Editing History of Victoria (section)

==Permanent European settlement==
Victoria's first successful British settlement was at [[Portland, Victoria|Portland]], on the west coast of what is now Victoria. Portland was settled on 19 November 1834<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3962634 |title=BIRTH OF MELBOURNE. |newspaper=The Argus|location=Melbourne |date=13 October 1928 |access-date=25 January 2012 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> by the [[Henty family]], who were originally farmers from [[Van Diemen's Land]] (Tasmania). When [[Thomas Mitchell (explorer)|Major Thomas Mitchell]] led an expedition to the region from Sydney in 1835, arriving at Portland in August 1836, he was surprised to find a small but prosperous community living off the fertile farmland.

In 1835, [[John Pascoe Fawkner]] and the [[Port Phillip Association]] (led by [[John Batman]]) started the Port Phillip settlement that later become known as Melbourne.

===Borders===
The [[District of Port Phillip]] was formally established as an administrative division within the [[Colony of New South Wales]] in September 1836, though with ill-defined borders. In 1839, the District was defined as consisting of all the lands within New South Wales south of [[36th parallel south|36°S]] latitude, and between [[141st meridian east|141°E]] (that is, the border with the future [[Colony of South Australia]]) and [[146th meridian east|146°E]] longitude.<ref name = AgeVicBorder>{{cite news|title = What is the northern boundary of Victoria?|newspaper = The Age|date = 21 April 1906|url-status = dead|url = http://150.theage.com.au/view_bestofarticle.asp?intid=1210&inttype=1&straction=update|archive-date = 15 September 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090915101827/http://www.150.theage.com.au/view_bestofarticle.asp?straction=update&inttype=1&intid=1210}}</ref> Coinciding with the introduction of a fixed-price land sale scheme in January 1840, the District was expanded north to follow the course of the [[Murrumbidgee River]] from its source to the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast at [[Moruya, New South Wales|Moruya]].<ref name = ShawJRAHS1982>{{cite journal|last = Shaw|first = A. G. L.|author-link = Alan George Lewers Shaw|title = Agitation for the Separation of the Port Phillip District from the Colony of New South Wales, 1838–1850|journal = [[Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society]]|volume = 68|issue = 1|pages = 1–17|date = June 1982|issn = 0035-8762}}
</ref> However, the border was retracted south to the [[Murray River]] after extensive opposition in Sydney, including from the [[Legislative Council of New South Wales|Legislative Council]],<ref name = ShawJRAHS1982 /><ref name = ShawHistory>{{cite book|last = Shaw|first = A. G. L.|author-link = Alan George Lewers Shaw|title = A History of the Port Phillip District: Victoria Before Separation|year = 1996|publisher = [[Miegunyah Press]]|location = Carlton South, Victoria|isbn = 0522846513}}</ref> all of whom were appointed by the Sovereign or the Governor of the Colony.<ref>{{cite web|title = Part Three—Members of the Legislative Council Appointed Prior to the Date of Responsible Government in 1856|publisher = [[Parliament of New South Wales]]|url = https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/members/formermembers/Documents/Part%203.pdf|access-date = 17 June 2020}}</ref> When the Legislative Council was expanded and restructured to include 12 appointed members and 24 members elected by eligible landowners, taking effect from the [[Results of the 1843 New South Wales colonial election|1843 colonial elections]], the newly created electoral districts included [[electoral district of Port Phillip|Port Phillip]] (to be represented by 5 members) and the [[electoral district of Town of Melbourne|Town of Melbourne]].<ref>{{cite act|url = http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/ea1843n1130.pdf|title = An Act to provide for the division of the Colony of New South Wales into Electoral Districts and for the Election of Members to serve in the Legislative Council|date = 23 February 1843|number = 16|access-date = 17 June 2020}}</ref> On 1 July 1843, a proclamation formalised the border as running from [[Cape Howe]], to the nearest source of the Murray River, and then along the course of the Murray to the border with South Australia.<ref name = AgeVicBorder />

{{multiple image|perrow = 3|total_width = 750
 | align             = center
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 | width             = 250
 | caption_align     = centre
 | header_align      = centre
 | header            = Borders of the District of Port Phillip within the Colony of New South Wales
 | image1            = Port_Phillip_District_location_map_1839.svg
 | caption1          = formalised in 1839
 | image2            = Port Phillip District location map 1840.svg
 | caption2          = January 1840
 | image3            = Australia Victoria location map blank.svg
 | caption3          = 1 July 1843 – 1 July 1851}}

Elected representatives for Port Phillip and Melbourne needed to be in Sydney to serve in the Legislative Council, placing them at a great distance from the areas they represented, and they were consequently considered ineffective and out-of-touch by locals.<ref name = McCombie /><ref>{{cite book|title = The Constitution of Victoria|first = Greg|last = Taylor|chapter = Victorian Constitutionalism: A Brief History|pages = 23–63|isbn = 9781862876125|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jcuj0PmbRjYC&pg=PA23|publisher = [[Federation Press]]|year = 2006}}</ref>{{rp|23–27}} In protest and in support of a campaign for independence,<ref>{{cite news|url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91457873|title = Contemporary opinions on the late election movements|newspaper = [[Geelong Advertiser]]|date = 29 July 1848|access-date = 17 June 2019|page = 2|via = National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226354152|title = Apology for Earl Grey's election|newspaper = [[The Port Phillip Patriot and Morning Advertiser]]|date = 31 July 1848|access-date = 17 June 2020|page = 2|via = National Library of Australia}}</ref> the [[Results of the 1848 New South Wales colonial election|1848 election]] scheduled for 27 July<ref>{{cite news|url = https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230131665|title = Writs for a general election|newspaper = [[New South Wales Government Gazette]]|issue = 68|date = 27 June 1848|access-date = 17 June 2020|page = 799|via = National Library of Australia}}</ref> was disrupted by not nominating candidates for Port Phillip<ref>{{cite news|url = https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91458102|title = Melbourne|newspaper = [[Geelong Advertiser]]|date = 27 July 1848|access-date = 17 June 2019|page = 4|via = National Library of Australia}}</ref> and putting forward for the Town of Melbourne the incumbent [[Secretary of State for War and the Colonies]] in the British Cabinet, [[Henry Grey, 3rd Earl Grey|Earl Grey]]. Grey received nearly 75% of the vote<ref>{{cite news|url = https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223152948|title = Election of a representative for the City of Melbourne|newspaper = [[Port Phillip Gazette and Settler's Journal]]|date = 29 July 1848|access-date = 17 June 2020|page = 2|via = National Library of Australia}}</ref> despite Grey having never visited the Colony and being ineligible as a current member of the [[British Parliament]].<ref name = Twomey /><ref name = GreyNSWParl>{{Cite NSW Parliament|id = 159|name = The Hon. Henry (Earl Grey) Grey|former = Yes|access-date = 17 June 2020}}</ref> A second writ was issued to elect five representatives for Port Phillip in October 1848.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230149500|title = Writ of election: Port Phillip|newspaper = [[New South Wales Government Gazette]]|issue = 91|date = 25 August 1848|access-date = 17 June 2020|page = 1065|via = National Library of Australia}}</ref> Following the strategy involving Earl Grey, the nominees included the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]], [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]], [[Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux|Lord Brougham]], [[John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord John Russell]], and Sir [[Robert Peel]] but local representatives were elected.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4770930|title = The district election|newspaper = The Argus|location=Melbourne|date = 13 October 1848|access-date = 17 June 2020|page = 2|via = National Library of Australia}}</ref> Grey never attempted to take up his seat and it was declared vacant in 1850<ref name = McCombie /><ref name = Twomey /><ref name = GreyNSWParl /> and a replacement elected.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12922534|title = Melbourne election|newspaper = The Sydney Morning Herald|date = 14 November 1850|access-date = 17 June 2020|page = 2|via = National Library of Australia}}</ref> The independence campaign continued and led Grey to introduce the [[Australian Colonies Government Act|''Australian Colonies Government Act 1850'']] into the British Parliament, separating the District of Port Phillip from New South Wales to become the [[Colony of Victoria]] from 2 July 1851.<ref name = McCombie /><ref name = Twomey>{{cite web|last = Twomey|first = Anne |author-link=Anne Twomey (academic) |title=Senator Assange?|website = Constitutional Critique – Critical Constitutional Analysis by the Constitutional Reform Unit|publisher = [[Sydney Law School]] of [[the University of Sydney]]|url = http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/cru/2013/04/senator_assange.html|date = 20 April 2013|archive-date = 16 March 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190316060307/http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/cru/2013/04/senator_assange.html}}</ref> The separation occurred along the 1843 borders and still apply to the modern [[State of Victoria]]. The same Act created bicameral legislatures and instituted [[responsible government|self-government]] for each colony.<ref name = McCombie>{{cite book|title = The History of the Colony of Victoria: From Its Settlement to the Death of Sir Charles Hotham|first = Thomas|last = McCombie|author-link = Thomas McCombie|publisher = [[John Sands (company)|Sands and Kenny]]|location = Melbourne|year = 1858}}</ref>

===Conflict over resources===
{{see also|Eumeralla Wars}}
With the dispossession of Aboriginal peoples from their lands with the establishment of sheep runs by squatters, conflict over resources and land use inevitably occurred. One highly notable incident called the [[Convincing Ground massacre]] occurred in Portland Bay in 1833 or 1834 in a possible dispute about a [[beached whale]] between whalers and the ''Kilcarer gundidj'' clan of the [[Gunditjmara]] people.<ref name="clark">Ian D. Clark, pp17-22, ''Scars on the Landscape. A Register of Massacre sites in Western Victoria 1803–1859'', Aboriginal Studies Press, 1995 {{ISBN|0-85575-281-5}} Excerpt also published on [http://museumvictoria.com.au/encounters/journeys/Robinson/convincing_ground.htm Museum Victoria website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905130138/http://museumvictoria.com.au/encounters/journeys/robinson/convincing_ground.htm |date=5 September 2012 }}, accessed 26 November 2008</ref>

Melbourne was founded in 1835 by [[John Batman]], also from [[Van Diemen's Land]] and quickly grew into a thriving community, although at great human cost to the original inhabitants. Its foundation was the result of an invasion of wealthy squatters, land speculators and their indentured servants (including ex-convicts) who arrived from 1835, in a race with one another to seize an 'empty' country. The British Crown and colonial governments did not recognise prior Aboriginal ownership of their lands, waters and property, in spite of claiming that Aborigines fell within the protection of the law as British subjects.

Early in 1836, Mr Franks, one of the first immigrants to the region, and his shepherd were found dead as a result of steel hatchet wounds to the head. His station was near Cotterill's Mount, called the Sugarloaf, near the river Exe, now Werribee. Upon discovering the scene, and a nearby food store which appeared to have been ransacked, George Smith travelled to Point Gellibrand and formed an exploratory band. The party was sent out led by tour of the Melbourne tribe,<ref name="THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF VICTORIA">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67471508 |title=THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF VICTORIA. |newspaper=[[Traralgon Record]] |location=Traralgon, Vic. |date=19 March 1915 |access-date=28 January 2012 |page=4 Edition: MORNING |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and encountered a camp from the Indigenous Wathaurong tribe, whereupon an unclear incident occurred. Port Philip Police Magistrate Captain William Lonsdale advised the Colonel Secretary that no harm was inflicted on the Aboriginal people, however Wathaurong histories report that 35 of their people were murdered in retaliatory violence.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Convincing ground : learning to fall in love with your country|last=Pascoe, Bruce, 1947–|date=2007|publisher=Aboriginal Studies Press|isbn=9780855756949|location=Canberra|oclc=671655666}}</ref> The ''Traralgon Record'' newspaper reported in 1915 that the party "took vengeance on the murderers" (referring to the untried Wathaurong people),<ref name="THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF VICTORIA"/> while ''The Cornwall Chronicle'' of Tasmania reported with approval in 1836 that the band had scouted the Wathaurong camp overnight, and in the morning launched an attack with the intent of "annihilating them".<ref name=":2">{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65954558|title=PORT PHILIP.|date=30 July 1836|newspaper=[[The Cornwall Chronicle]]|access-date=1 November 2019|issue=31|location=Tasmania, Australia|volume=2|page=2|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The incident is today remembered as "[[Mount Cottrell massacre|The Mount Cottrell massacre]]".

Between 1836 and 1842, Victorian Aboriginal groups were largely dispossessed of territory bigger than England.<ref>James Boyce, 1835: ''The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia'', Black Inc, 2011, page 151 citing Richard Broome, 'Victoria' in McGrath (ed.), Contested Ground: 129</ref> Although the British Colonial Office appointed 5 "[[Aboriginal Protector]]s" for the entire Aboriginal population of Victoria, arriving in Melbourne in 1839, they worked "...within a land policy that nullified their work, and there was no political will to change this."<ref>James Boyce, 1835: ''The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia'', Black Inc, 2011, p.177</ref> "It was government policy to encourage squatters to take possession of whatever [Aboriginal] land they chose,....that largely explains why almost all the original inhabitants of Port Phillip's vast grasslands were dead so soon after 1835".<ref>James Boyce, 1835: ''The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia'', Black Inc, 2011, p.199</ref> By 1845, fewer than 240 wealthy Europeans held all the pastoral licences then issued in Victoria and became the patriarchs "...that were to wield so much political and economic power in Victoria for generations to come."<ref>James Boyce, 1835: ''The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia'', Black Inc, 2011, p.163</ref>

Regarding the infamous Trial of ''R vs Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener'', "Tragically two of these (Aboriginal) men, [[Tunnerminnerwait]] (known as Jack) and Maulboyheenner (known as Bob, or sometimes called Timmy or Jimmy), became the first people executed in the [[Port Phillip District]]. This took place in 1842, a mere seven years after John Batman's treaties with the Kuhn people, when the two Tasmanian Aboriginal men were publicly hanged for murder."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hunt them, hang them : 'the Tasmanians' in Port Phillip 1841–42|last=Auty|first=Kate|publisher=Melbourne Justice Press; Clayton : Legal Service Bulletin Cooperative|year=216|isbn=9780959472769|location=Melbourne}}</ref> The [[Tunnerminnerwait]] and Maulboyheenner public marker exists at the place of execution near the site of the [[Old Melbourne Gaol]], with artwork by [[Brook Andrew]] and [[Trent Walter]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/arts-and-culture/art-outdoors/public-art-melbourne/Pages/tunnerminnerwait-and-maulboyheenner-public-marker.aspx |title=Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner public marker |access-date=5 April 2019 |archive-date=3 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003195252/https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/arts-and-culture/art-outdoors/public-art-melbourne/Pages/tunnerminnerwait-and-maulboyheenner-public-marker.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A severe financial crisis took place in 1842–3, mainly due to the Government demanding from the banks the large rate of 7% for all moneys deposited with them, the result of land sales. The banks had to charge their customers from 10 to 12% for loans, very often on questionable securities. It was then accelerated by Lord John Russell's instructions that all lands out of town boundaries to be sold at only £1 per acre. Sheep that had been bought at from 30s to 40s per head are now sold at less than 2s. The Insolvent Court was rushed by all classes of the community.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}