The New Colony

The South Australian Association was formed in London on 27 Nov 1833 with the aim of founding a convict free colony on the south coast of the continent of Australia. Radical reformer Robert Gouger was a key player, becoming Secretary. The Association had an office in the grand Adelphi building just off the Strand and overlooking the Thames.

A public meeting the next June attracted about 2500 people to hear about the project and its principles, including no slavery, freedom of religion and the Wakefield systematic colonisation scheme. UK legislation to establish the province was passed in 1834 and its 'first fleet' of nine migrant ships arrived through the latter half of 1836.

The Deed of Settlement and Royal Charter of Incorporation of the South Australian Company is a key document in South Australia’s history: it highlights the difference between the manner in which South Australia was established and populated and the foundation of other Australian colonies as penal settlements. It also records British economic expansionism at its peak and illustrates the interconnections between British business interests, the Colonial Office, and social and evangelical activists. 

On 27 June 1836, the Deed of Settlement was signed by about 300 shareholders of the South Australian Company. The company played a pivotal role in the founding, early survival, and development of the colony, where the company built roads, bridges, ports, warehouses, and mills, and established agriculture, whaling, banking, and mining enterprises.2

The Deed of Settlement and Royal Charter of Incorporation of the South Australian Company is significant as a document representing the history of both imperial Britain and colonial South Australia. In establishing the rights and property of the South Australian Company, it demonstrates the extent of British government, business and social-evangelical interests in Australia.