• Title
  Charters and commissions concerning the Colony of North Australia / C. FitzRoy and Victoria, Queen of Great Britain
• Call number
  Safe 1/3b
  Safe 1/3c
  Safe 1/3d
  Safe 1/3e
  
• Level of description
  fonds
• Date
  
  1846-1847
• Type of material
  Textual Records, Objects
• Reference code
  455811
• Issue Copy
  Microfilm : CY 1330 (Safe 1/3b-e)
  
• Physical Description
  0.2 metres of textual material (parchment documents in boxes) - manuscript - 61 x 76 cm
  Object - wax impressions of seals - 20 cm (diameter)
  
• ADMINISTRATIVE/ BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
  
  On 17 February 1846 a royal charter was issued to establish the North Australia Colony, a new colony separate from New South Wales. It comprised land north of 26 degrees south latitude, now Queensland and Northern Territory. The initiative for the colony came from William Ewart Gladstone, Secretary of State for the Colonies, and later Prime Minister of Great Britain. Charles FitzRoy, Governor of New South Wales, was also appointed Governor of North Australia. A settlement, also known as the Gladstone Colony, was established at Port Curtis, Queensland, under the direction of Lieutenant Governor George Barney. The colony was intended to be a penal settlement, but was abandoned in 1847.
• Scope and Content
  17 Feb. 1846; Charter granted by Queen Victoria establishing the Colony of North Australia. Document written on two sheets of parchment, with decorated borders. The text of the charter was printed in the New South Wales Government Gazette, 13 Nov. 1846, page 1422. The Great Seal of Queen Victoria, in a cylindrical tin container, is housed in a separate box. It was originally attached by cords to the document. (Call No.: Safe 1/3b/1 (charter); Safe 1/3b/2 (seal))
  
  17 Feb. 1846; Manuscript copy of Charter, on two parchment sheets, without decoration or seal (Call No.: Safe 1/3c)
  
  21 Feb. 1846; Commission appointing Sir Charles FitzRoy Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of North Australia. The document is written on two sheets of parchment, with decorated borders. A wax impression of the Great Seal of Queen Victoria is attached to the document by red and yellow cords. The seal is approximately 16cm diameter and housed in a cylindrical tin container. (Call No.: Safe 1/3e)
  
  28 Dec. 1847; Revocation by Queen Victoria of the Charter and Commission to the Governor of North Australia. Written on parchment, with decorated borders, and lacking seal. The text of this document was printed in the New South Wales Government Gazette, 29 Jan. 1849, page 117. (Call No.: Safe 1/3d)
• Copying Conditions
  Out of copyright:
  Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales
• Creator/Author/Artist
  FitzRoy, Charles Augustus, Sir, 1796-1858
  Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, 1819-1901
  
• Subject
  Australia, Northern--Colonization.
  Governors--New South Wales.
  Governors--Queensland.
  Northern Territory--History--1824-1851.
  Public administration--Queensland.
  Queensland--History--1824-1900
  Seals (Numismatics).
  
• Place
  Gladstone (Qld.)
  
• Open Rosetta viewer
  IE20604889

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