Nineteen Counties - Background To Formation of The Limits of Settlement

Background To Formation of The Limits of Settlement

In January 1819 John Bigge was appointed a special commissioner to examine the government of the colony of New South Wales. Bigge arrived in Sydney in September 1819 gathering evidence until February 1821 when he returned to England. Bigge’s first report was published in June 1822 and his second and third reports in 1823. His third report dealt with Agriculture and Trade.

In 1824 Governor Brisbane approved the sale of crown land in accordance with one of Bigge’s recommendations. Previously only a nominal ‘quit’ rent was required for grants by the crown.

In 1825 Lord Bathurst, secretary of state, instructed Governor Brisbane to survey the territory to allow for more planned settlement. During the survey one seventh of the land in each county was to be set a side for the Church of England and an educational system under the control of the church. Income from this land was to be managed under the Church and Schools Corporation.

When Governor Darling was commissioned in July 1825 his commission extended the New South Wales boundary six degrees to the west compared with the commissions issued to previous governors.

In September 1826 Darling announced the boundaries within which the survey instructed by Bathurst in 1825 was to be conducted. The survey would allow the allocation of land grants and the boundaries, known as the limits of location, were used for other administrative purposes including police administration.

The nineteen counties were proclaimed by Darling in the Sydney Gazette of 17 October 1829. The boundaries were the Manning River to the north, the Lachlan river to the west and the Moruya river to the south. In some places there were already squatters beyond these ‘limits of location’.