Port Phillip District

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Map of the District when its borders were defined in September 1839 Port Phillip District location map 1839.svg
Map of the District when its borders were defined in September 1839
Map of the "Southern or Port Phillip District" in 1840 for Crown Land sale purposes Port Phillip District location map 1840.svg
Map of the "Southern or Port Phillip District" in 1840 for Crown Land sale purposes

The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria.

In September 1836, NSW Colonial Secretary Alexander Macleay declared Captain William Lonsdale the "Police Magistrate" of "the location of Settlers on the vacant Crown Lands adjacent to the shores of Port Phillip." This position was someone "of which all persons concerned are hereby required to take notice." [1]

In May 1839, Governor George Gipps defined the "Port Phillip District" as "The whole of the Lands comprised in the District lying to the south of the main range, between the Rivers Ovens and Goulburn, and adjacent to Port Phillip." [2] In July that year, Colonial Secretary E Deas Thomson announced that Charles La Trobe was the District's "Superintendent", [3] (which was later said by Governor Gipps "to have the powers of a Lieutenant Governor" [4] ).

On 10 September, the District was announced in a government notice to be "all that part of the Territory of New South Wales which is bounded on the north by the thirty-sixth degree of south latitude; on the east by the one hundred and forty-sixth degree of east longitude, measuring from the meridian of Greenwich; on the south by the waters of Bass's Straits and the Pacific Ocean, and on the west by the one hundred and forty-first degree of east longitude, from the said meridian of Greenwich." [4] [5] [6] (141°E was the border with South Australia.)

Between August 1840 and August 1841, the Port Phillip District Special Surveys occurred, granting large parcels of land. [7]

In December 1840, for the purposes of government land sales, the northern border of the "Southern or Port Phillip District" was defined to follow the course of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers, and from its source to the mouth of the Moruya River. [8] In February 1841, it was announced that this did not change the boundaries of La Trobe's jurisdiction. [4]

After extensive opposition in Sydney, including from the Legislative Council, thoughts about the bounds of the district that should be administered from Melbourne were retracted south to follow the Murray River alone. [7] [9]

On 30 July 1842, "An Act for the Government of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land" was passed, which defined electorates within those colonies. It included "that for the purposes of this Act the boundary of the District of Port Phillip on the North and North-east shall be a straight line drawn from Cape Howe to the nearest source of the River Murray, and thence the course of that River to the Eastern boundary of the Province of South Australia." [10] In January 1843, it was announced that the Town of Melbourne would have 1 representative in the soon-to-be formed NSW Parliament, while the remainder of the District of Port Phillip would have 5. [11] The polling places were to be in Melbourne, Geelong and Portland. [12]

On 28 February 1843, Governor Gipps proclaimed that the "Southern or Port Phillip District" for land disposal would now be defined as being the Counties of Bourke (Melbourne), Grant (Geelong) and Normanby (Portland). [13] These were the places within La Trobe's territory adjacent to the existing European settlement, and the location of any Crown Land to be sold.

On 1 July 1843, Governor Gipps proclaimed that La Trobe's jurisdiction was now the same as the newly formed electorate. [14] [6]

On 1 July 1851, the District was separated from New South Wales under provisions of the Australian Colonies Government Act 1850, and became the Colony of Victoria. This day would be celebrated for many years as "Separation Day."[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadastral divisions of Victoria</span> Land administration division of Victoria, Australia

Cadastral divisions in Victoria are called counties, which are further subdivided into parishes and townships, for cadastral or land administration purposes. Cadastral divisions of county, parish and township form the basis for formal identification of the location of any piece of land in the state. There are 37 counties and 2004 parishes and 909 townships. Parishes were subdivided into sections of various sizes for sale as farming allotments, or designated as a town and then divided into sections and these subdivided into crown allotments. However, many parishes do not follow county borders, some being located in more than one county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles La Trobe</span> English-born Australian colonial administrator

Charles Joseph La TrobeCB, commonly Latrobe, was appointed in 1839 superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales and, after the establishment in 1851 of the colony of Victoria, he became its first lieutenant-governor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Gipps</span> British colonial administrator (1790–1847)

Sir George Gipps was the Governor of the British Colony of New South Wales for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship oversaw a tumultuous period where the rights to land were bitterly contested in a three way struggle between the colonial government, Aboriginal people and wealthy graziers known as squatters. The management of other major issues such as the end of convict transportation, large immigration programs and the introduction of majority elected representation also featured strongly during his tenure. Gipps is regarded as having brought a high moral and intellectual standard to the position of governor, but was ultimately defeated in his aims by the increasing power and avarice of the squatters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Australia–Victoria border dispute</span> Australian political dispute

The border between the Australian states of South Australia and Victoria was established in 1836 by imperial letters patent "as the 141st degree meridian of longitude east of Greenwich". In 1836 the land in what is now called Victoria was part of the colony of New South Wales, the original Victorian border was drawn between the colonies of South Australia and New South Wales. An error came about in establishing the position of the 141st meridian, and more than 75 years and a protracted legal dispute passed before the precise placement of the border was settled, resulting in the forfeiture of more than 1,300 km2 (500 sq mi) of territory from South Australia to Victoria.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Lonsdale (colonist)</span> Australian politician

William Lonsdale supervised the founding of the official settlement at Port Phillip from 1836 and went on to serve under the Superintendent La Trobe from 1839 to 1854.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court of New South Wales for the District of Port Phillip</span> Former judicial body

The Supreme Court of New South Wales for the District of Port Phillip was an historical division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, exercising the jurisdiction of that court within the Port Phillip District of New South Wales. It consisted of a single Resident Judge. It existed from 1840 until 1852, when, following the separation of the Port Phillip District to form the Colony of Victoria, it was replaced by the Supreme Court of Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Ebden</span> Australian politician

Charles Hotson Ebden was an Australian pastoralist and politician, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, the Victorian Legislative Council and the Victorian Legislative Assembly.

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In August 1840, the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners of the British Government decided to allow the purchase of land anywhere in the Port Phillip District of New South Wales, Australia. Special Surveys could be requested to enable the purchase of 5,120 acres (2,070 ha), or eight square miles, for £1 per acre. This price was significantly below the value of the land at that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral district of Port Phillip</span> Former electorate of the New South Wales Legislative Council

The Electoral district of Port Phillip was an electorate of the New South Wales Legislative Council before it became the separate colony of Victoria (Australia) on 1 July 1851. At the time, some members of the Council were elected and the balance were appointed by the Governor. The Town of Melbourne returned one member while the Port Phillip district, which covered the rest of what became Victoria after its separation in 1851, returned five members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral district of Town of Melbourne</span> Former legislative council electoral district of New South Wales, Australia

The Electoral district of Town of Melbourne was an electorate of the New South Wales Legislative Council before it became part of the Colony of Victoria on 1 July 1851.

This is a list of members of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1843 to 1851. The 1843 Electoral Act prescribed 36 members, 24 to be elected, 6 appointed by virtue of their office and 6 nominated. The appointments and elections were for five year terms and thus occurred in 1843, and 1848. The Speaker was Alexander Macleay until 19 May 1846 and then Charles Nicholson. The parliament was dissolved on 30 June 1851 as a result of the 1851 Electoral Act which increased the number of members in the Council to 54.

The Border Police of New South Wales was a frontier policing body introduced by the colonial government of New South Wales with the passing of the Crown Lands Unauthorised Occupation Act 1839.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Sievwright</span> British army officer and Aboriginal Protector

Charles Wightman Sievwright was a British army officer before being appointed Assistant Protector of Aborigines in part of the Port Phillip District of the colony of New South Wales, now Victoria, Australia.

The 1848 New South Wales colonial election was held between 29 July and 2 August. No candidates were nominated for Port Phillip as a result of the campaign for independence from New South Wales, and a fresh writ was issued for an election on 3 October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1848 New South Wales colonial election</span> Colonial election for New South Wales, Australia in 1848

The 1848 New South Wales colonial election was held between 29 July and 2 August 1848. This election was for 24 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Council and it was conducted in 15 single-member constituencies, two 2-member constituencies and one 5-member constituency, all with a first past the post system. The Legislative Council was a hybrid system with 36 members, 24 elected, 6 appointed by virtue of their office and 6 nominated. The appointments and elections were for five year terms.

References

  1. ↑ "PORT PHILLIP. - New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900) - 14 Sep 1836". New South Wales Government Gazette. 14 September 1836. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  2. ↑ "PROCLAMATION". New South Wales Government Gazette. 22 May 1839. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Government Gazette Appointments and Employment". New South Wales Government Gazette. 31 July 1839. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "PROCLAMATION". New South Wales Government Gazette. 9 February 1841. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  5. ↑ Thomson, E Deas (11 September 1836). "General Instructions to the Superintendent of Port Phillip" (PDF). Documenting a Democracy.
  6. 1 2 "What is the northern boundary of Victoria?". The Age. 21 April 1906. Archived from the original on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
  7. 1 2 Shaw, A. G. L. (June 1982). "Agitation for the Separation of the Port Phillip District from the Colony of New South Wales, 1838–1850". Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society. 68 (1). Sydney: Royal Australian Historical Society: 1–17. ISSN   0035-8762.
  8. ↑ "LAND REGULATIONS". New South Wales Government Gazette. 9 December 1840. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  9. ↑ Shaw, A. G. L. (1996). A History of the Port Phillip District: Victoria Before Separation. Carlton South, Victoria: The Miegunyah Press. ISBN   0-522-84651-3.
  10. ↑ "CAP. LXXVI. An Act for the Government of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. [30th July, 1842.]". New South Wales Government Gazette. 5 January 1843. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation". New South Wales Government Gazette. 6 January 1843. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "PROCLAMATION". New South Wales Government Gazette. 5 May 1843. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "PROCLAMATION. - New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900) - 28 Feb 1843". New South Wales Government Gazette. 28 February 1843. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  14. ↑ "PROCLAMATION". New South Wales Government Gazette. 1 July 1843. Retrieved 24 January 2022.

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