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EVENT: Friends of the Library UWA Library Speaker

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Today's date is Friday, March 29, 2024
Friends of the Library UWA Library Speaker : No taxation without representation: Discontent in early Perth Other events...
About the talk

No one likes being taxed, but the first settlers of the Swan River Colony felt that taxation was doubly unfair. Not only had they moved to the other side of the globe to avoid such a heavy burden in the motherland, they weren’t yet making any money in their new ventures.

But the early government was broke, and governments have never been backward in demanding cash from their citizens. As a result, some settlers pointed to the United States and warned that either the new taxes had to go or they would demand proper representation in the Legislative Council. Failing to do either of these things, it was darkly hinted, would result in revolution.

This talk examines the perilous financial situation in early Perth, the lack of real cash, and the unsuccessful attempt to found a local bank to provide paper money. When there aren’t enough coins to go around, things get very difficult indeed, and the Swan River Colony found this out the hard way.

Why did this come about? How did the government and the settlers respond? And why wasn’t there a revolution leading to an independent and fully democratic Western Australia? Just some of the questions which can be answered through a light-hearted look at the economic history of our State.

About the Speaker

After studying history at Cambridge University, Eddie drifted around a number of jobs including archaeologist, journalist and lecturer. Eventually he tried to settle into being a permanent student in London, before marrying a lass from Donnybrook and relocating to WA. He first worked for the State Heritage Office before deciding to branch out as an independent historical consultant, mainly so he didn’t have to get dressed so early in the morning.

Eddie finds Perth’s history an untapped source of material, with so many untold stories. He enjoys digging through the archives for the scandalous, the quirky, and those tales overlooked by more conventional history books. These unconventional stories are usually told through his blog, dodgyperth.com, but Eddie likes to slip the occasional one into a more orthodox heritage report.

Members: Free, Guests: $5 donation
Speaker(s) Eddie Marcus
Location Reid Library, 2nd Floor Conference Room, UWA
Contact Kathryn Maingard <[email protected]> : 0864882356
Start Tue, 12 Sep 2017 19:00
End Tue, 12 Sep 2017 21:00
Submitted by Kathryn Maingard <[email protected]>
Last Updated Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:57
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