The lands administrative divisions of Western Australia refer to subdivisions of the state of Western Australia for cadastral (land title) purposes, most of which have been in place since the 19th century. The state is divided up for this purpose into five land divisions, which in turn are subdivided into land districts, which correspond to counties in other Australian states. These districts are then subdivided further into numbered locations, as well as gazetted townsites. Together, they form part of the lands administrative divisions of Australia.

Land divisions

Map of the six land divisions of Western Australia before Central Division was incorporated into Eastern Division

There are five land divisions in Western Australia, as specified in Schedule 1 of the Land Administration Act 1997.[1]

The Rabbit-proof fence is the border between the North West and South West divisions on the western side, and the others on the eastern side. In practical terms, the divisions are rarely used — in 1897, the Under Secretary for Lands described their purpose as "really only for the purpose of classifying land for Pastoral Leases".[2]

The system of divisions developed as follows:

More information Date enacted, Divisions ...
Date enacted Divisions Enabling act Maps
11 October 1882Central, Central-Eastern, South-Eastern, North, Kimberley[3]Land Regulations
2 March 1887South-West, Kimberley, North-West, Gascoyne, Eucla, EasternLand Regulations, s.39[4][5][6][7]
1 January 1899South-West, Kimberley, North-West, Western, Eucla, Eastern[8] Land Act 1898, s. 38[9]
1 February 1907South-West, Kimberley, North-West, Central, Eucla, EasternLand Act Amendment Act 1906, s. 26[10]
28 March 1917As above, but merged Central into EasternLand Act Amendment Act 1917 (No. 19), s. 4
6 March 1934As aboveLand Act 1933 (No. 37), s. 28
30 March 1998[11]As aboveLand Administration Act 1997 (No. 30), s. 6 and Sch. 1
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Land districts

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Map of the 80 land districts in 1909
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An example of the further subdivisions of districts into locations and lots in the Perth suburb of Hamersley (part of the Swan Land District)

The land district is the highest level of land division actively used in Western Australian land titles, and has been in use in some form since the earliest days of the Swan River Colony, although only achieved statutory recognition with the enactment of section 7 the Land Act 1898. They are recognised today through section 26 of the Land Administration Act 1997.[12] Under the system in place, there are two methods of distributing titles within a district: one is to gazette a townsite from land within the district and henceforth treat it entirely separately from the district; the other is to create locations (almost always numeric) within districts, such as Windell Location 7 or Swan Location 1315, and then either dedicate the location as a reserve with reference to the Governor's powers under the 1997 Act, grant the location in fee simple to an individual or company, or subdivide it into lots for sale or lease.[13]

History

In 1831, instructions were issued from the Colonial Secretary in London for "the division of the whole of the territory of Western Australia into Counties, Hundreds and Parishes of fixed size".[14] However, the system was all but abandoned within a few years, and district names were simply applied to areas without any effort to fix boundaries for them.[15] Areas within declared townsites were managed separately.[citation needed]

At this time, the population of the colony was small, and the Governor had complete control over the affairs of the state, receiving advice from experts such as the Surveyor General, who was responsible for the Department of Lands and Surveys. In 1890, the colony achieved responsible government, and in 1892–1893, gold was discovered in the Kalgoorlie region, leading to a gold rush. In 1895–1896, the Department, by now quite overwhelmed, attempted to define boundaries for districts based on where land had already been granted, but the result was irregular boundaries which did not follow natural features.[15] Furthermore, in assigning and alienating the land, the Department's officers were in somewhat uncharted territory due to the mix of pre-1890 regulations from the Governor with overly specific statutes from the legislature (such as the Homestead Act 1893 and Transfer of Land Act 1892) that they had to navigate. The Under Secretary for Lands noted in August 1896 that "there is no provision in any Act or Regulations for the declaration of land districts... it is only an office arrangement".[16]

The Surveyor General and his staff agitated for a "Consolidated Land Bill" which would consolidate then repeal all previous arrangements, provide a statutory framework which recognised existing practice, and establish a more formal method for establishing and recording land districts.[17] New broad-acre settlements in areas of the colony not already covered by districts (most notably at Carnarvon and Esperance) made the matter more urgent.[citation needed]

In the interim, the Department started two new files at the beginning of 1897 which ultimately recorded the correspondence between the Chief Draftsman, Surveyor General, Under Secretary for Lands and the responsible Minister in setting up a consistent means of generating and naming new land districts which would form the basis of a statutory system once one emerged, and 25 new districts had been approved by year's end.[18]

On 1 January 1899, the Land Act took effect, and the Department's new system became the norm, with the only change being that all new districts or changes to existing ones were printed in the Government Gazette. Until 1902, with only some exceptions, names used were usually those of explorers or early settlers, but in 1902, the Surveyor General rejected a suggested list of new names, advising the Chief Draftsman that "I should much prefer euphonious native names if they can be obtained for these proposed new districts, as I think we should lose no opportunity of perpetuating the nomenclature of a fast disappearing race, apart from which the liability of duplicating names is largely increased if the surnames of individuals are devoted to land districts."[19] Between 1902 and 1906, a considerable rush to gazette new districts was promoted by the desire to impress land agents in London — the Minister noted that "it will not hurt the State to show as few blanks as possible".[20] Prior to the construction of the Trans-Australian Railway, the Eastern Division, which consists almost entirely of the Great Victoria and Great Sandy Deserts, did not contain any districts.[21]

List of land districts

The list below represents a complete list of land districts, together with the division of which they are part and the year where they came into being — either through granting of locations prior to 1896, delineation in Department files between 1896 and 1898, or gazettal from 1899 onwards.

More information District, Division ...
District Division Location Created Notes
AshburtonNorth-West21°57′S 115°32′E1897
AvonSouth-West31°36′S 117°02′E1833
BalladoniaEucla
Eastern
32°15′S 123°35′E1897
BalwinaEastern20°15′S 127°40′E1928
BularaKimberley19°10′S 128°10′E1906
BulgaEastern28°25′S 119°40′E1903
BuningoniaEastern31°05′S 123°05′E1903
CanningSouth-West32°10′S 115°57′E1833
Cockburn SoundSouth-West32°20′S 115°50′E1833
DampierKimberley17°40′S 122°40′E1897
De GreyNorth-West21°20′S 120°05′E1906
De WittNorth-West21°05′S 116°20′E1897
DelisserEucla
Eastern
30°00′S 127°45′E1916
DempsterEucla32°40′S 122°55′E1897
DoonganKimberley14°50′S 126°40′E1906Previously spelt Dungan
DundasEucla32°10′S 121°50′E1897
EastonKimberley15°55′S 125°05′E1906Formerly known as Kwinana
EdelNorth-West26°40′S 113°40′E1897
EdjudinaEastern29°25′S 122°35′E1903
ErivillaNorth-West25°35′S 117°50′E1897
EsperanceEucla33°40′S 121°40′E1896
FitzgeraldEucla32°55′S 121°37′E1896
FitzroyKimberley17°55′S 124°50′E1897
ForrestNorth-West21°25′S 118°55′E1897
FraserEucla
Eastern
32°00′S 122°45′E1897
GascoyneNorth-West24°50′S 114°25′E1897
GilesEucla
Eastern
30°00′S 125°20′E1916
GregoryNorth-West22°25′S 117°20′E1897
HamptonEastern30°50′S 121°40′E1899
HannEastern24°50′S 120°50′E1925
HardeyNorth-West23°20′S 117°50′E1897
HaySouth-West34°40′S 117°14′E1857
JarmuraKimberley18°40′S 124°25′E1906
JaurdiEastern30°25′S 120°50′E1903
JilbadjiEastern31°25′S 119°25′E1903
KaluwiriEastern27°50′S 120°40′E1903
KentSouth-West33°50′S 118°50′E1857
KingKimberley15°50′S 128°40′E1899
KojonupSouth-West33°40′S 117°35′E1840
KoondraNorth-West23°35′S 120°05′E1906Previously spelt Kundra
KyarraNorth-West26°50′S 118°20′E1897
LeakeEucla32°25′S 120°25′E1903
LumanKimberley17°20′S 128°10′E1906
LyndonNorth-West23°10′S 114°40′E1897
LyonsNorth-West24°50′S 116°25′E1897
MalcolmEastern28°50′S 121°20′E1900
MardarbillaEucla33°25′S 123°45′E1897
MarmionEastern29°40′S 121°10′E1899
MarndocKimberley15°10′S 127°40′E1906
MedaKimberley16°40′S 123°50′E1897
MelbourneSouth-West30°40′S 116°10′E1848
MilyugaEastern25°25′S 127°25′E1932
MundrabillaEucla31°30′S 128°15′E1903
MurchisonNorth-West26°40′S 115°40′E1897
MurraySouth-West32°40′S 116°05′E1837
NabberuEastern26°35′S 120°10′E1903
NelsonSouth-West34°10′S 116°10′E1858
NeridupEucla33°40′S 122°55′E1896
NgalbainEastern31°20′S 121°10′E1903
NinghanNorth-West
South-West
30°10′S 117°35′E1897
NookawarraNorth-West26°50′S 117°10′E1897
NuleriEastern27°40′S 122°10′E1903
NumalgunKimberley16°40′S 125°50′E1906
NurinaEucla31°40′S 126°30′E1903
NuytsEucla31°35′S 124°40′E1903
OldfieldEucla
South-West
33°40′S 120°25′E1896
OmalindeKimberley16°20′S 127°10′E1906
ParduKimberley
Eastern
North-West
19°50′S 120°40′E1906
PeawahNorth-West21°20′S 117°40′E1897
PlantagenetSouth-West34°20′S 117°50′E1833
RoeSouth-West32°50′S 119°10′E1899
SussexSouth-West33°55′S 115°05′E1840
SwanSouth-West31°20′S 115°50′E1833
TeanoNorth-West24°25′S 118°50′E1906
ThadoonaNorth-West25°25′S 119°40′E1903Previously spelt Thaduna
TugailaEastern25°25′S 124°25′E1932
UlarringEastern29°25′S 120°05′E1903
VictoriaNorth-West
South-West
29°10′S 115°25′E1853
WanmanEastern22°10′S 123°50′E1950s
WarrambooNorth-West28°05′S 117°50′E1897
WeldEastern28°40′S 122°25′E1901
WellingtonSouth-West33°10′S 115°50′E1835
WellsEastern25°15′S 122°30′E1925
WilliamsSouth-West32°50′S 117°50′E1835
WindellNorth-West22°55′S 119°35′E1897
YamarnaEastern28°10′S 123°40′E1930
YelinaEastern26°20′S 122°10′E1903
YilgarnEastern30°50′S 119°05′E1900
YowalgaEastern27°55′S 127°00′E1932
YurabiKimberley18°55′S 125°32′E1906
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Counties

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26 counties of Western Australia

Historically, there were 26 counties in the south-western part of the state, designated shortly after the Swan River Colony was founded in 1829. It was originally intended for these to be subdivided into hundreds and parishes in a manner similar to South Australia, but this did not occur, as the division/district system took precedence.

Notes

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