The squatter period

During the 1820's, the people of New South Wales began to develop a strong economy based on the production of wool for export to Britain. The large profits that could be made from the wool trade encouraged more and more settlers to raise sheep for a living. But the government of New South Wales allowed settlers to buy or lease grazing (пастбищный) land only within a limited area. All the land outside this area was considered government property. But by the mid-1820s the numbers of sheep had increased so greatly that, no matter what the government said, farmers set out with their flocks (стада) to find pastures (пастбища) on the grassy plains of the interior. Many settlers occupied government land illegally. These illegal landholders became known as squatters. When they came to land which had not been taken up, each man marked out his run (an outdoor enclosure for domestic animals – русс. – «рен»), established his station (a sheep or cattle ranch) and claimed it as his own. Where, as often happened, there was no woman in the party, the men lived roughly, " half savage, half mad... half dressed, half not, unshaven, unshorn, shoes never cleaned, eating tea and damper*." (M. Kiddle, Men of Yesterday, Melbourne University Press, 1061.)

*Damper (австралийский хлеб)

In colonial Australia, stockmen (ковбои) developed the technique of making damper out of necessity. Often away from home for weeks, with just a camp fire to cook on and only sacks of flour as provisions, a basic staple bread evolved. It was originally made with flour and water and a good pinch (щепотка) of salt, kneaded (месить), shaped into a round, and baked in the ashes of the campfire or open fireplace.

Cooking the damper

Eventually the government had to recognize these squatters and in 1836 the Governor announced that anyone could squat on Crown lands on payment of 10 pounds a year license. The squatter's flocks and herds increased. If droughts (засуха) or diseases did not wipe out (уничтожить) his stock (скот) he had a good chance of becoming a rich man.

During the 1830's, a number of sheep farmers migrated to southern New South Wales from Tasmania and the area around Sydney. They founded Melbourne and occupied the rich grazing lands south of the Murray River. They did so well that they asked Great Britain to make them a separate colony. The request was granted in 1851. That year, the part of New South Wales south of the Murray River became the new colony of Victoria.