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The name pensioner guards is a bit misleading as these days we tend to think of pensioners as being aged 65 and upward.
Once it was decided to send convicts to W.A. to act as a source of cheap labour, there was a need for guards to ensure that the convicts were kept in order. Ex-soldiers were offered free passage, six months employment, and a grant of land (3-20 acres). The men were paid a retainer and were stationed wherever the government had a need for them.
In order to encourage these men to remain in the colony once their time as guards was complete, they were offered grants of 10 acre blocks which they would lease for 7 years and then the land would become freehold. They were also allowed access to convict labour to help clear the blocks and were given 10 pounds cash.
The scheme ended in 1864 by which time over 1100 guards and their families (totaling around 2500 people) had arrived in the colony. |
