The Bounty System
Extracted from the:- "Concise Guide to State Archives of New
South Wales"
Few free settlers were attracted to the penal colony of New South Wales
during the first thirty years of its existence, despite the free
passages, land grants and other incentives offered at various times
during this period. As settlement spread and the proportion of
emancipists and native-born increased during the 1820s, however,
immigrants began arriving in greater numbers. With increasing
prosperity came a growing demand for skilled labour, and the Government
responded to this need (and to the problem of the great numerical
inequality between the sexes) by introducing a number of assisted
immigration schemes from 1832 onwards.
The first of the assisted migration schemes began in 1832 when eight
single women and eight mechanics and their families left England aboard
the "Marianne". Each single woman received a bounty of £8
and each mechanic was advanced £20 against his future wages. From
1832 to 1835, 3074 people received assistance at a cost to the colony
of £31,028-6-9. They were selected and ships chartered for
them by Emigration Commissioners in the United Kingdom, and during the
voyage they were in the charge of the ship's master. In Sydney,
emigration was administered by the Colonial Treasurer, Collector of
Internal Revenue (and, for a short time) the Superintendent of
Emigrants and the Immigration Board.
Female immigration was not persevered with and the Colonial Government
sent Surgeon-Superintendents to act as Commissioners' selecting agents,
while in 1835, employers acting through agents and the Commissioners
brought out people with special skills.
The Government (or Wakefield) and Bounty systems operated unchanged
until the establishment of the Immigration Office and the appointment
of the first Immigration Agent in Sydney (James Pinnock) in 1838.
The Government system operated until 1840, and the Bounty system until
1845; and their costs were defrayed from funds raised by the sale of
waste Crown land in the colony (augmented by the sales of debentures
against future land sales from 1842) and by parishes and workhouses in
the United Kingdom.
In 1847, the second Bounty system of immigration was set up. The
Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners were entrusted with the
selection and conveyance of migrants, while the Immigration Board in
Sydney decided whether or not shipping companies were entitled to
payment for immigrants brought to the Colony.
After 1852, most immigrants who received assisted passages did so
through relatives and friends. For a short period after 1859,
shipowners bore the costs of conveyance and were remunerated by the
Board, and the small amount of government assistance that was provided
was allotted by Legislative vote. In 1861, the Immigration Office
was abolished and unassisted immigration which had been growing apace
over the previous 10 years came into its own. People were, however,
still receiving assisted passages in 1896.
Immigration became largely a federal matter during the twentieth
century, and although New South Wales was involved in administering
some immigration schemes (such as post World War II British
immigration), overall policy decisions (and the majority of archival
records) remain with the Australian Government.
A Government Immigration Scheme -
1856
Extracted from Jenny Fawcett’s Genseek web site.
There were a number of immigration schemes designed to encourage
UK residents to migrate to Port Phillip (now the State of Victoria) in
the mid 1800s. The following example of one such scheme was extracted
from the Belfast Banner 1856….
Immigration Remittances
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
Persons wishing to bring their relatives and friends from the United
Kingdom to Victoria, can secure passages for them in vessels chartered
by Her Majesty's Government on the following conditions;-
1. The persons to be brought into the colony must be in
good health, free from all bodily or mental defects; of good moral
character, sober, industrious, and in the habit of working for wages at
the occupation specified in the application forms. Children under
the age of fifteen years must be accompanied by some competent person
who will take charge of them during the voyage.
2. The names, ages, relationships, married or single state,
occupation, and addresses of the persons for whom passages are
requested, must be furnished by the applicant according to the
accompanying form:
- Address at full length of the place or town and street where living
in the UK;
- Trade or Calling;
- Relationship;
- Whether Married, or Single;
- Age;
- Christian name and Surname at full length.
3. The applicant will then be informed of the amount to be
paid to secure the passage, and upon payment of this sum he will
receive a certificate which he will forward to his friends by post.
4. The amount to be paid will depend on the number of the
persons to be introduced, their age, sex, occupation and other
circumstances. It will generally be within the following limits:-
Under 1:
Male £1-£2
Female £1-£2
1-2:
Male £3-£4
Female £2-£3
12-40:
Male £4-£6
Female £3-£4
40-50:
Male £8-£12
Female £4-£6
50+:
Male £12-£18
Female £10-£18
5. Should the persons sent for be unwilling or unable to
emigrate, the amount deposited towards their passage will be repaid to
the applicant in this colony on the receipt of the usual voucher to
that effect from the Commissioners. But should any false
statement be made as to the age, occupation, character or condition of
the persons to be brought to the colony, passage will not be granted
and the money deposited for that purpose will be liable to forfeiture.
6. Application forms and every information will be given,
and deposits received, at the undermentioned places:-
Melbourne - by the Immigration Officer
Geelong - by the Assistant Immigration Officer
Portland - by the Assistant Immigration Officer
Port Fairy - by the Assistant Immigration Officer
Warrnambool - by the Assistant Immigration Officer
Port Albert - by the Sub Treasurers
Castlemaine - by the Sub Treasurers
Sandhurst - by the Sub Treasurers
Ballarat - by the Sub Treasurers
Avoca - by the Sub Treasurers
Beechworth - by the Sub Treasurers
and at other places by persons to be specially appointed for that
purpose.
7. Persons residing at a distance from the above places can
obtain application forms at the nearest Post Office, and send them
[fully filled up and signed], to the Immigration Agent in Melbourne and
will receive immediate information. The amount required can be
sent to the Immigration Agent in Melbourne by cheque, or by order on a
Bank or mercantile house, or by bank notes in a registered letter. Upon
receipt of the remittance, the usual certificate for the passage of his
friends will be forwarded to the depositor, and he will transmit it by
post to their address of the UK.
CHARLES EDWARD STRUTT
ACTING IMMIGRATION AGENT
IMMIGRATION OFFICE- MELBOURNE