Pastoral Interest & Public Interest

Throughout the nineteenth century, huge tracts of colonial Australia were made "pastoral leases".

As early as the 1830's, the British realised two things about New South Wales: the colony's economic future depended on the expansion of the sheep herd, and large scale expansion of grazing would bring settlers into bloody conflict with Aborigines.

These prospects raised questions about the coexistence of graziers' and native title rights.

Some historians argue that the 'pastoral lease' was developed by the British to reconcile these potentially conflicting interests.

In fact in 1848, a British official, Earl Grey, told New South Wales' Governor Fitzroy that it was incumbent on Government to prevent Aborigines being excluded from the land used by pastoralists.