IAS231 Colonial North Australia

The study about the first major terrible failure of agriculture in the Northern Territory of South Australia outlines little known activities of developing successful settlements in the Northern Territory of South Australia through establishing sugar plantations. A vibrant and thriving agriculture in this area has been the hope and a persistent dream of the past generations of the Territory and previous governments, both the federal and the state governments. This study explores the earliest challenges at sustained agriculture in South Australia’s Northern Territory [1].

The story begins when the government of South Australia first come up with the idea of the plantation and the Act was passed on the same, which could offer a five thousand bounds bonus for the first 500 tons of sugar that could be produced and manufactured in the Northern Territory. Not even one person got the bonus, due to the failures of the scheme.  Before it failed, it had attracted remarkable interest not only in the whole of South Australia but also worldwide. Unfortunately, the story has been largely forgotten today. The embarrassing failure of this scheme caused lack of confidence to an extent that it made South Australia to finally opt out of its commitment in the Northern Territory

Among other factors believed also to have caused failures include general incompetence, inadequate expertise and poor management. Actually, it was only two people in the plantations who had the necessary expertise and ability of managing, according to Kirkland, the principal editor on The Northern Territory Times and Gazette. These plantation managers were Otto Brandt, who failed, according to the editor, because he did not get the necessary encouragement and support from the government, and Delissa Benjamin from Delissavile, who their employers dismissed. Kirkland consistently maintains that Benjamin, Delissa Pioneer Sugar Company founder was badly mistreated by his backers [2].

One of the other main reason for the failure was the government, which was not cooperative. When Owston, a surveyor sent by the South Australian government arrived in Daly for instant, he did not get enough assistance from the government. Clearly, he was not able to get the Northern Territory government services, such as getting the government surveyor to ensure boundaries were fixed as both he and the government of South Australia had wanted. Many other government actions including negligence, market fluctuations and greed speculators led to the failure of the scheme. Later, there was a successful cover up of the real areas of the blocks that Owston had chosen. If this sites could have been identified properly, they could have offered an immediate rise of successful development of agriculture.

On the other hands, the land that had been allocated to the Daly River Plantation Company, which was inferior and Owston had rejected it, was for many years wrongly thought to be an example of one of the Territory’s best land. The areas that were suitable for agricultural activities which Owston had selected first, had to be revived and gradually pioneered over several subsequent years [3]. 

The Northern Territory in the 1880s was not able to establish a sustainable enterprise of agriculture may also have directly resulted from incompetence of successive governments of South Australia in controlling the problem. The successive ministers of South Australia were not able to get an understanding of the basic agricultural development requirements. At the same time, they were actually not able, even though they saw the need, to come up with departments or even assign government officers who were well informed and who had enough integrity to effect anticipated outcomes. Lack of these two led them to rely for advice from the Survey Department. Also, it seemed like there was a type of prejudice that was favoring South Australians, which at best led to unfavorable bias against individuals from other colonies. Even though it was a common occurrence of that time in Australia, it had negative impacts on agriculture in the Northern Territory [4].

As a result of unavailability of sustainable agricultural industry, there was no place for the agricultural worker with skills to survive due to high living costs. The chances of men having an ability to fend themselves was evaded by the regulations of the government, which made it not possible for the stranger in the area to establish himself [5]. Even though wages were relatively high compared to other areas, they were never enough in covering the costs of the basic needs of life for someone who had a family. For the family of a laborer to survive in these situations, it was important that their income be adequately augmented in the way that was only possible with farm work. Normally, an agricultural worker would increase his wages through living off the land and receiving other ‘kind’ benefits which were completely necessary [6]

It worries that over several years, the Territory is yet to develop. Establishing a sustainable r agricultural industry at the beginning would have generated an atmosphere in which indigenous people of Australia would have been gradually enabled to be trained in a better manner towards final personal and collective independence economically [7].  The need to adapt how to live with their aboriginal neighbors they could have enabled them to learn how to relate and work in a mutual and better way.

 The colonists had not been asked to come to the Northern Australia by the Aboriginals. The Aboriginals had developed their ways over so many years and were different. Most importantly, they had established their own independence and they never required technology or Europeans for them to survive. Yet, they had been influenced to participate, despite the fact that there was a marginal and high rate of intercontinental immigration from European continent [8]. 

Both present-day and contemporary literature gives every possible reason why the Northern Territory failed to establish commercial agriculture, from poor conditions of weather, poor soils, insufficient expertise and suitable labor to the unrest of Aboriginals, poor management and lack of funds. All these are examples but this study has discussed the main and weightier reasons.

References

[1]	Davidson and B. Robinson, The Northern Myth: A Study of the Physical and Economic Limits to Agricultural and Pastoral Development in Tropical Australia, Texas: Melbourne University Press, 2017.
[2]	Australian National Travel Association, Walkabout, Volumes 19-20, London: Australian National Travel Association, 2016.
[3]	The South Australian state reports, The South Australian state reports, Volumes 51-65, Texas: The South Australian state, 2018.
[4]	H. J. D. Blij, Wcsworld Regional Geography 11th Edition with Lecture Notes for Tarrant County College, London: John Wiley & Sons, 2015.
[5]	Australia. Committee to Enquire into Prospects of Agriculture in the Northern Territory, Prospects of Agriculture in the Northern Territory: Report of the Forster Committee, Texas: Department of Territories, 2019.
[6]	P. F. Donovan, A Land Full of Possibilities: A History of South Australia's Northern Territory, London: University of Queensland Press, 2015.
[7]	H. J, Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts, Texas: Wiley, 2018.
[8]	F. H. Bauer, "Historical Geography of White Settlement in part of the Northern Austmlia," Division of land Research and Regional Survey Report, London, 2017.