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19 U.N.S.W.L.J. 315 (1996)
Aborigines and Pastoral Leases - Imperial and Colonial Policy 1826-1855

handle is hein.journals/swales19 and id is 323 raw text is: UNSW Law Journal ABORIGINES AND PASTORAL LEASES- IMPERIAL AND COLONIAL POLICY 1826-1855 PROFESSOR HENRY REYNOLDS* AND JAMIE DALZIEL** Imperial and colonial government policies in relation to the occupation and use of the pastoral lands of New South Wales evolved during the 1830s and 1840s, as understanding of colonial conditions increased and governments struggled to find answers to new and complex social, economic and political problems. There was a need to balance the interests of the squatters with the public interest. By the end of the 1850s, colonial land policy had been shaped by several influences, including the emergence of policies with respect to the Aborigines. These polices aimed to extend to Aborigines the 'benefits of civilisation', while at the same time, ensuring that they would not be prevented from having continued access to the pastoral lands of the colony as long as those lands were used for pastoral purposes. The squatters' early demands for 'fixity of tenure' were ignored. Granting leases over the large areas of land required for pastoral activities would be incompatible with the rights and interests of the Crown and the wider public interest. The Crown would lose its control over, and the revenue from, extensive areas of land and occupation that was intended to be temporary might evolve into a 'permanent right'. There was also concern that a secure title for an extended term might give the squatters 'so much right of tenure' that some might believe their claim to the land 'so permanent that they would not allow an Aboriginal to stay upon or even cross the stations'. Imperial legislation enacted in 1846 permitted lands in the Australian Colonies to be leased and in the following year, an Order in Council authorised the New South Wales * Professor Henry Reynolds is undertaking a Senior Research Fellowship with the Australian Research Council. He is the author of The Law of the Land, Penguin (1987) and Aboriginal Sovereignty, Allen & Unwin (1996). ** Jamie Dalziel is a solicitor with the Cape York Land Council.