The traditional recounting of early Australian Economic History is that Britain decided to settle the continent for ‘strategic’ advantages and as a source of raw materials for its industry, and as an outlet for its trading and the transfer of resources (a takeover) by the new economic managers. The official intention of settling the colony was for peaceful & co-operative economic development of the new land, beneficial to British traditional interests and not intended to undermine or engage in war with the native population, and to share what food resources were naturally available. The gulf between the two societies was too large to be bridged and the British settlement succeeded while the ancient society was destroyed. The destruction of traditional Aboriginal society was recognized by depopulation from an accepted population of about 1 million in 1788 to 250,000 by 1848 whilst an estimated 50% of Aboriginal resources were absorbed by white settlers between 1788 and 1809 The extent and content of British Colonial Investment is discussed as are topics such as the role of Immigration and Foreign Investment, the reasons for the colony, and the highlights of the British rule in the economy and the colonial economic experiment undertaken by Macquarie.

The traditional recounting of early Australian Economic History is that Britain decided to settle the continent for 'strategic' advantages and as a source of raw materials for its industry, and as an outlet for its trading and the transfer of resources (a takeover) by the new economic managers. The official intention of settling the colony was for peaceful & co-operative economic development of the new land, beneficial to British traditional interests and not intended to undermine or engage in war with the native population, and to share what food resources were naturally available. The gulf between the two societies was too large to be bridged and the British settlement succeeded while the ancient society was destroyed. The destruction of traditional Aboriginal society was recognized by depopulation from an accepted population of about 1 million in 1788 to 250,000 by 1848 whilst an estimated 50% of Aboriginal resources were absorbed by white settlers between 1788 and 1809 The extent and content of British Colonial Investment is discussed as are topics such as the role of Immigration and Foreign Investment, the reasons for the colony, and the highlights of the British rule in the economy and the colonial economic experiment undertaken by Macquarie.

In this 10th volume of the economic history of colonial NSW, the matter of population growth is reviewed, with population gains coming from favorable economic drivers and economic cycles, exploration, immigration, natural increase and British investment. The historical approach to Statistical Data gathering, its origins and reliability, is outlined as are the statistics used and their interpretation. The early musters (of convicts) is discussed together with commentary on the supporting datas derived from the numbers of convicts 'on the store'. With the Aboriginal economy outperforming the white colony from 1788 to the early 1820s, the operation of the Aboriginal economy is also discussed and the circumstances of its depopulation. Adding to the population history is a statement that traditional reporting of the history is: *Britain settled the continent for ;'strategic' advantages and to find a source of raw materials for its industries, as well as being an outlet for its trading and a takeover of local resources under its expanding economic system. *Economic development took place in their new colony, beneficial mainly to British interests including, industry, trade, insurance and investment. As important as trade and investment became to the new colony, the main aspect of the population history is the transfer of human capital in the form of over 160,000 convicted persons under a transportation program from the United Kingdom.

This twelfth and final volume of the series covering the economic history of Colonial NSW (mainly between 1788 and 1835) records the events leading to federation, the federation debates, and the 1901 constitution. It is a suitable and appropriate conclusion to this masterful series. Most colonial governments were formed during the 1850's and at that time federation was not under any consideration. However, the growing inter-colonial trade and general governmental affairs evidenced the gap needing to be filled by a federation and momentum grew in the 1880's and 1890's with the turn of the millenium being the ideal time to commence a federation of all colonies.

The second last volume in this twelve volume set describes and interprets the work of Timothy A. Coghlan. His best known work was the four-volume set of his 1918 published work, "Labour and Industry in Australia", based on his 'massive experience and research as administrator,commissioner and statistician'. Far from being solely a history of workers and their rights and entitlements, and the growth of industries, his tremendous study is a fine economic history of the colonies of Australia between 1788 and 1901. The publisher's note to the first edition describes Coghlan as being born at Sydney in 1855 and educated at Cleveland Boys' School at Redfern, (Sydney) After working in various woolstores, he joined the NSW Public Works Department in 1873, and from 1886 to 1905 was the NSW. Government Statistician and Registrar of Friendly Societies in that colony. In his senior role, he supervised the censuses of 1891, 1900 and 1901. The 1900 census was supervised for the new Federal Government, following federation. "He was the author of a great many reports and studies arising from his seat on many commissions of inquiry".

This broad-ranging 1995 book provides a comprehensive account of the development of Australia's colonial economy before the gold rushes. Noel Butlin's analysis of the developing economy includes background discussion of eighteenth-century British social, economic, and military history and a detailed demographic analysis of the Australian population over a period of sixty years. He goes on to explore the role of private investment in the economy and the way in which dependence on the British public purse was replaced by dependence on private British capital inflow. A key focus of the book is the extent to which the Australian economy was independent or externally driven, that is, the level of synergism between Australia and Britain. Within this framework, Noel Butlin discusses the central issues of human capital and funding and their impact on the formation of the Australian economy. Forming a Colonial Economy does for the period to the 1840s what Noel Butlin's previous landmark economic histories have done for Australia from the 1860s to the 1890s. It is an ambitious and imaginative book that marks the culmination of a life's work.

"Samuel Sidney developed an interest in the Australian colony after the emigration of his brother John to New South Wales. Samuel and John established the magazine Sidney's Emigrant Journal, and worked together on two books concerning Australian emigration. The present work is an excellent description of Australia's contemporary state, where Samuel Sidney is clearly influenced by both Caroline Chisholm and Alexander Harris. He argues that the Australian colonies are ideal for working class emigration. Already in the introduction it becomes clear that Sidney is very anti-Wakefield, which makes it an important document in the debate between competing proposals for emigration. Apparently Sidney was very well-informed, he had access to otherwise inaccessible primary sources, and the verbatim transcripts add considerably to the book's value. Sidney's work is a full guide, giving excessive and detailed information on one of the most interesting world-regions."--Abebooks website.