1838 Royal Geographical Society
By 1838 the coastline of the Australian continent had been well defined by mariners such as James Cook, Matthew Flinders and Phillip Parker King. As for the interior of Australia, little was known except for the area south of a line from Moreton Bay to Victoria as it is now i.e. the south east of the continent. This knowledge had been obtained from the journeys of exploration of men such as John Oxley, Charles Sturt, Thomas Mitchell, Allan Cunningham and George Evans.
There were many proposals for the subdivision of the Australian continent dating back to the 1830s. This proposal by Captain James Vetch was published by the Royal Geographical Society in their journal of 1838. Vetch tried to give each colony equal areas, possess a tract of sea coast with possible harbour sites and be as compact as possible.
The boundaries of his proposed colonies were defined using lines of latitude and longitude. This was generally used by colonial administrators when there was either no natural features such as rivers and ranges or due to exploration of the country not being well enough advanced to know if there were any natural features. Natural features are desirable as borders as they do not have to be surveyed. Lines of latitude and longitude do have some advantages such as they are easily described and define the required size and shape of the colony simply. Lines of latitude and longitude are of little use until artificial marks such as pegs, posts and rock cairns have been placed in and on the ground.
Return to Establishing Queensland’s borders
Last updated: 22 June 2009