the Gulf of
Carpentaria, to the commerce of the world. In writing of these stirring
times in the history of Queensland, Mr. Palmer has dealt with a subject
for which he was peculiarly qualified as an active participant therein.
Very few of those energetic and indomitable men are now left--veritable
giants they were--great because they attempted great things, and though
few of them achieved financial success for themselves individually, they
added by their self-denying labours a rich province to Queensland, which
has become the home of thousands, and will yet furnish homes for ten of
thousands under conditions of settlement and occupation adapted to the
physical and climatic characteristics of North Queensland.
Mr. Palmer was a native of Wollongong, in New South Wales, and came to
Queensland in 1857. He took up and formed his well-known station,
Conobie, on the western bank of the Cloncurry River, situated about
midway between Normanton and Cloncurry, in 1864, first with sheep, but
subsequently, like most of the Gulf squatters, he substituted cattle
therefor, which by the year 1893 had grown into a magnificent herd.
Mr. Palmer also took part in the political life of Queensland,
representing his district, then known as the Burke, but afterwards as
Carpentaria, until the general election of 1893, when he retired in
favour of Mr. G. Phillips, C.E., who held the seat for three years.
In the financial crisis of 1893 and subsequent years when the value of
cattle stations in North Queensland owing to the ravages of ticks and
the want of extraneous markets, gradually dwindled almost to the
vanishing point, Mr. Palmer was a great sufferer, and he was compelled
to leave his old home at Conobie, which was bound to him by every tie
dear to the human breast, and most dear to the man who had carved that
home out of the wilderness by sheer courage and indomitable endurance.
Mr. Palmer's constitution, originally a very good one, was undermined
partly by a long life of exposure and hardship under a tropical sun, but
chiefly owing to the misfortunes which latterly overtook him, and after
a few years of service under the State in connection with the tick
plague, he died in harness at Rockhampton on the 4th day of May, 1899.
Edward Palmer was essentially a lovable man, kind-hearted and genial, a
great lover of Nature, as his poems prove, a true comrade, and a right
loyal citizen of Queensland, which he loved so well, and which, in the
truest sense of the word, he helped to found.
GEO. PHILLIPS.
Brisbane, February 12, 1903.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I--INTRODUCTORY 1
" II--THE NAVIGATORS 21
" III--INLAND EXPLORATION 32
" IV--EXPLORERS IN NORTH QUEENSLAND 61
" V--PIONEERING WORK IN QUEENSLAND 85
" VI--THE SPREAD OF PASTORAL OCCUPATION 110
" VII--THE RISE OF THE NORTHERN TOWNS 144
" VIII--THE MINERAL WEALTH 168
" IX--INCIDENTS OF THE EARLY DAYS 177
" X--THE MEN OF THE NORTH 185
" XI--ABORIGINALS OF NORTH QUEENSLAND 208
" XII--PHYSICAL FEATURES 226
" XIII--SOME LITERARY REMAINS 260
CHAPTER I.--INTRODUCTORY.
The pioneers of Australian civilisation in the territory known as North
Queensland have mostly passed away; they were too busy with other
activities and interests and more absorbing local topics to make notes
of the days that are gone. A record of the work they did, and their
march of progress through the unknown land, was a matter that no one
recognised as of any importance to themselves or others. "The daily
round and common task" took up most of their time, and sufficient for
the day was the work thereof. If one (however unqualified) should record
a few of those early steps of settlement, and thus help to preserve the
remembrance of events connected with the occupation of a prosperous
country, the facts would remain, and be available for those more
competent to utilise them in other ways and for other purposes. It is
well that some one should do it, and one who has experienced the
vicissitudes of Northern pioneer life, with its calls on active
endurance and its ceaseless worries would not be altogether unfit to
note the progress of a great movement, or to place on record some of
those events that helped to make up the early life of Queensland,
however unqualified the writer might be, in a literary sense. A
pioneer is one who prepares the path for others to follow, one who first
leads the way. The life of the pioneer in the early days of Northern
settlement, from want of ready communication with seaports, and the lack
of means of obtaining supplies, was one that called out all the energy,
resource, and bushmanship of those who had been trained to this life,
and who had pushed far in the van of civilisation to make a living for
themselves, and open the way for others who might follow. Though the
whole country is fitted for settlement and occupation by European races,
such fitness had to be demonstrated by the residence and work of the
pioneers, some of whom did good service in the way of exploration and
discovery. By living their lives in the far outside districts and making
their homes therein, they proved the adaptability of the soil and
climate to the wants and civilisation of the European.
That there were more shadows than lights in those early days was not so
much the fault of the settlers as of their surroundings, but the best
was made of all circumstances, and the result is satisfactory. Very few
of the pioneers made wealth for themselves, though they helped to
convert the wilderness into prospective homes for millions of their own
race.
The story of North Queensland's childhood is simply one of gradual
discovery and advancing settlement from the Southern districts, where
the same severe course of wresting the land from uselessness and
sterility had been gone through. The source of this movement may be
traced chiefly to a desire for pastoral extension by squatters, always
on the move for new pastures, and to the ever roving prospector in
search of fresh mineral discoveries.
First the navigator outlines the coast with its bays and islands and
openings for ports; such were Cook, Flinders, Stokes, and others. Then
the explorer appears on the scene, and discovers its rivers and
facilities for establishing the occupation of the country, and maps out
its capabilities. Such were Leichhardt, Mitchell, Gregory, Landsborough,
and many others. Thus the way is opened up for the pioneer squatter with
his flocks and herds and the attendant business of forming roads and
opening ports for his requirements, holding his own against many odds,
droughts, floods, outrages by blacks, fevers that follow the opening up
of all new countries, and losses peculiar to life in the wilderness.
Following the pioneer (or Crown lessee, as he is called) in course of
time comes a closer settlement, when the large runs become divided, and
the selector or farmer holds the country under a more permanent tenure.
Cultivation follows, whilst families reside where the pioneer squatter
strove with nature in a long struggle many years before.
The development of North Queensland has taken place since separation
from New South Wales; the period of a single generation covers the time
that it has taken to settle this large extent of country. The
continuous discovery of natural wealth, the progress of settlement, the
healthy growth of the great industries, the establishment of a system of
oversea, coastal, and inland communications, the creation of great
cities, the founding of social and educational institutions, in fact all
that makes the colony of to-day, with its potentialities of industrial
wealth and expansive settlement, have been covered by the span of a
single life.
In 1824, Lieutenant Oxley discovered and explored the Brisbane River.
Redcliffe, so named a quarter of a century before by Flinders, but now
generally known as "Humpy Bong," was the original site selected for the
first settlement on the shores of Moreton Bay. Some convicts had been
forwarded there from Sydney to form the settlement, but owing to attacks
by blacks and the unsuitability of site, it was removed to the present
one of Brisbane. Up to 1839, the dismal cloud of convictism was over
this fair land before it was thrown open to free settlers.
Over 12 degrees of latitude, and as many of longitude, through a country
previously unknown and untested as to climate and soil, the course of
advancing occupation went on unchecked, until the land was filled with
the outposts of civilisation, and the potentialities of the colony were
ascertained. Great indeed are the conquests of peace; much greater than
those of war; more beneficial and more permanent.
The first sale of Brisbane lands took place in Sydney in 1841, and next
year a sale was held in Brisbane; the third took place in 1843, and
there was not enough land surveyed to meet the demand, so small was
Brisbane in those early days. The upset price was L100 per acre,
although much more was realised for some lots. Even at those prices,
many buyers suffered a loss, for a commercial crisis occurred shortly
afterwards, and much of the property was forfeited, or resold at much
lower prices.
For the year 1843, the exports consisted of 150 tierces of beef, 450
hides, 1,998 bales of wool, 3,458 sheepskins, and 3,418 feet of pine
timber.
The foundations of trade, so modest at the start, have developed in one
lifetime to a nation's wealth. In 1844, in the territory then forming
the colony, there were 650 horses, 13,000 cattle, 184,000 sheep, and
scarcely more than 1,500 of a population, one half of whom were
domiciled in North and South Brisbane. At the present day, the products
of the live stock of the State furnishes employment for thousands, and
forms a volume of trade that employs the finest lines of steamers
sailing in the Southern Seas.
It is needless to dwell on the history of the dark days of bondage and
weakly infancy, which has little to do with the early days of settlement
in North Queensland, except to show the starting point. The North is
free from the stain and drag of convictism. The real life of the colony
began with the first days of free settlers, then immigrants poured in
rapidly, and the occupation of the interior advanced. With this strong
growth of material progress, came also the desire for self-government,
and separation from New South Wales. This, however, was not obtained
without much exertion, self-sacrifice, and display of patriotic energy.
The history of the separation movement is long, extending over many
years, but it was finally consummated on 10th December, 1859, when Sir
George Ferguson Bowen was sworn in as the first Governor of Queensland.
The boundary line of the new colony commenced at Point Danger, near the
28th parallel of south latitude and ran westward, leaving the rich
districts watered by the Clarence and Richmond rivers, although much
nearer to Brisbane than to Sydney, still belonging to New South Wales.
After separation and self-government, came the commencement, in 1865, of
the railway from Ipswich towards the interior. The discovery of gold at
Gympie, near Maryborough, in 1867, and the rapid extension of the
ever-spreading pastoral industry, laid the foundation of national life
in Queensland. From this solid basis, the settlement of North Queensland
commenced in earnest, with a more rapid extension than had been seen in
any other part of Australia.
Telegraphic communication was established between Brisbane and Sydney on
November 9th, 1861, and its inauguration had a marked effect on local
affairs. The immigration induced by Mr. Henry Jordan was an important
factor in the settling of people on the land in the early days of
Queensland.
In 1869, Townsville was connected by wire with Brisbane, and in 1872 the
line was extended to the mouth of the Norman River at Kimberly, now
known as "Karumba," the intention being that the first cable to connect
Australia with Europe should be landed at the mouth of the Norman River,
but, for reasons which have never been made public, South Australia was
allowed to step in and reap the advantages which should have belonged to
Queensland, although we carried out our share of the work by
constructing, at great expense, a special land line across the base of
the Cape York Peninsula, from Cardwell, across the Sea View Range, to
Normanton and Kimberly at the mouth of the river.
The last service rendered by Walker, the explorer, was in connection
with the selection of the route of the telegraph line from Cardwell to
the Gulf of Carpentaria. Mr. Walker's second in command was a fine young
man of the name of Herbert Edward Young, who was subsequently telegraph
master in Townsville in the year 1871. Mr. Young received an injury in
the service which eventually resulted in his untimely death very shortly
after his marriage.
Australia was connected with Europe by cable in 1872. Queensland thus
starting on its career so hopefully was nevertheless subject to periods
of depression, booms, and crises, prosperity and hard times
alternated. And then came the "salvation by gold." The discovery of gold
came as a hope and help to all, as it came to the North a few years
later. It helped to find markets for stock of all kinds and employment
for thousands, and also to extend the settlement of the land and open up
commerce with other countries, introducing immigrants or diggers, many
of whom remained and settled in the country. But the young country had
to be opened up and some degree of settlement established before mining
for gold could be carried on.
In all parts of Queensland, pastoral settlement has preceded all others,
including mining. Though the squatter is now, in the more settled
districts, becoming a thing of the past, his work being finished and his
day gone by, at the first enterprise, bush knowledge and a practical
life were the most potent factors in making known the possibilities of
the land of Queensland.
The name "squatter" was given in the early days to the pastoral tenants
of the Crown, who rented pasture lands in their natural state. The first
pastoral occupation took place about 1840, and this may be said to have
commenced the life history of the movement that made Queensland known to
the world. Large areas were occupied on the banks of rivers and creeks
where the splendid and nutritive indigenous grasses required no further
cultivation. All that the squatters did was to turn their stock loose on
them and exercise some care to prevent them from straying, or being
killed and scattered by the blacks. No country was ever endowed by
Nature with a more permanent, healthy, and beneficial pasturage than
Australia, though heavy stocking and hot dry seasons have somewhat
diminished the value of this natural wealth in some of the earlier
settled districts. The chief source of employment in the Colony of
Queensland, and the leading export, is still derived from the stock
depastured on the native grasses that were found when the State was
first explored.
A company or syndicate was formed in February, 1859, for the purpose of
establishing a new pastoral settlement in North Australia. The project
was conceived in consequence of the reports of explorers who had passed
through much of the country to be operated on. These reports were from
the journals of Sir Thomas Mitchell, Dr. Leichhardt, A. C. Gregory, the
Rev. W. B. Clarke, and others. The prospectus was of a most ambitious
and comprehensive nature, and it showed an intention to overcome, or
make light of, all obstacles, and to march straight on to glory and
wealth, as well as to start a young nation on its prosperous career. The
area of the proposed new settlement was comprised within the 22nd
parallel of S. latitude, the 137th degree of east longitude on the west,
and on the north and east by the ocean, practically including what is
now known as North Queensland.
The report of the Rev. W. B. Clarke, which was favourable to the
probability of auriferous country being discovered, and of rich deposits
of gold being met with on the northern rivers, was a great factor in
promoting the project of founding a settlement which was to establish a
thriving and industrious European and Oriental mercantile and planting
community. The immediate design was to commence a detailed exploration
of the country reported on by Dr. Leichhardt. The prospectus dwelt on
the advantages of thoroughly exploring the rivers and country and making
known the capabilities of the soil and climate to the capitalists of
Australia as a field for investment. The programme mapped out was:--To
proceed from Rockhampton direct to Leichhardt's camp in the bed of the
Burdekin River at Mount McConnel. To trace the Burdekin down to the sea
in canoes, taking soundings to establish its navigable capabilities; to
fix its mouth and its qualifications as a seaport. To fix the probable
head of navigation, and a favourable site for a goods depot there. To
return to Mount McConnel; thence to explore the lower Suttor, lower
Cape, and Burdekin Valley as far as the Valley of Lagoons, ascending the
river by its western, and returning by its eastern bank; to fix the most
favourable position as near as possible to water carriage for the first
establishment of pastoral stations, and to trace the most accessible
route from the latter to the former. To return to the settled districts
by a different route, viz.: to trace up the Cape or Belyando River to
its head in latitude 24 degrees, to cross the great watershed, and to
drop down upon the Maranoa, which was to be followed to about latitude
26 degrees, where the course was to be left and a route made down the
River Culgoa, arriving in the settled districts by the lower Condamine.
By adopting this route, the whole frontier, from the Valley of Lagoons
to Gregory's last track down the Victoria (or Barcoo) would be explored;
thus, without additional outlay, deciding whether Leichhardt pushed
westward by the Victoria according to Gregory, or what is more probable,
from some point upon the Belyando or Burdekin, according to the Rev. W.
B. Clarke. The person in charge of the party was to prepare a full
report upon the country traversed, while the surveyor of the party was
to draw out a chart of the region explored, copies of the report and
chart to be furnished to each of the subscribers, who would then be in a
position individually or collectively to take measures for tendering for
and occupying the country, by sending their stock overland, and their
stores, etc., by water to the depot at the head of navigation.
The cost of the exploration was estimated at about L1,000, to meet which
it was proposed to raise that sum by subscription; unless that amount
were subscribed, the expedition to be abandoned. The leader proposed was
George Elphinstone Dalrymple. The names of the subscribers of L50 each
were:--Captain J. C. Wickham, R.N., Messrs. J. C. White, John Douglas,
Gilbert Davidson, P. N. Selheim, A. D. Broughton, George Perry, W. A.
Simpson, Ernest Henry, A. H. Palmer, Garland and Bingham, J. B. Rundle,
Joseph Sharp, D. McDougal, Raymond and Co., R. Towns and Co., Griffith,
Fanning and Co., How, Walker and Co., Dennison and Rolleston, F.
Bundock, Edwd. Ogilvie, R. G. Watt, and J. R. Radfort.
It was intended that a committee of these subscribers should be at once
formed in Sydney. The reasons given for the projection of a party with
such a comprehensive and magnificent scheme before it were: 1st--Because
the supply of butchers' meat was even then unequal to the demand, and
the latter increased more rapidly than the former. 2nd--Because the
demand for sheep stations as an investment for capital was far beyond
the capabilities of the settled districts; and the capital available for
speculation in Melbourne in particular, was seeking new fields for
employment. 3rd--Because the number of small or moderate capitalists who
annually immigrate with a view to pastoral pursuits could find no field
of operations within the settled districts, had to push northwards, and
in a short time would occupy all available country within practicable
distance of the most remote existing, or contemplated ports of
shipment--Port Curtis and Broad Sound.
It was anticipated that other ports equal to Moreton Bay, with its
highly-favoured back-ground, Darling Downs, would be opened up by
exploration. The character of the country reported on by Dr. Leichhardt,
intersected as it was by some very interesting rivers, such as the
Suttor, Burdekin, Mitchell, and Lynd, warranted such a favourable
conclusion.
The tablelands were high, and possessed of a cool and healthy climate;
the soil on the banks of the rivers was of a rich nature, suitable for
agriculture; the pasturage was unequalled for stock of all kinds; and
the mineral prospects were favourable towards the settlement of a mining
community. All this undeveloped natural wealth lay at the disposal of
any who might enter and bring it under the magic influence of capital
and enterprise.
In their wildest moments of enthusiasm, none of those enterprising
colonists could have foreseen what a few years would bring forth. None
could have expected to see in the short space of less than thirty years
that, where the mangrove then fringed the shore, jetties and harbours
would be built, and that great ocean-going steamers and vessels from all
parts of the world would be found discharging valuable cargoes collected
from many lands; that great cities would arise adjacent to these
harbours, that land would be sold by the foot at high prices; that these
thriving towns would be the termini of many railways reaching far away
into that unknown interior which they were so anxious to explore,
bringing in the natural products of the soil valued at many millions of
pounds annually for shipment to the markets of the world, or that the
mining prospects so modestly alluded to in their prospectus would be
developed to such an extent as to produce hundreds of tons weight of
gold. These men were the pioneers of a new colony; they looked out over
the wilderness extending northwards to the Indian Ocean, and laid their
plans to conquer and subdue it to the wants of civilised man. The
promoters of this pioneering enterprise anticipated the probability of
the deep indentation of the Gulf of Carpentaria enabling direct oceanic
communication with the Western world, as well as with India and China,
to be established, and that the projected telegraphic connection with
Europe by way of Timor and Java might be extended by way of the level
bed of the Gulf, and along the valley of the Lynd and Burdekin Rivers
into the territory of Moreton Bay, thus bringing North Queensland and
Brisbane nearer to the marts of the world than any of the sister
colonies. The progress of civilisation has brought all this to pass
within the memory of those now living.
Our Queensland land policy is a legacy of the old days of New South
Wales, where the first attempt to confer a right to property in land was
by way of grant. It dates from the time of Governor Phillip, the first
Governor of New South Wales; these grants were made to any free
immigrants on certain conditions.
The system of tenure by occupation began about 1825, and was the origin
of the squatting system; the production of fine merino wool gave a great
impetus to the occupation of the waste lands. The licenses were annual,
the rate of charge rested with the Governor, and they were renewable and
transferable. But much dissatisfaction arose with the administration by
the Crown Lands Commissioners who had the disposal of all disputes
connected with the new system. Hence an agitation was set up for a
redress of grievances, and this led to the passing of the 9th and 10th
Victoria c. 104--28th August, 1846. In this act power was granted to the
Crown to lease for any term of years not exceeding fourteen, to any
person, any waste lands, etc., or license to occupy; such lease or
license to be subject to the regulations thereafter mentioned. On the
9th of March, 1847, the celebrated orders in Council, framed under the
authority of this act, were issued. The lands in the Colony of New South
Wales were divided into three classes, "settled," "intermediate," and
"unsettled." As respects Queensland, the settled districts were confined
to very limited areas within ten miles of the town of Ipswich, and
within three miles of any part of the sea coast. All the rest of the
territory now comprised in the boundaries of the State was left in the
unsettled districts; but power was given to the Governor to proclaim any
portion as within the intermediate districts when necessary. The lease
gave the right to purchase part of the land within the lease to the
lessee and to him only; other acts dealing with the sale of land had
been passed, and land had been alienated under them; but the leases and
regulations under the orders in Council forbade the sale of any waste
land to anyone except the lessee. When a run was forfeited, tenders
might be given, stating the term of years for which the tenderer was
willing to take it, the rent he would give in addition to the minimum
fixed by the act, and the amount of premium he would pay. In the event
of competition, the run was to be knocked down to the highest bidder.
Where new runs were tendered for, the tenderer was to set forth in his
tender a clear description of the run and its boundaries, and also
whether he was willing to give any premium beyond the rent. The rent was
to be proportioned to the number of sheep or equivalent number of cattle
which the run was estimated to be capable of carrying according to a
scale to be established by the Governor; but no run was to be capable of
carrying less than 4,000 sheep, or to be let for less than L10 per
annum, to which L2 10s. was added for every additional 1,000 sheep. The
estimated number of sheep or cattle was decided by a valuator named by
the intended lessee and approved by the Commissioner of Crown Lands,
who, with an umpire chosen by the two, acted as a small court of
arbitration. The scheme was fitted in its simplicity to encourage
exploration on the largest possible scale.
Proclamations issued by the Government of New South Wales to give
further effect to the "orders," authorised an assessment on stock
pastured beyond the settled districts, which was levied at the rate of a
halfpenny for each sheep, three halfpence for every head of cattle, and
threepence for every horse; and returns were directed to be made by
every pastoral lessee under severe penalties. Under these several acts
and orders, the Executive and the squatters came into collision, and
disputes arose as to the meaning of many clauses in the various Land
Acts; but no material alteration had been made at the time when
Queensland was separated from New South Wales, although the Constitution
Act of New South Wales, July, 1855, vested in the local legislature the
entire management and control of the waste lands of the colony. In 1859,
when the Colony of Queensland was separated from New South Wales, the
pastoral interest was in the ascendant, and this is considered to have
been made evident by the first land legislation of the new colony. The
first consideration of the new Government was legislation for leasing
and selling the land. A very large number of tenders for Crown Lands had
been accepted by the New South Wales Government, or had been applied for
and were in abeyance, and until a decision was given on these
applications, the land was lying idle and waste. One-fourth of the
entire unoccupied territory had been applied for, the result of the
energy of pioneering pastoralists, and the prospects opening up for new
pastoral settlements. The first bill presented to the new Parliament on
11th July, 1860, was introduced by the Colonial Treasurer, an old
squatter, Mr.--afterwards Sir R. R.--Mackenzie. Some of the provisions
of the old orders in Council were followed; they accepted the unsettled
districts as declared in them. The intermediate were abolished.
Applications for licenses for a year were to be accompanied by a clear
description of runs, to be not less than 25 nor more than 100 square
miles, with a fee of 10s. per square mile. These entitled the lessee to
a lease of 14 years. The land to be stocked at the time of application
to be one-fourth of its grazing capabilities.
This was fixed by the act at 100 sheep or 20 head of cattle to the
square mile; the rent to be appraised after four years for the second
and third remaining periods of five years each, at the commencement of
each period. As to the runs tendered for and still unstocked, the
provisions were extended, but lessees were compelled to stock their land
to one-fourth of the extent fixed by the act. The tide of speculation in
unoccupied land was stayed, there arose a great demand for stock of all
kinds, and those pastoralists in the south, who had flocks and herds to
dispose of, realised great prices. Afterwards the colony passed through
some troublesome years, and a Relief Act was required; and as a vast
area of the young colony had still to be occupied, encouragement was
held out to settlers to take up runs. The Pastoral Leases Act of 1869,
gave another impetus to the settlement of outside districts, and acted
as a relief to many who had taken up runs under the previous acts. The
new leases were to be for a term of 21 years, and the new Act also dealt
with leases under existing acts. Where new country was applied for, a
license had to be taken out, and a declaration made that the country was
stocked to one-fourth of its grazing capabilities, the rent being 5s.
per square mile for the first 7 years; 10s. for the second term, and
15s. for the third term. Every succeeding Government tried a new Land
Bill, some dealing with selection, land orders to new arrivals being
part of the system; but the tendency of all succeeding land legislation
down to the present day has been to allow more liberal terms to the
prospective selector. The conditions were made so restrictive in the
first days as to lead one to conclude that land selection was almost a
crime; whereas the genuine selector in remote districts has enough to
contend with in opening his land for some kind of cultivation and facing
the seasons, etc., without being forced to make improvements he will not
require. The grazing selector is a coming power in the land; a grade
between the old squatter and the small selector. The discovery of
artesian water will be a factor of the utmost importance to him as
tending to assure his position from loss by drought. The grazing
selector is spreading over the interior rapidly; and before the
expiration of the leases now in existence, more land legislation is
sure to be introduced to liberalise the terms and initiate a system for
obtaining the freehold of parts of these large grazing farms. The
history of our land laws shows them to have been simply experimental at
every stage, hence the need for repeated alterations.
It would have been a good thing for Queensland, I might say for
Australia, if a similar policy to that of the United States of America
had been followed, namely the throwing open of the public estate on the
most liberal terms and the encouragement of private enterprise in
railways.