1826 - 1884 : The Early Years

Introduction

From colonisation, Western Australia’s economy grew in very distinct cycles. After the initial surge of optimism about the agricultural and industrial opportunities in the Swan River Colony there was a long period of stagnation. The small population base, the high cost of land freight from the more fertile inland settlements, the four month sailing time to England and the comparative attractiveness of South Australia and the eastern colonies for near coastal development weighed against Western Australia.

In December 1826 the King George Sound Colony had been established as a penal settlement by Major Lockyer who had sailed from Sydney in the brig “Amity”. He formally claimed the balance of New Holland at a ceremony on January 21, 1827 at Residency Point, having used soldiers and convicts to construct animal pens and stores on the shores of the natural harbour.

Reveley and Trigg

In 1829 administrators such as Stirling realised the value of having engineers, surveyors and architects with broad skills during the establishment of a new colony. Early colonial arrivals such as engineer H W Reveley, surveyor J S Roe together with Western Australia Company staff such as J G Austin and T W Thompson performed an important task of surveying and providing access to land. Despite the glowing reports and the marketing of land and lifestyle the colony was just struggling to survive.

Table 1. Western Australia Population 1829 to 1850

Year	1829	1830	1835	1840	1845	1850
Population	1,003	1,172	1,878	2,311	4,479	5,886

Despite having good local construction materials of limestone, clay and jarrah, the bulk of the early buildings were rudimentary. The established colonies in the eastern states were happy to thrive off the shortages of food and building supplies by sending bricks, doors, windows and food to the emerging colony. Population was only 5,886 in 1850.

Figure 1. Export Commodities 1845 1850

Henry Willey Reveley had been recruited as Colonial Engineer in Cape Town and on arrival on the Parmelia in the Swan River Colony had a long list of buildings to complete just to house key staff, secure stores and allow for the administration of the colony. Reveley had studied engineering and science at the University of Pisa and had taken an interest in the architectural work of his father. He was fortuitously recruited from Cape Town when the establishment fleet stopped for provisioning.

Reveley was a difficult person to get on with and had run-ins with builder, Henry Trigg. One case that went to court about the supply of stone by Trigg had evidence that the two “grumbled at each other”. Trigg respected Reveley’s technical capability and later used Reveley’s design for the Causeway crossing of the Swan River.

The budget for building was heavily constrained but substantial buildings such as the Round House, Perth Courthouse, Public Offices and the Commissariat Store were completed. On November 30, 1838 after nine years in the colony, the Reveleys left for England. The constrained finance of the colony meant that there were no funds for a replacement engineer, so a local builder Henry Trigg was appointed as Superintendent of Public Works. It was during Trigg’s time that the causeway across the Swan River and the first Rottnest Lighthouse were built.

The export economy was miniscule and was dominated by wool and sandalwood. The first mining operation in Western Australia had commenced with the Geraldine lead mine in the bed of the Murchison River in 1849.

Royal Engineers and Convicts

The arrival of convicts had a major impact on Western Australia. The Royal Engineers provided the skill and convicts the means to undertake a major body of work. 563 miles of roads were cleared and made, 239 bridges were built or repaired, 543 culverts made or repaired and 44 wells sunk, a new Government House built and over a dozen lock ups and depots completed. More information on Convict built bridges, buildings and jetties is available here.

Table 2. Western Australia Population 1855 to 1880

Year	1855	1860	1865	1870	1875	1880
Population	12,605	15,346	21,381	25,135	27,002	29,561

The Royal Engineers included engineers Edmund Henderson, Henry Wray, Edmund Du Cane and Edward Grain. The impact on Gross State Product was immediate with the larger population making many activities viable and the convicts improving transport connections.

In 1851, engineer James Gardner Austin was appointed Superintendent of Works. He was also an architect and had been appointed Chief Engineer, Architect and Surveyor for the new settlement of Australind in 1840. He was succeeded in 1853 by Richard Roach Jewell, an architect and builder who was supported by James Manning, an engineer, as Clerk of Works. R R Jewell spent over 20 years in the role and made a significant contribution to the development of the colony.

The period to 1875 ended with engineer Malcolm Fraser as Commissioner of Works. He was also the Surveyor General for the State. Unfortunately, he got caught up in the controversy on the Geraldton to Northampton Railway. His expertise did not include rail and he offered his resignation when the original design had to be upgraded as substantially increased cost from the consultant’s original design.

Figure 2. Gross State Product, Swan River Colony, '000 Pounds

Early Infrastructure

The period 1876 to 1884 saw improved infrastructure but slow growth. In 1876 engineer John Henry Thomas was appointed Chief Engineer and Director of Public Works. Rail expertise was particularly required as this was seen to be a key piece of infrastructure to drive the export economy.

In 1877 a telegraph line was completed between Western Australia and South Australia linking the colony to the outside world..

First Railways

The first rail line in Western Australia was constructed by Henry Yelverton at Quindalup in 1858 where a two mile timber rail tramway was used to transport timber, using horse drawn wagons, from a sawmill to a jetty in Geographe Bay. The second rail line built was from Lockeville (Wonnerup) to Yoganup in 1871 and was the first to use a steam powered locomotive. In 1872 a rail line was constructed for a steam locomotive from Jarrahdale to Rockingham a distance of 24 miles and also used timber rails..

In 1879 the 34 mile Geraldton to Northampton rail line was opened at a cost nearly double the original estimate. In 1881 a rail line from Fremantle to Guildford was completed by the Victorian contractor John Robb establishing a key piece of infrastructure for the colony. By 1885 the rail line had been extended to York. Engineer Edward Vivien Harvey Keane was then firmly established as the leading rail contractor in Western Australia having built the rail lines from Childlow’s Well to York after moving to Western Australia from South Australia in 1882.

In 1882 the Western Australian Colonial Surveyor General submitted a report on the land between Beverley and King George Sound as part of a proposal to have the private sector build a rail line on the land grant principle. It was not until 1886 that construction commenced by Millar Brothers.

In December 1883, John Waddington proposed to the Western Australian Colonial Government that a railway be constructed from York to Geraldton on a land grant principle. This took until 1886 for an agreement to be signed for an amended route from Midland to Walkaway becoming known as the Midland Railway.

In 1884 Western Australia was the smallest colony in Australia with a population of 33,546 being approximately one quarter the size of the Tasmanian population.

Table 3. Western Australia's Population Compared to other Colonies in 1884

Colony	Population	Per Cent of Australia's Population
NSW	899,203	34.51%
Victoria	935,777	35.91%
Queensland	301,857	11.58%
South Australia	308,947	11.86%
Tasmania	126,665	4.86%
Western Australia	33,546	1.28%
Australia	2,605,725	100.00%