Journals of Several Expeditions Made in Western Australia, During the Years 1829, 1830, 1831, and 1832/Extract of a Letter from Swan River

No. 6.

EXTRACT OF A LETTER from Swan River, dated 27th January, 1833.

⁠Land increases in value daily on the Swan; a grant that the owner would have readily sold for 25l. ready money, a twelvemonth ago, will now fetch 100l.; indeed, I do not know a better war of investing a small sum of money, than in land on the Swan: a grant I gave 200l. for, I could let, for grazing sheep, at 20l. per annum, and your land is improving all the time. People who had grants on the Swan, in the earlier period of the colony, thinking them worthless, literally gave them up, conceiving, that as land was given away, and no one appeared to derive any benefit from the culture, or rather never attempted such culture, that it was useless to retain them; now, however, that they see the soil producing wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, turnips, carrots, Indian corn, &c. &c. in the greatest profusion, they are ready to purchase the very grants they previously gave away.

There are only two sorts of people who can get on here, the one with a capital, the other the labouring man, who gets a three acre grant, cultivates it two days in the week, and works out the other four days, supporting himself, and bringing his grant into cultivation. You have, I suppose, heard dreadful accounts of the nature of the soil, and with some show of reason, probably, as Fremantle, the great emporium of our trade is the vilest place on earth—nothing, in fact, but a huge mass of white sand; and the country, within two or three miles, partakes of the same valuable qualities; and there are many who pretend to give a description of the colony, who have never been more than an hour's walk into the interior. The land on the banks of the Swan, commencing at Perth, is decidedly good, up to the hills; the Canning, I believe, is the same. This good land, I must tell you, though, only extends half a mile to a mile back, from the banks of the rivers, when you come to light sandy soil, covered with brushwood and worthless trees; though in the neighbourhood of the numberless lagoons which are scattered very thickly over the face of the country, you may find excellent soil. Over the hills, however, the scene changes; there is, as may be seen in the chart of the colony, a chain of hills running north and south, parallel with the coast; they are not worthy of the name of mountains, as I should think none in this neighbourhood exceeds 4 or 500 feet in height. From the foot of the hills, about twenty miles from the coast, you commence an up and down journey, which extends to the distance of forty-eight miles, when you reach York, our ultra mountain settlement: there are, I believe, three ranges of hills before you reach the level country, but these offer but few obstacles to the traveller; indeed, though they have never levelled a road, but merely cut down the trees and brushwood in the line a cart can go over very well: the land when you reach it is really good, and moreover uniformly so thinly wooded, and well adapted for either grazing or tillage. Messrs. Trimmers have now a flock of 500 sheep there, all thriving uncommonly well.

At present there are only two or three settlers over there, as the transportation of provisions makes settling there very expensive at present. On the whole, I think there is not a doubt of the ultimate success of this colony, provided we have a government who obey the dictates of reason,—the country will produce anything; the only drawback, perhaps, in the eyes of an inhabitant of our cold, foggy, yet dear little island, would be the heat of the climate. The following calculation will show the amount that will be sufficient to commence as an agriculturist:

First Year's Outlay as a Stock Farmer.
150 Ewes, at 30s.	£225	0	0
Hut and Sheep Pens	50	0	0
My own Keep	100	0	0
Keep of Man	45	12	6
Wages, 50s. per Month	32	10	0
Tools, Implements, Kitchen Utensils, &c.	10	0	0
Grant of Land	150	0	0
	£613	2	6

Second Year.
Man's Keep and Wages.	£78	2	6
My own Ditto	78	2	6
Medicines, &c.	10	0	0
	£166	5	0
125 Lambs, weighing 25lb. each, sold at 1s. 3d. per lb.	195	0	0
Clear	£28	15	0

⁠You will perceive I have not reckoned my second year's keep so high as the first as I should have raised vegetables by that time. The item of keep is certainly too high, but as I have not reckoned for casualties I let it stand.

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⁠The following is a Calculation for a Tillage Farmer:

⁠Instead of sheep I commence with two bullocks and one cow, in place of the sheep; the other items are the same, except the addition of a plough and harrow—this will require less capital than the former by 100l.

T. P. Jun.⁠