Squatting (Australian history): Difference between revisions

The term ''[[squatter]]'' derives from its English usage as a term of contempt for a person who had taken up residence at a place without having legal claim. The use of ''squatter'' in the early years of British settlement of [[Australian history|Australia]] had a similar connotation, referring primarily to a person who had '"squatted'" on Aboriginal land for pastoral or other purposes. In its early derogatory context the term was often applied to the illegitimate occupation of land by [[ticket-of-leave]] convicts or ex-convicts ([[emancipist]]s).

From the mid-1820s, however, the occupation of '"unoccupied'" land without legal title became more widespread, often carried out by those from the upper echelons of colonial society. As wool began to be exported to England and the colonial population increased, the occupation of pastoral land for raising cattle and sheep progressively became a more lucrative enterprise. 'Squatting' had become so widespread by the mid-1830s that Government policy in [[New South Wales]] towards the practice shifted from opposition to regulation and control. By that stage, the term ''squatter'' was applied to those who occupied land under a lease or license from the Crown, without the negative connotation of earlier times.

Eventually the term ''squatter'' came to refer to a person of high social prestige who grazes livestock on a large scale (whether the station was held by [[Leasehold estate|leasehold]] or [[Freehold (law)|freehold]] title). In Australia the term is still used to describe large landowners, especially in rural areas with a history of pastoral occupation. The term ''Squattocracysquattocracy'', a play on 'aristocracy',<ref name=":1" /> was used derisively as early as 1841.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12869713 |title=Domestic intelligence |newspaper=[[The Sydney Herald]] |date=19 June 1841 |access-date=11 October 2022 |page=2 |via=Trove}}</ref>

When the [[First Fleet]] established a settlement at [[Sydney Cove]] in 1788 the colonial government claimed to own all of Australia east of the [[135th meridian east]], ignoring any [[Indigenous Australians|Indigenous]] claims to the land. Land that had been deemed '"unoccupied'" by Europeans was described as [[Crown land]]. Governors of New South Wales were given authority to make land grants to free settlers, emancipists (former convicts) and non-commissioned officers. When land grants were made they were often subject to conditions such as a [[Quit-rent|quit rent]] (one shilling per {{convert|50|acre|m2}} to be paid after five years) and a requirement for the grantee to reside on and cultivate the land. In line with the British government's policy of concentrated land settlement for the colony, governors of New South Wales tended to be prudent in making land grants. By the end of [[Lachlan Macquarie|Governor Macquarie's]] tenure in 1821 less than {{convert|1000|sqmi|km2|sigfig=2}} of land had been granted in the colony of New South Wales.

===Darling and the 'Limits"limits of Location'location"===

From 1824 there were acts and regulations to limit squatting. The ''"limits of location''", also known as the [[Nineteen Counties]], were defined from 1826; beyond these limits land could not be squatted on or subdivided and sold. This was because of the expense of providing government services (police ...etc.) and difficulty supervising convicts over a wide tract of land. However the nature of the sheep industry which required access to vast grassy plains meant that despite the limitations, squatters often occupied land far beyond the colony's official limits. From 1833 Commissioners of Crown Lands were appointed under the ''Encroachment Act'' to manage squatting.

A large squatting demonstration was held in [[Melbourne]] in June 1844. The lessees of the Crown lands came into Melbourne on horseback, and marched to the place of the meeting with flags flying, preceded by a Highland piper playing martial airs. At this meeting petitions were adopted to be transmitted to the several branches of the Home and Colonial Legislatures, requesting alterations in the law of Crown lands and a total separation from the Middle District (New South Wales). A new association was formed at this meeting, and designated the 'Pastoral Society of Australian Felix'.<ref>{{cite book |first=J H |last=Heaton |author-link=John Henniker Heaton |year=1879 |publisher=George Robertson |title=Australian Dictionary of Dates containing the History of Australasia from 1542 to May 1879 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GiQ6AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA260 260−1] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GiQ6AQAAIAAJ}}</ref>

The squatters' grip on agricultural land in the colony of New South Wales was challenged in the 1860s with the passing of [[Robertson Land Acts|Land Acts]] that allowed those with limited means to acquire land. With the stated intention of encouraging closer settlement and fairer allocation of land by allowing '"free selection before survey'", the Land Acts legislation was passed in 1861. The relevant acts were named the ''Crown Lands Alienation Act'' and ''Crown Lands Occupation Act''. The application of the legislation was delayed until 1866 in inland areas such as the Riverina where existing squatting leases were still to run their course. In any case severe drought in the Riverina in the late 1860s initially discouraged selection in areas except those close to established townships. Selection activity increased with more favourable seasons in the early 1870s.

The film ''[[Australia (2008 film)|Australia]]'' deals with the failure of many large grazier properties in the mid-twentieth century, as well as the Squattocracy's close historic links with the British Aristocracy, with whom they frequently intermarried. The film's star, [[Nicole Kidman]], is herself a relative of the prominent Squattersquatter family the Kidmans, who, at the height of their power, held 107,000 square miles of land in Central Australia.<ref name="auto"/>

*[[Pastoralism|Pastoralist]]

*[[Adverse Possessionpossession]]