‘Beyond The Limits’
Settlement beyond the Limits of Location
1848 – 1850
“The mountains saw them marching by,
They faced the all consuming drought,
They could not rest in settled land,
Their faces ever westward bent
Beyond the farthest settlement,
Responding to the challenge cry,
Of ‘better country further out’.
Could braver history unfold
Than this bush story yet untold-
The story of their westward march”
A. B. Paterson ‘Song of the Future’
Introduction
The passage of the ‘Squatters’ Act of 1846 – 47 replaced the system of annual tenure and gave to the pastoral industry beyond the ‘limits of location’ a fixity of tenure , albeit only for fourteen years but during that period only he could purchase the land. During the following years the Government Gazette published the names of applicants for leasehold in the pastoral districts of Bligh, Clarence River, Darling Downs, Gwydir, Lachlan, Liverpool Plains, Lower Darling, Macleay River, Manero, Moreton Bay, Murrumbidgee, New England and Wellington.
The applicant was required to furnish details as to the name of the run, the estimated area and grazing capacity, a description of the run boundaries and where applicable the names and/ or owners of adjoining properties.
Note that the listing is only of applicants for leasehold it does not necessarily mean that the application was successful. There were 608 caveat lodged by parties objecting to the issue of these leases. These appear in later issues of the Government Gazette.
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Notes
Cattle / Sheep
The number of cattle and sheep are the grazing capabilities as estimated by the applicant. In a few cases the application states number of sheep OR cattle.
Location
The original applications include a description of the boundaries of the run but in a work of this kind it is not practical to include the full description. However in order to assist researcher, keywords such as the names of rivers, creeks etc, neighbours, and adjacent runs have been noted.. Note that there are numerous variations in the spelling of neighbour’s names, in the names of runs and in names of rivers, creeks etc. In all cases the reference is given to date of publication in the Government Gazette where the original entry can be found.
Abbreviations
-Districts
Bli Bligh
ClarR Clarence River
DD Darling Downs
Gw Gwydir
Lac Lachlan
LD Lower Darling
LPls Liverpool Plains
Mac Macleay River
Man Maneroo
MB Moreton Bay
Mur Murrumbidgee
NE New England
Wel Wellington
et al and others
m mile
ne no entry
sq m square miles
es east side
est estate
ws west side
ns north side
ss south side
- river
Ck. creek
Mt. mountain