Sketch Shewing the Squatting Districts in New South Wales. 1844.

Arrowsmith’s important and rare map showing the ‘Squatting Districts‘ in New South Wales and present day Victoria as at 1844 which accompanied Governor Sir George Gipps report on the vast tracts of landing taken over by the ‘squatting interest’ and his proposal to enact changes to the Crown Lands Act of 1842. Gipps proposed that Crown land lease should be in his opinion ‘support a high minimum price for land‘.

The map shows the original nineteen counties in New South Wales which were defined by Governor Darling’s Government in 1826.

The limits of location in the colony of New South Wales where settlers were permitted to take up land was only within the Governments defined as the, Nineteen Counties, and limits to settlement were due to the dangers in the wilderness. They were defined by the Governor of New South Wales Ralph Darling in 1826 in accordance with a government order from Lord Bathurst, the Secretary of State. Counties had been used since the first year of settlement, with Cumberland County being proclaimed on 6th June 1788. Several others were later proclaimed around the Sydney area. Darling proclaimed the division of the settlement into Nineteen Counties in the Sydney Gazette of 17 October 1829. From 1831 the granting of free land ceased and the only land that was to be made available for sale was within the Nineteen Counties. The area covered by the limit, extended to Taree in the north, Batemans Bay in the south and Wellington to the West.

From, Correspondence relative to Crown Lands and emigration to New South Wales. London 

References:
Tooley 94, ill. pl. 6

Collections:
National Library of Australia: Libraries Australia:   Bib ID3412425
State Library of NSW: Call Number M2 806/1848/1