Western and Southern Australia. Return to an Address of the Honourable The House of Commons, dated 29 May 1838; for, No. 1, Return of all the Expenses defrayed by this Country in the Colony of Western Australia during the Last Three Years, ending 5 April 1838, in each Year respectively ...
[London], 'Ordered, by the House of Commons, to be Printed', 1838.
Foolscap folio, 21, [1] (docket) pages with numerous tables.
Uncut and sewn, as issued; outer pages slightly dusty; light foxing throughout; an excellent copy.
Great Britain and Ireland Parliamentary Paper Number 685 of 1838. The bulk of this important paper (pages 4-19) is given over to 'Nos. 5, 6, 7. Copy of a Despatch from Governor Sir James Stirling, bearing Date 15 October 1835, forwarding a Memorial from the Inhabitants of Western Australia; together with a Copy of the Answer which has been returned thereto'. It is somewhat more than that. Stirling's covering letter explains that 'The signatures attached to this memorial ... belong to about one-third of the adult male population of the settlement, and represent also about one third of its property in land and capital. The grievances under which the memorialists consider themselves, and their fellow colonists to labour, are five in number'. The five grievances are well-aired; all signatories are identified; there are five pages of lists of lands reserved for public purposes, individuals, or 'Assigned to, or Reserved for Civil, Naval, and Military Officers, from commencement of the Colony in June 1829 to 6 October 1835'. The second and third lists provide name, rank or situation (where applicable), number of acres, district, assigned or reserved - and when, and remarks. A sample record for an individual is that pertaining to Robert Ramsay, for whom an 'uncertain' number of acres was reserved at Plantagenet on 12 April 1831: 'Master of brig "Britannia". On south shore of Princes Royal Harbour, reserved 18 months to form a whaling establishment, and then resumed on failure of conditions'. The last four pages in this section contain Lord Glenelg's thoughts on the matter as of 7 March 1837. The limited information relating to the fledgling colony of South Australia occupies only pages 20 and 21. Ferguson, 2511. Provenance: the signature 'C.A.S. Hawker' is written in pencil at the head of the first page. Charles Allan Seymour Hawker (1894-1938), politician and pastoralist: his grandfather George Charles Hawker arrived in Adelaide with his brother Charles in September 1840. They settled on land at Bungaree, near Clare, in December 1841; C.A.S. Hawker he was born there. He was seriously wounded on several occasions at the Western Front, losing one eye, and 'his legs were in surgical irons to the end of his life'. He was a minister in the Lyons Government from 1932 until he 'was killed on 25 October 1938 when the aircraft "Kyeema" crashed into Mount Dandenong in Victoria. His untimely death was sharply felt. He had been an outstanding and respected figure in the Federal parliament, whom some of his own party would have supported as prime minister. John Curtin, the Opposition leader, believed he had been on the threshold of great achievements' ('Australian Dictionary of Biography').
Item #131290
Price (AUD):
$1,100.00