The South Australia Act 1842 ( 5 & 6 Vict c. 61) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

, which repealed the

South Australia Act 1834 The ''South Australia Act 1834'', or ''Foundation Act 1834'' and also known as the ''South Australian Colonization Act'', was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provided for the settlement of a province or multiple province ...

, as well as amendments made to that Act, and instituted a different form of Government over the Province of South Australia. The Act was introduced as a result of recommendations by a British

Parliamentary Enquiry In parliamentary procedure, requests and inquiries are motions used by members of a deliberative assembly to obtain information or to do or have something done that requires permission of the assembly. Except for a request to be excused from a dut ...

into the failure of the colonial administration which had brought the province of South Australia near bankruptcy in 1840, and gave the British Government full control of South Australia as a

Crown Colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

. The Act was passed on 30 July 1842.

Background

Land speculation, economic recession and inept administration combined to cause the

Wakefield scheme Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Britis ...

to fail, and South Australia was spending far more than its revenue. Financial bankruptcy of the colony in 1841 caused London to act. The immediate issue was heavy spending, and the failure of the colonisation commissioners to use borrowing powers to secure loans. Gawler was replaced as governor by Captain Grey, and the in London the Colonial Secretary assumed responsibility for South Australia. The new governor sharply cut spending. The colony soon had full employment, and exports of primary products were increasing. Systematic emigration was resumed at the end of 1844. G. H. Pitt, "The Crisis of 1841: Its Causes and Consequences" ''South Australiana'' (1972) 11#2 pp 43-81. A British Parliamentary Enquiry recommended a more orthodox form of colonial administration to replace the Colonisation Commissioners.

The Act

The Act provided for the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and at least seven other officers to be appointed to form a legislative council for the governance of South Australia. The Act also made provision for a commission to initiate the establishment of democratic government,

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

s, requirements for

voting right Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

s, and terms of office. The Act also provided for the annual repayment of debts to those who had invested in the South Australia Colonial Revenue Securities at a rate of three pounds ten

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s per one hundred pounds of principal invested, with interest to be paid on the principal owing. The Act also provided for funding of these payments out of the general funds of the British government as a repayable loan to the South Australian government, if payments could not be met. The Act also cleared the South Australian government of an earlier £155,000 loan from general funds of the British government. Its chapter number is 5 & 6 Vict c. 61, meaning the 61st act that was passed in the reign of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, that started in the fifth year of her reign and finished in the sixth. This Act repealed the

, passing all powers to the Governor and an appointed Legislative Council of at least seven members nominated by the Crown, subject to the Colonial Secretary. The British Government was thus given full control of the Province as a Crown Colony.

References

Citations

Notes

{{UK legislation 1842 in law United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1842 1842 in Australia Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Australia 19th century in South Australia

Background

The Act

See also

References

Citations

Notes