Swan River Colony
The Swan River Colony was a British colony on the Swan River in Western Australia, seeking to build both the private investor Thomas Peel and the military James Stirling on the continent of Australia. The name was a pars pro toto for Western Australia, for only in the year 1832, the colony was officially renamed Western Australia, when James Stirling was appointed late for the first governor. Nevertheless, the name Swan River Colony was still in use for many years to come.
European discovery
The first Europeans sighted the country in Perth, were probably Dutch sailors because the first European who reached the area of the Swan River, the Dutchman Frederick de Houtman was on 19 July 1619 the ships Dordrecht and Amsterdam. His report stated that he ' about reached the coast of Western Australia at Latitude 32 ° 20 at the height of Rottnest Iceland or just south of it. He could not land because of the heavy breakers and so he sailed, without further investigation, further to the north.
On April 28, 1656 Vergulde Draeck decreased (Golden Dragon ) on the way to Batavia, now Jakarta, 107 kilometers north of the Swan River near Ledge Point. The ship had 193 men on board, of which only 75 were able to save to the coast. A small tender with nothing went down with the ship, sailed to Batavia to get help, but when the rescue ship arrived, it found no survivors. The wreck was rediscovered in 1963.
1658 came three ships who were Draeck among others in the region for the missing Vergulde. The Waekende Boey with Captain S. Volckertszoon, the Elburg with Captain J. Peereboom and Emeloort with Captain A. Joncke sighted Rottnest Iceland, but also they were able to, because of the numerous reefs, not landing. She then sailed north and discovered the wreck, but no survivors and gave their job because of the dangerous reefs in this area on.
The Dutch Captain Willem de Vlamingh, who commanded three ships, the Geelvink, Nyptangh and Wezeltje came as the next Europeans in this area. He landed and named Rottnest Iceland on December 29, 1696, on January 10, 1697, he discovered a river, which he called the Swan River. His ships could not sail up the river, as this prevented a sandbank at the mouth. Therefore he sent a boat that had to be dragged over the sand bank. The boat's crew sailed through the tidal silt up after Heirisson Iceland. They saw some Aborigines, but not met with them. Vlamingh was not impressed with the area and this was certainly one reason that then took place no more Dutch expedition more in this area.
1801 came from the south on the Baudin expedition the French ships Geographe under the command of Nicolas Baudin and Naturaliste in the area of the later Swan River Colony, which was led by Emmanuel Hamelin. While the Geographe sailed further north, the Naturaliste remained several weeks in the area of the Swan River. A small expedition with large dinghies penetrated on the sandbar in the Swan River and explored it. Also they gave from an unfavorable description of the area that there was no potential for a settlement and not too many navigable rivers with tidal environments. The sandbar was only removed in the 1890s when Charles O'Connor built the port of Fremantle.
Later in March 1803, the Geographe came up with another ship, the Casuarina to Rottnest Iceland, probably on their way back to France, but they are no longer considered to be a day or two days there on.
The next stop of a white man in the region was carried out by the Australian-born explorer Phillip Parker King in 1822 on the Bathurst. King was the son of the former Governor Philip Gidley King of New South Wales. But King was not convinced of this area as a settlement area.
Colony founding
The founding father of modern Western Australia was James Stirling, of the area of the Swan River with the HMS Success explored in 1827 and landed the first European on the Rottnest Iceland and later in Cockburn Sound. With him came Charles Fraser from New South Wales there, the botanist was the decisive factor for a settlement due to its assessment of the area.
The first discovery of the colony began on March 8, with one of his team, which went from 13 March to country launches and. In late March, the HMS Success sailed back to Sydney and arrived there on April 15. Stirling then traveled to Britain, where he arrived in July 1828 to showcase the agricultural potential of the Swan River Colony. His main concern was that Promote a free settlement, not an establishment of a colony like that of New South Wales, Port Arthur and Norfolk Iceland by convicts, but the foundation of a colony in the area of the Swan River with him as governor. The result of these reports and the rumor in London on the establishment of a colony of France in the western areas of Australia, possibly at Shark Bay, agreed to the Colonial Office ( the British colonial government) and agreed with his proposal in mid-October 1828.
In December 1828 reserved to the Secretary of the Colonial Government, George Murray, land for the crown, for management, for training purposes and reserved government land on the coast: "The most cursory exploration had Preceded the British decision to found a colony at the Swan River; the most makeshift arrangements were to govern its initial establishment and the granting of land; and the most sketchy surveys were to be made before the grants were Actually occupied. A set of regulations were worked out for distributing country to settlers on the basis of land grants ".
Negotiating a private settlement of the colony by a consortium of four people were also begun, including Potter McQueen, a member of Parliament, who already owned property on a stretch of land in New South Wales and Thomas Peel. The consortium withdrew, when the colonial government refused to consent colony by independent settlers in carefully selected country to open up. Thomas Peel accepted the demand of the colonial government and received the promise alone over 2,000 km ² land on the condition that he had to arrive until November 1, 1829 400 settlers there. He arrived late with only 300 settlers and about six weeks, but still got 1000 km ² of land.
History of the early settlement
The first ship which initiated the settlement of the Swan River Colony, was the Challenger. After landing on Garden Iceland in Cockburn Sound on April 25, 1829 Captain Charles Fremantle declared on May 2, 1829 area to Swan River Colony and took it for Britain to complete.
The Parmelia arrived with Stirling and his crew on 31 May and the Sulphur on June 8. Three merchant ships arrived shortly thereafter, the Calista on 5 August, the St Leonard on August 6th and the Marquis of Anglesea on 23 August.
Below have been a series of accidents that would have led almost to the task of the expedition. The Challenger and Sulphur both ran on rocks as they sailed into Cockburn Sound and efficient ship could be made without great damage again. The Parmelia under the command of Stirling also ran aground, lost her rudder and damaged her keel heavy, which required extensive repairs. As winter set in, the settlers were forced to land on Garden Iceland. Bad weather and the necessary repairs meant that Stirling was only able to reach the mainland on 18 June, and the remaining settlers until early August. In early September, a further serious accident occurred as the Marquis of Anglesea wanted to land on the coast, ran into a storm and was damaged to the extent that they could not be repaired.
The first report on the colony founding, the United Kingdom in late January 1830, where the poor conditions and the country have been described for agriculture as inappropriate. The report went so far in his statement that the settlers were close to starvation and that the colony had been abandoned, which is not true. As a result of this report, many people who planned to emigrate decided to resettle to Cape Town or New South Wales.
Nevertheless, some settlers arrived in the area of the Swan River and other supplies were sent to them. 1832, the number of settlers about 1,500 people and the Aboriginal 15,000, but the number of Aboriginal people in the southeast based on estimates. As was done for clarification of wheat cultivation in 1850, a census of the European population in the area, there were only 5,886 Europeans. The European population at that time mainly settled along the southwestern coastline at Bunbury, Augusta and Albany.
Due to the fatal failure of the private development of a state colony by Thomas Peel and the new colony frühkapitalischer policy polemic Karl Marx in a dispute over the modern theory of colonization with the British colonial politician Edward Gibbon Wakefield in his book Das Kapital:
" " First of all, Wakefield discovered in the colonies, that the ownership of money, food, machinery, and Andren production means a person not yet stamped for capitalists when the supplement is missing, the wage-worker, the other man who is forced themselves voluntarily to sell. He discovered that capital is not a thing but a social relation mediated by things between people. Mr. Peel, he moans in front of us, took food and inputs for Belauf of £ 50,000 from England to the Swan River, New Holland, with. Mr. Peel was careful addition 3,000 persons of the working class to bring men, women and children. Once arrived at the destination place, " Mr. Peel was, without a servant to make his bed or to draw him water from the river. " Unfortunately Mr. Peel who provided for everything except the export of English relations of production after the Swan River! "