Land Ballots

Land ballots are a significant feature of Queensland’s rural history. During the 1950s to 1980s, the Queensland Government allocated almost 2 million hectares through selective balloting. Many of these ballots were for land in the central Queensland region.

This is how closer settlement was implemented for land that was difficult and costly to develop, in areas with minimal infrastructure and few services. The goal of closer settlement was to have undeveloped land farmed and grazing by small family-farmers, based on the ideal of sturdy and hardworking ‘yeomen’ who would create stable communities and develop civil society. The approach taken by government was similar to 20^th century land settlement schemes in Australia and elsewhere, and it was based on the belief that land should be used more intensively.

Those who qualified to enter a ballot, and who won, could lease a block of this rural land. The lease came with many and challenging conditions. Ballots attracted those who dreamt of making their living off the land, or saw it as one of the few alternatives that would allow them to provide for their families, given their limited financial resources.

The stories from balloters and descendants of balloters in central Queensland capture the joys, challenges and achievements of these farmer-graziers, and the price they willingly paid to pursue their dreams.

The material for this book was drawn from a study conducted by the author as part of a John Oxley Library Fellowship. Study participants were from the Fitzroy Basin Land Development Scheme (Brigalow scheme), the Emerald Irrigation Scheme, the War Service Land Settlement scheme, and from the 1952 group lands legislation ballots. The personal histories, policy material and archival documents, provide insights into this era of rural history.