Australind Settlement Memorial

Australind Settlement Memorial, Western Australia, Public Art

Public Art: Australind Settlement Memorial

Sculptor: Unknown

Date Unveiled : 1938

Description : A stone memorial which which includes two very uncomfortable seats on either side.

Location : The Australind Settlement Memorial is located between the Old Coast Road and the Leschenault Inlet, Australind, Western Australia.

Inscription :

The Australind Settlement
(On Wakefield Principles) was
formed in 1841 on the eastern
side of Leschenault Inlet by the
Western Australian Company.
A town site of 1,000 acres
was surveyed and the division
of 100,000 acrews into small
farms was planned through
causes beyond the control
of settlers and despite the
labours of the Chief Commissioner
Marshall Waller Clifton F.R.S.
The achievement fell short
of the vision.

This memorial recalls
the vision. Commemorates
those hardy pioneers who
continued to labour here
in face of great difficulty
and records the benefit
Western Australia received
from the coming settlers
and officials in the ships.

Island Queen December 1840
Parkfield March 1841
Diadem April 1842
Trusty December 1842

Erected by public subscription and
The Western Australian Historical Society 1938.

Background to The Australind Land Settlement : Australind was named by the Western Australian Company in 1840. The name is a combination of Australia and India. Reasoning? They were hoping the area would become an ideal horse breeding ground for the British Indian Army. It never eventuated. The company purchased 103,000 acres (420 km2) of land in 1841 with the idea to create an English-style village populated by settlers based on the Edward Gibbon Wakefield Principles .

Wakefield basically believed that the social problems in Britain were caused by overpopulation and strongly believed in emigration to the colonies as a way of relieving the pressure. In the new colonies he wanted to create villages that had a workable combination of labourers, artisans and the rich.

Marshall Clifton, who arrived from England in 1841, was appointed leader of the 440 new settlers and a detailed plan of the town was drawn up, which included a town square, church, a school, stores, a mill and a public hall. Within two years the settlement was abandoned, thanks largely to poor soils and no water during the summer periods and too much of it in winter. The company folded without having built very much of the promised town and much of the land went back to the Crown.

Australind Settlement Memorial, Australind, Public Art, Australian Memorial