NRS-1336 | Registers of requisitions from private individuals in dependent settlements

Full description

The keeping of a record of supplies issued to private individuals may have become necessary following a Government Order (No.42A) dated 12 December 1827. Article 16 of this Order stated: "No rations are to be issued from the Public Stores to private individuals or others, excepting on special authority of His Excellency." The Register commences in April 1828, and provides an entry column to indicate whether each requisition had been approved by the Colonial Secretary.
Most of the requisitions were for quantities of food, clothing, and other articles for domestic use.
The entries are arranged under the name of the settlement, and each shows: name of individual requiring supplies, name of the agent (in the earlier entries there is no separate column for this, but agent's name is written vertically beside the names of persons requesting the stores), lists of articles required, number of requisition, quantity allowed by the Colonial Secretary (usually the whole), registered number of order, date of order, name of vessel by which supplies were forwarded, date vessel sailed, and quantities of stores actually supplied. (In many entries the last three details are omitted.)
The following penal settlements are represented in the register (the periods for which there are entries given in brackets):

1. Fort Wellington (April 1828-May 1829). This settlement was abandoned in 1829.
2. King George's Sound (April 1828-July 1830). Early in 1831, this settlement was placed under the control of the Swan River Colony.
3. Melville Island (April-December 1828). This settlement was abandoned in 1829.
4. Moreton Bay (April 1828-May 1834). There may be a missing volume for later requisitions.
5. Norfolk Island (April 1828-November 1834). There may be one or more missing volumes containing later requisitions; a letter from the Commandant at Norfolk Island, dated 30 October 1835, indicates that requisitions from private individuals at that settlement were still being sent to Sydney.
6. Port Macquarie (April 1828-April 1832). Port Macquarie ceased to be a penal settlement after 1832.

(4/1703-04). 2 vols.

Note:
This description is extracted from Concise Guide to the State Archives of New South Wales, 3rd Edition 2000.