THE GOLDEN HARVEST A HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN VALES L8J6-I88O Robert James Randall DonIeY B.A Honours A thesis submitted in flulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in the Deþartment of History at the University of AdeIaide, February 1986. Ar,uode.[ :i il' :.1 , 1'lT'3 This thesis does not contain any material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university and, to the best of my knowledge and belÍef, this thesis does not contain any material previously published or written by another person, except when due reference is made in the text. The author consents to the thesis being made available for photocopying and loan 1fl applicable if accepted for the award of the degree. R. J. R. DonleY 11 ABST R AC T The vales to the south ofl Adelaide l^,ele a palt of the region in which commerciat grain-growing first developed in Australia. This thesis seeks to expJ-ain rnlhy the southern farmers became So successflul- in the lB5Os, and rlrthy the regi'on declined as a grain-producing area in the 1870s. The writer argues that the lB4Os Deplession played a dual role, dashing the hopes of would-be pastoralists and compelling wheat-farmers to adopt more efficient methods of production. By the time of the gold-rushes in Victoria the flarmers tnrele ideally placed to take advantage of the heavy demand for theil ploduce. In the IB6Os a number of problems Ied the southern farmers to support l-egislation for credit selection. This began a chain of migration, by which many of the agricultural techniques and rural- tradilions formed in the "OId South" hJere transmitted to a nernl generation of cultivators on the Australian wheat-beIt. ì¡lheat-farmers dominated Southern Vales society because of the early demise of the pastoralists and the relative weakness of urban devel-opment. A number of smaLl townships competed fiercely for sUIVivaI and plevented the emergence of a large regional centre. The farmers elected men to the colonial parliament who would place Iocal needs before "nationaL" issues. They l/vere sensitive to any ploposal to tax l-andhoLdings to pay flor public works, but at the same time enterprising in the Iesponsibilities they rllere plepared to undertake at the local level. These same qualities vvere apparent in the voluntary support they offered to their churches and schools, as well as in the relief of poverty and maintenance of order. The balance between voLuntary effort and reliance on the central goVernment varied according to Ìl_1 practices established in the formative years of the colony, but nowhere wele the farmers content to surrender local control entirely. This thesis tends to suppolt Douglas Pike's emphasis on the importance of political radicalism and religioús dissent in shaping early south Australia. what is interesting is the interaction between these ideologies and the real-ities of a nel^, life-styte as predominantly urban immigrants strove for commercial success as farmers. 1V C ONTENTS Statement 11 Abstract 111 Contents Acknowledgements vi Author's Notes vii Introduction I Chapter One - Settlement 7 Chapter Two - Making a Living 50 Chapter Three - Townships and Transport 96 Chapter Four - PoliticaI Representation r41 Chapter Five - The Voluntary Principle in Practice 180 Chapter Six - The Ebb of ProsPeritY 242 Conclusion 288 BibtiographY 295 Appendices 302 AC KN 0l^JLEDGE ME NTS This thesis tnlas conceived during the yeals that I taught at Christies Beach High School. As I looked for ralays to enhance the teaching of histotY, I became atrvare of the wealth of local history soulces and the important contribution that the early settlers in the Southern Vales had made to the development of South Australia. Many local residents assisted me by. ansWeling my qUestions, showing me family records and sharing stories passed down by theil ancestors. Professor Eric Richards of Flinders University and Mr. Tony Denholm of Adelaide University helped to formuLate the lines of enquiry that I have pursued. Howevet, the main task of supervision fe11 to Doctor Peter CahaIan, the Director of the Constitutional Museum and later the State History Trust. His suggestions, encoulagement and critical reading of the draft have been appleciated ovel the five years that this thesis has been in preparation. The staff of the South Australian Archives, Lands Department and Barr Smith Library trvele of great assistance during the Iesearch stage. A special thanks is due to Mr. Ian Haines of Brighton High Schoot for his instruction in the use of the computer and the many hours he spent heJ.ping me to produce the final copy. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support of my wife, who took over many family Iesponsibil-ities to allow me the time needed to complete this thesis. vl_ AUTHOR'S NOTES Abbreviations SAA South Australian Archives BRG Business Record GrouP GRG Government Record GrouP PRG Private Record GrouP SRG SocietY Record GrouP SAPD South Australian Parliamentary Debates SAPP South Australian Parliamentary Papers Units of Measurement and CurrencY The material covered in this thesis predates metrication and hence all measurements have been given in the Imperial form. AIso it has been considered an unnecessary and misleading exercise to adjust the currency from the pre-decimal pound (*), shilting (s) and pence (d). .'rt vii T NTRODUCT T ON To the south of the Adelaide Plains spurs of the Mount Lofty Ranges reach the Sea neal Tapley'S and SelIick's HiJ-1s' malking off an alea of undulating land known as the Southern Vales. (see fig. f) John Morphett ¡ras one of the first to describe the Iegion in a letter written from Holdfast Bay in November L836. The sloping glassland in front, without a tree for three oI four miles sõuare ofl a beautiful bright green in.Iinter and spring and a golden col-our during the holter months, is SUlrounded by"finely Ì^Jooded eminences and a bold Iange of hills beyond: . Uôre is a most l-uxuriant soiJ-, in some places lävel and commanding an extensive view,.in others iraving vistas through rows of elegant trees. ( 1) This varied landscape ririas mole likeIy to remind English settlers of home than the plains around the settlement on the Torrens, especially when the latter t^,ele scolched by the "si10cco" ofl mid-summeï. It formed a part of what Karen Moon has called the "paIk" landscape, which gave the impression of a state of readiness for man's use in contrast to the wildness of the hilIs. Howevet, such a perception of the landscape tlvas based on aesthetic appeal rather than any objective assessment of physical conditions, for that iudgement coutd only be made as experience of using the Iesources of the Iand vvas gain ed. Q) The attractiveness of the Southern Vales to the first settlers ensured that it was one of the first areas to be occupied by those intent on cultivating the soil. By I858 the landscape had been transformed, as is shown by the following description recorded by a Victorian travellel apploaching the region f rom the erest of l^lilLunga Hi11. A scene broke upon the view unlike anything I have seen since I left engfand. From the hiIl I speak of a tract of country is visible for several miles - it seems one continual piece of cultivation. The hedged gardens ' the well groyxn orchards and well-appointed homesteads proclaimed I FIc?. I fOPOGR APHY OF THE SOUTHERN V E S-Í. vlNc.ENl GULF HURT LE VALÉ FIÉLÈ RI\ER M OR PHÉ.TT VâLE qHR\STIÉ CREEK R,I! ÉR N( APARTI..lGA ÞÉDLâÈ C Ë MgLAREN VALÉ ALÞINGA ÞLA IN ql,ttoO LAF.IÞ SCALE l: O\¡EQ tSO rrrstce-S o AßOVS Sb-A - LE\JEL ì1ìr€S bE& - Dqocls^a,^+.og Lo,".d.s Sunre¡ '.qp (€-sccteÐ cultivation of the land by an industrious and thriflty yeomanry. That his pelceptions aIe as coLoured by utopian expectations as the descriptions of the natural landscape by Morphett is apparent as he goes on to claim: It is England in miniature - England without its poveItY, without its monstrous anomal-ies of individual wealth' It i. England with a finer climate, with a virgin soil, with freedõm from antiquated abuses, with more liberal institutions, with a happier people. It l^,as in view of scenes Iike t.fir that I first felt fu1ly the pleasures of a real ized daydream. ( f ) To attain the perfection of the dreamers who planned a model colony, South Australia had to be made in the image of England - both in terms of its landscape and its society - but without the defects ofl the mother country. The landscape they dreamed of ¡r¡as the IUlal world of Cobbett untainted by the squalor of industrial cities. 0n the other hand the society they hoped to create r¡as one free of the corrUption of the Unr,eformed parliament and established church. tnlakef ietd had prophesied that in a balanced community of enlightened citizens there would be "no adoration of wealth, no opplession of the pooI, îo reason for pol-itical discontent.rr(4) Thus there vvas both a conservative and a ¡,eformist aspect to the colonial dream' This thesis takes a broad look at the development of a part of the colony settled earl-y enough to bear the imprint of these expectations. Professol J.ìlrl. McCarty has stressed the need for regional historians to understand the wider setting in order to identify theil ornln Iegions and impart a wider significance to their writings.(5) Thus, while it is valid to study a region for its o1¡n sake and to create a distinct regional identity that permeates and unifies all aspects ofl life in the region, many 2 of the regions chosen are only a part of a much larger region that sets the stage.