THE COMPANY AS PASTORALIST 241 



settlement in the western colony. The remoteness of the 

 settlers from one another and from their base, caused 

 by the vast extent of the grants, and the lack of labour 

 supphed by the convicts in Australia, MTccked a hopeful 

 and Avell-intended scheme. Yet it introduced many 

 valuable settlers into Western Australia, and it laid the 

 foundations of that south-western province which has 

 passed from a pastoral to an exporting agricultural 

 country. 



Some of the men who had failed in Western Australia 

 migrated to Van Diemen's Land, and there, on a smaller 

 and more manageable area, slowly acquired instead of 

 being seized in mass, they succeeded. So well did they 

 succeed that in 1835 an association of " adventurers," 

 as they called themselves, was formed in Tasmania, and 

 it aided in accomplishing the splendid undertaking of 

 colonising Victoria and spreading pioneer pastoralists 

 over the broad grassy acres of the West. Having served 

 its end, the association dissolved. 



In 1836 the Derwent Company purchased the shares 

 and interests of the Van Diemen's Land Company, and 

 formed stations in the Geelong district. The Clyde 

 Company formed stations on the Moorambool, and the 

 Circular Head Company in Tasmania. In later days 

 companies, with endless sheep and capital, competed 

 for mammoth stations. The Lochinvar, Rosenthal, and 

 St. Ruth Company, in Queensland, owned many runs, 

 and Edward Palmer mentions a company as existing in 

 1859, which had realised all its ambitions. Most of these 

 companies were English. The United Australian Pastoral 

 Company has a large station, with 50,000 sheep and 

 10,000 cattle ; it was formed some forty or more years 

 ago, and still declares a good dividend. In the seventies 

 the Musgrave Range Company held a large extent of 

 country in the Northern Territory. A New Zealand Pas- 

 toral Company (R. Campbell and Sons) declares a fat divi- 

 dend. The existence of such companies is the outcome 

 of a general movement. Company-ranches and com- 

 -pei,ny-estancias in North and South America are parallels 



16 



