Committed to Conserve: the Western Lands Act, 1901, and the Management of the Public Estate of the Western Division of New South Wales

Modern perceptions of a past characterised by ignorance and disregard for the environment overlook widely supported attempts by Europeans to protect Australia’s biophysical resources. An environmental and financial crisis in the rangelands of the Western Division of New South Wales was investigated by the Royal Commission into the Condition of the Crown Tenants of 1901. This crisis and royal commission are famous evidence of a profound mismatch between early pastoralism and the land. But, less famously, the royal commission and the subsequent Western Lands Act, 1901, were part of a widely supported and deep commitment to better adapt pastoralism to its environment. The failure of this commitment to achieve lasting change to the way the land was used over succeeding decades illustrates the intransigence of our basic systems of land use.