World War I
Such settlement plans initially began during World War I, with South Australia first enacting legislation in 1915 but the whole of Australia gaining significant impetus to also move in that direction when in February 1916 a conference of representatives of both the Commonwealth and the States was held in Melbourne to consider a report prepared by the Federal Parliamentary War Committee regarding the settlement of returned soldiers on the land. The report focused specifically on a Commonwealth-State cooperative process of selling or leasing Crown land to soldiers who had been demobilised following the end of their service in this first global conflict. The meeting agreed that it was the Commonwealth Government's role to select and acquire land whilst the State government authorities would process applications and grant land allotments.
Crown land was used where possible, but much land was acquired. By 1924, just over 24 million acres (97,000 km²) had been acquired or allocated. Of this nearly 6.3 million acres (25,000 km²) was purchased and 18 million acres (73,000 km²) was crown land set aside. 23.2 million acres (93,900 km²) had been allotted 23,367 farms across Australia.
Other than supporting soldiers and sailors that were returning from those wars the various governments also saw the opportunity of attracting both Australians and specific groups of allied service personnel to some of the otherwise little inhabited, remote areas of Australia. Although the Commonwealth held responsibility for defence, and thus might have taken responsibility for demobilised soldiers, it was the States which took responsibility for land settlement and thus enacted separate soldier settlement schemes. The States also wished to take an active role in recognising the contribution of soldiers.
Areas that gained such settlement included places such as Merbein and Mortlake in Victoria; Griffith and Dorrigo in New South Wales; Murray Bridge and Kangaroo Island in South Australia, and the Atherton Tableland in Queensland.
By 30 June 1924 a total of 23,367 returned soldiers and sailors had taken up settlement farms on 23,275,380 acres (94,192 km²) across Australia as per the following breakdown:
| State | Scheme commenced | Area allotted | Number of farms |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Australia | 1915 | 2,779,078 acres (11,247 km²) | 3,240 settlement farms |
| New South Wales | 1916 | 8,134,009 acres (32,917 km²) | 6,448 settlement farms |
| Queensland | 1916 | 705,565 acres (2,855 km²) | 2000 settlement farms |
| Victoria | 1917 | 2,290,489 acres (9,269 km²) | 8,640 settlement farms |
| Western Australia | 9,094,711 acres (36,804 km²) | 1,095 settlement farms | |
| Tasmania | 271,537 acres (1,098 km²) | 1,935 settlement farms |
Read more about this topic: Soldier Settlement (Australia)
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