English migrants to Eastern Australia, 1815-1860

Abstract

This thesis examines English immigration to eastern Australia between 1815 and 1860, dealing predominantly with the colonies of New South Wales and Victoria. I focus on the English because of their relative neglect in Australian immigration historiography, despite their being in the majority among the immigrants. I uncover evidence of origins, class, gender, motivation and culture. To provide a rounded picture of these immigrants, I use statistics and contemporary literary sources, principally correspondence, diaries and official and private archives, and compare the English immigrants in eastern Australia with English immigrants to the United States and with Scottish and Irish immigrants to New South Wales and Victoria in the same decades. To analyse the origins, motives and skills of the immigrants, I employ demographic data and case studies and examine separately immigrants with capital and assisted immigrants. Overwhelmingly, for both sets of immigrants, the motive was to seek material success in the colonies, faster than they believed they could at home. For the majority, this overcame scruples about the primitive state of the colonial societies and the taint of convictism. Land was a major attraction for many self-funded immigrants, who began to come into New South Wales in increasing numbers in the 1820s, initially mainly in family groups, but later larger numbers of single men were attracted to seek wealth prior to marriage. Many settled on the land as their primary source of income; others who came to practice in middle class professions were also keen to acquire town and country land for the status and wealth it promised, but lived and worked in urban areas. Chain migration was a common feature among middle class families in all decades. The gold rushes of the 1850s throw into stark relief the gambling element propelling so many people drawn from all but the poorest classes to chase fortunes. In the promotion of the Australian colonies to labouring people through government-assisted passages, the period 1831-1836 was experimental. I analyse the steps taken, the lessons learned and the background, motivations and skills of the English people attracted by this early scheme. Revised recruitment criteria were put into action in 1837 and I examine a profile of the assisted immigrants from a one in sixty sample from that year to 1860. This longitudinal study shows that, despite contemporary and subsequent criticisms of the quality of the assisted immigrants, they fitted the categories demanded by the colonists and predominantly came from regions of England suffering economic decline. To examine the culture and values of the English immigrants, I develop an extended case study of one family over two generations and analyse key themes emerging from the private papers of a cross-section of people. These two perspectives illustrate the contribution English immigrants made to the culture in eastern Australia and show how many of them maintained contact with family in England over a long period, while engaging actively in their new society. Show more