Group Settlement Scheme

The Group Settlement Scheme was an assisted migration scheme which operated in Western Australia from the early 1920s. It was engineered by Premier James Mitchell and followed on from the Soldier Settlement Scheme immediately after World War I. Targeting civilians and others who were otherwise ineligible for the Soldiers' scheme, its principal purpose was to provide a labour force to open up the large tracts of potential agricultural land to ultimately reduce dependence on food imports from interstate. It was also seen as boosting the ideals of the White Australia Policy by strengthening the British cultural identity. High levels of post-war unemployment in Britain saw the UK Government seizing on the scheme as a way to reduce dole-queues. Over 6,000 people emigrated to Western Australia under the scheme which was funded jointly by the State, Federal and UK Governments.

Mitchell's plan was for 40 to 65 hectares (99 to 161 acres) land holdings to be cleared and intensively cultivated by the settlers, initially supervised by experienced farmers, to develop a self-sustaining dairy industry. Premier Mitchell was nicknamed "Moo-Cow" from his perceived obsession with the dairy industry. He and his Nationalist and Country Party colleagues considered the 'unlimited land resources for closer settlement' were the key the state's economic progress.

Under an agreement made with the British government, the state would take up to 6,000 men from the UK and settle them on 6,000 farms over a five-year period.

Migrant settlers received financial assistance for them and their families passage to Australia, and in return were required to work in small communities in undeveloped areas in the State's South West and Wheatbelt regions. After often only one or two days of acclimatisation and processing on arrival, properties were allocated by ballot and the settlers transported to their selections. After a period of establishment, the settlers were required to repay a 30-year loan (not exceeding £1,000) provided by the Agricultural Bank, and at the completion of the loan repayment the settler would have freehold title to the property. They were paid 10 shillings per day during the land clearing phase and offered a £10 loan for the purchase of household and agricultural equipment. The loan was interest-only for the first five years. The communities (or groups) typically comprised between twelve and twenty families, and cleared land, built fences and established their farms in areas which had previously been unable to attract settlers.

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