New South Wales General Standing Orders

The New South Wales General Standing Orders was the first compilation of government orders and notices[1] intended to inform colonists of the law as it stood in 1802 after the arrival of the First Fleet.

[3] In 1802 Governor Philip Gidley King instructed the government printer, George Howe, to print a selection of General Orders issued from 1791 to 1802 in a single book.

A wide range of areas were covered by the selected orders, from ‘the punishment of restless and turbulent characters’ to the ‘quantity of wheat to be demanded for a loaf’.

As orders were previously circulated irregularly, the publication would satisfy officials’ protests about the inadequate access and not allow colonists to continue with their claims of ignorance about them.

[2][3] It has been argued that the impact of print "was gradually to transform the nature and perception of authority among colonists.