Immigration and emigration
Emigration refers to a person choosing to leave their homeland and travel to another country. The emigrant pays for passage and is free to move on.
Immigration is the bringing in of persons to another country and is a binding arrangement between a person and the authorities who assist with passage and provide a means of living on their arrival in another country. The person is not entirely free for they must meet the terms and conditions of their entry in order to gain their freedom.
Refugees may pay their own way but do not have any arrangement with the authorities of the country they enter illegally. Thereby the person must be processed to determine who they are and why they have come and whether or not they have any rights to be allowed entry into the borders of the chosen country.
The Bounty Immigrants Scheme 1835-1841
The Bounty Immigration Scheme was first suggested by Edward Gibbon Wakefield and was gradually adopted. The first set of Bounty Regulations was gazetted byGovernor Richard Bourke in October 1835; Under the Bounty Scheme settler who wanted workers paid the Emigrants' passage, and on arrival the workers were examined by a Board appointed by the Governor. If the Board were satisfied, the settler would be issued with a Certificate entitling him to claim the Bounty money back from the Government. The Bounty system proposed:
1. The system of free land grants should cease and Colonial land should be sold.
2. The revenue from these sales should be used to boost emigration from the U.K.
3. Certain conditions should apply to the type of emigrant accepted.
a. The persons accepted should be mechanics tradesmen, or agricultural labourers.
b. They should have references as to their character from responsible persons, such as the local magistrate or parish clergyman.
c. They should have Certificates of Baptism to prove their age.
Bounty payments due were as follows:
1) 30 pounds for a man and wife under 30 years on embarkation;
2) 15 pounds for each single female 15-30 years of age with the approval of the settler or the agent, and under the protection of a married couple or to stay with the family till otherwise provided for;
3) 10 pounds for each unmarried male aged 18 to 30 (equal number of males and females mechanics or agricultural labourers were to be encouraged by the settlers);
4) 5 pounds for each child over 1year.
Complaints from the settlers initially, before 1841, were uncommon and the Bounty was refused on only about 1% of applications, usually on grounds of age. There were however several faults in the Bounty Scheme as settlers did make complaints that not all migrants knew the trade they claimed. It was also common that settlers did not have the money to pay the Agents in the U.K. to act for them so the system soon fell into the hands of the ship owners and speculators. There were not many checks to the system and ship owners sometimes changed the arrangements. Discipline aboard ship was often neglected and Agents created false impressions of life in NSW.
The Assisted Immigrants Scheme in the 1840s and 1850s
To further fill the requirements for population, thousands of women, mothers with children, widows, orphans and the young intent on marrying were brought here on ships. They were an asset to trade and industry and were quickly assigned to work for their sponsors and benefactors ‘busy building a new homeland with fresh hopes of a better life.
The Gold Rush 1851
The discovery of gold provided a new surge of hope and interest after it was first discovered in South Australia in 1846 and then Victoria and New South Wales. This was a new world, a land of opportunity in which rewards for labour and ingenuity were possible and bondsmen were granted Tickets of leave and full pardons for the crime that landed them in Australia.
Earl Grey’s Famine Orphan Scheme
The Orphan Emigration Scheme commenced in October 1848 and when it was wound up due to opposition from the Australian colonists in August 1850, 4,175 young girls had been sent from Irish workhouses to Australia. Many of the Irish workhouses participated in the scheme
[i] Reference website
The Church of Latter Day Saints for the baptism records of Kilseily parish where Broadford is situated. They have the Kilseily parish records from 1844 to 1880.