1829-1842 жылдардағы Оңтүстік Австралияның британдық отар ретінде құрылуы

Establishment of the new British colony of South Australia, covering the period 1829–1842

British colonisation of South Australia describes the planning and establishment of the colony of South Australia by the British government, covering the period from 1829, when the idea was raised by the then imprisoned Edward Gibbon Wakefield, to 1842, when the South Australia Act 1842 changed the form of government to a Crown colony. Ideas espoused and promulgated by Wakefield since 1829 led to the formation of the South Australian Land Company in 1831, but this first attempt failed to achieve its goals, and the company folded. The South Australian Association was formed in 1833 by Wakefield, Robert Gouger and other supporters, which put forward a proposal less radical than previous ones, which was finally supported and a Bill proposed in Parliament. The British Province of South Australia was established by the South Australia Act 1834 in August 1834, and the South Australian Company formed on 9 October 1835 to fulfil the purposes of the Act by forming a new colony financed by land sales. The first settlers arrived on Kangaroo Island in July 1836, with all of the ships later sailing north soon afterwards to anchor in Holdfast Bay on the advice of Surveyor General, Colonel William Light. The foundation of South Australia is usually considered to be the proclamation of the new Province by Governor Hindmarsh at Glenelg on 28 December 1836. However, after the government under the Colonisation Commission set up by the 1834 Act failed to achieve financial self sufficiency, the South Australia Act 1842 repealed the earlier Act, made South Australia a Crown colony, provided for the formation of an appointed Legislative Assembly and passed greater powers to the Governor of South Australia (then Sir George Grey). There were moves towards representative self government in the mid nineteenth century, and South Australia became a self governing colony in October 1856.

The South Australia Act was finally ratified on 19 February 1836 and the first appointments made.

The settlement grew steadily. In 1836 the South Australian Company imported pure merinos from the German region of Saxony, and cows and goats were also shipped over. Sheep and other livestock were brought in from Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales. The wool industry was the basis of South Australia's economy for the first few years, with the first wool auction held in Adelaide in 1840. The settlers were mostly British, but some German settlers, mainly "Old Lutherans", also emigrated in the early years. The first large group of Germans arrived in 1838, with the financial assistance of the Emigration Fund. Most moved out of Adelaide and to the Barossa Valley and settlements in the Adelaide Hills such as Hahndorf, living in socially closed communities, by 1842, and did not participate in government until responsible government was granted 15 years later in 1857.

As it became evident that the colonial administration had brought the province of South Australia to near bankruptcy in 1840, the South Australian Colonization Commission was stripped of its powers. Records in the State Records of South Australia include a document in which the "Colonization commissioners defend their position as regards responsibility for the crisis" on 17 July 1841. The post of Agent General for Emigration (covering emigration to all colonies) existed from 1837 to 1840, with Thomas Frederick Elliot, youngest son of Hugh Elliot, appointed to the position. After the South Australian Colonization Commission was abolished, SA records shows "Copies of letters from the Colonization Commissioners to the Colonial Office, 1841 1842, and from the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners to the Colonial Office, 1842 1843 (GRG 48/2)". (The Colonial Land and Emigration Commission was wound up in 1855, succeeded by the Emigration Commission, which was abolished in 1878.)

The South Australia Act 1842 (5 & 6 Vict c. 61) is the short title of an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom with the long title "An Act to provide for the better Government of South Australia". The Act was passed on 30 July 1842. It repealed the South Australia Act 1834 and the amendments made to that Act, and instituted a different form of Government over the colony. The Act was introduced as a result of recommendations by a British Parliamentary Enquiry into the failure of the colonial administration which had brought the province of South Australia near bankruptcy in 1840, In 1850 and elections for legislative councils were held in the colonies of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. In 1855, limited self government was granted by London to New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. An innovative secret ballot was introduced in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia in 1856, in which the government supplied voting paper containing the names of candidates and voters could select in private. This system was adopted around the world, becoming known as the "Australian Ballot". In the same year, all male British subjects ages 21 or over were granted the right to vote.

South Australia became a self governing colony in October 1856 with the ratification of a new constitution by the British parliament via the Constitution Act 1856 (UK). This Act provided for a bicameral Parliament with full authority to enact laws, apart from a few Acts requiring Royal Assent. The Legislative Council was elected by property owners only, while the 37 member House of Assembly was elected on a broad male franchise. A parliament was elected by secret ballot on 9 March 1857, by which time 109,917 people lived in the province. Several decades after the federation of Australia in 1901, the Constitution Act 1856 was replaced by the Constitution Act 1934.