The Village Settlements were communes set up by the South Australian government under Part VII of the Crown Lands Amendment Act 1893,[1] a scheme intended to mitigate the effects of the depression that was affecting the Colony. It followed the New Zealand Village Settlements Act and similar schemes in Canada and New South Wales, and concurrently with Victoria. It followed the "blockers" scheme espoused by George W. Cotton.
Thirteen settlements were surveyed: Lyrup, Pyap, Kingston, Waikerie, Moorook, Ramco, Holder, Murtho, New Residence, Gillen, New Era and Charleston-on-Murray all on the River Murray, Mount Remarkable in the Mid North, and Nangkita to the south of Adelaide.
Holder and Murtho were proclaimed as Village Settlements by May 1896, Lyrup, Pyap, Kingston, Waikerie, Moorook and Ramco followed.
The Village Settlement Aid Society was formed to give financial and other assistance to the "villagers". Its secretary was Thomas Hyland Smeaton.[citation needed]
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- ^ "The Crown Lands Amendment Act, 1893 (SA )". Part VII. Retrieved 4 October 2015.