The Rise, Progress, and Present State of Van Dieman's Land : with Advice to Emigrants; Also a Chapter on Convicts, Shewing the Efficacy of Transportation as a Secondary Punishment

Maker Henry Walter Parker

Date1833

Object number00003874

NameBook

MediumPaper

DimensionsOverall: 22 x 178 x 114 mm, 0.3 kg
Display Dimensions: 179 x 115 x 12 mm

ClassificationsBooks and journals

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionImmigration to Tasmania was not encouraged by the British government until around 1820 when more land became available. It was not open for everyone however as the government looked for wealthier immigrants who could afford to support convicts as workers or indeed, support themselves. This changed in 1830 when the government introduced incentives for less wealthy Britons to make the journey to Tasmania. 'The Bounty System' encouraged female domestic workers and the '£20 advance’ for skilled male workers and their families. This manual by Henry Walter Parker outlines the type of information seen as particularly relevant to those wealthier British considering a move to Tasmania. Chapters include Society, Internal Policy, Climate, Trade, Horses and Cattle and Convicts.HistoryImmigration to Tasmania was not encouraged by the British government until around 1820 when more land became available. It was not open for everyone however as the government looked for wealthier immigrants who could afford to support convicts as workers or indeed, support themselves. This changed in 1830 when the government introduced incentives for less wealthy Britons to make the journey to Tasmania. 'The Bounty System' encouraged female domestic workers and the '£20 advance’ for skilled male workers and their families. Over the following decades various schemes were trialled by the British government to encourage and control immigration to Tasmania. These were largely dependant on costs, population numbers and required skills, but also on ethnicity. This manual by Henry Walter Parker outlines the type of information seen as particularly relevant to those wealthier British considering a move to Tasmania. Chapters include Society, Internal Policy, Climate, Trade, Horses and Cattle and Convicts. Parker himself had never been to Tasmania but states early on that; 'It may be thought that, never having been there, it is impossible to give correct information on the present state of the colony; to such I reply I have received my information from the most authentic and respectable sources, from some who have been there, and others who are now there, that I have rejected all which appeared to be tainted by party feeling... all upon which I could not rely; in a word, I have acted merely as the refiner, casting aside the dross and retaining what (in my judgement) is pure metal.'SignificanceImmigration to Australia in the early years of colonisation was both encouraged yet controlled by the British government. Managing a convict population and free settlers was often expensive, particularly to Tasmania which initially lost many of its immigrants to the mainland.