The New British Province of South Australia; or a description of the country, illustrated by charts and views; with an account of the principles, objects, plan and prospects of the colony

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The New British Province of South Australia; or a description of the country, illustrated by charts and views; with an account of the principles, objects, plan and prospects of the colony

Author Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796-1862)

Publisher Charles Knight (1791 - 1873)

Printer William Clowes (1779 - 1847)

Date1834

Object number00008909

NameBook

MediumInk on paper, cloth, board

DimensionsOverall: 153 x 111 mm, 0.15 kg

ClassificationsBooks and journals

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA book titled 'The New British Province of South Australia; or a description of the country, illustrated by charts and views; with an account of the principles, objects, plan, and prospects of the colony' by Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Printed in England this book contains a description and charts of the new British colony of South Australia. It was compiled with information from Matthew Flinders' voyage around the Australian coastline, and details and promotes opportunities in the new colony including views of the area. It includes a folding map of part of South Australia.HistoryMatthew Flinders' charting and description of the southern coast of Australia eventually instigated the settlement of South Australia. William Westall's view of Port Lincoln was used to illustrate this 1834 account of the prospects for the new colony. In his work 'The new British Province of South Australia' Edward Gibbon Wakefield argued that the colony of South Australia should be settled through systematic colonisation and he played a prominent role in the early concepts of its settlement. Wakefield's model of colonisation was based on solving problems of overcrowding in England and he argued that by encouraging skilled settlers to migrate, a productive colony could be established. In 1842 South Australia was officially made a colony of the British crown. The colony never received any transported convicts but between 1836 and 1840 some 13,400 immigrants arrived and then another 24,900 came between 1841 and 1850.Significance'The New British Province of South Australia' is representative of early colonisation in the region of South Australia and indicates British plans to settle the wider Australian continent during the 19th century.