Reception of the New Governor (Kennedy) of Western Australia.

This image was produced to satisfy the ongoing interest in Western Australia by the British in England and her colonies, it helped promote emigration by showing the benefits and opportunities available. From the original edition of the Illustrated London News.

Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy (1810-1883) governed Western Australia for seven years, steadily growing the economy and population, mainly due to the influx of convict labour. Notable public works by convict labour were road clearance, swamp drainage around Perth and the first stages of Government House on St George’s Terrace, Perth. Reference: article by Peter Boyce published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, (MUP), 1974.