The story is
striking, and our descendants may look back with surpassing interest to
the Romulus and Remus of a future Rome which, in the possibilities of
modern progress, may exceed that of the past. The father, Mr. Thomas
Henty, of Sussex, England, took the resolution to emigrate, with his
family, to the "Swan River," as the present Western Australia was then
called. In 1829 he sent his eldest and two younger sons there, with
suitable servants and supplies, intending to follow with the rest. These
pioneers declared against the Swan, and advised their father to go to
Launceston instead, to which place they themselves also went. Arrived
all there in 1831, a new disappointment awaited the family. No grant of
land could be had, as in the case of the Swan, where they had 84,000
acres. This grant system had been abolished only a fortnight before
their arrival. They had now to rent their farms, and the prospects,
therefore, were discouraging. They were unable even to effect an
exchange for their Swan River grant.
This disappointment led to a search, begun in 1832, under the lead of
Edward, the second son, who twice traversed the seas between Portland
and Spencer Gulf, examining the aspect and promise of the country.
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