Land grants in the Swan River Colony

This condition had the effect of encouraging settlers to bring out indentured servants, and some brought out more than they were capable of employing and supporting in the long term.

In fact the only good farmland near the site of the colony was a narrow corridor of alluvial soil along the Swan and Canning rivers, and much of this was immediately taken up by government officials and military personnel.

Full ownership of the land, including the right to sell, was withheld until every acre had been improved by at least one shilling and six pence, through clearing, fencing, cultivation, and so on.

This was to cause much inefficient use of capital in the early years of the colony, as settlers were forced to spread their efforts across their entire grant, rather than consolidating a smaller area first.

In 1831, the Colonial Office published what became known as the Ripon Regulations, which declared that crown land in Australia would from 1832 onwards be sold rather than granted.

Glenelg's intention was to enforce concentrated settlement in accordance with Edward Gibbon Wakefield's colonisation principles, which were in vogue at the time.

Being no longer obliged to improve their holdings, settlers of means could then invest their time and money in discovering and buying good land further from the settlement.

As more and more land was granted and fenced off, Noongar people were increasingly denied access to their sacred sites and traditional hunting grounds.

For example, by 1832 the Noongar Beeliar group were unable to approach the Swan and Canning rivers without danger, because land grants lined the banks.