I'd like to discuss the pioneers of South Australia.
Pioneers Association of South Australia (P.A.S.A.)
"Pioneer Members
This category of membership is open to all persons who have at least one ancestor who arrived in the Province, now the State, of South Australia, on or before 28 December 1846." http://www.pioneerssa.org.au/membership.html
(This date represents the 10th anniversary of the proclamation ceremony when Governor Hindmarsh arrived on the "Buffalo", even though there were eight ships arriving prior to the "Buffalo", starting 27 July 1836).
Anyone who had an ancestor arriving after this cut off date is not eligible to be a member.
Kangaroo Island Pioneers Association (K.I.P.A.)
"Membership is open to anyone who is a descendant of pioneers who arrived or settled prior to, or after the establishment of the first settlement on 27th July, 1836; soldier settlers and their descendants; and all persons interested in promoting the objects of the Association." https://sites.google.com/site/kipaview/membership
You can see that this criteria is much more inclusive. The reasons why there is no cut off date is that there were periodic waves of departures and waves of arrivals to and from the Island, and that "pioneering" kept on occurring.
The original indigenous inhabitants of Kangaroo Island left a couple of thousand years ago, for reasons that are unclear.
The next wave of inhabitants were European whalers and sealers, for the most part wild and lawless. Some kidnapped aborigine "wives" from the mainland and from Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania). Most didn't stay too long, and arguably, didn't contribute very much to the settlement and future of Kangaroo Island, although there were several notable characters, with their aboriginal partners, who made the island their home. https://sites.google.com/site/kipioneers/first-8-ships/residents-already-on-kangaroo-island-1836
Before the "Buffalo" in December 1836 eight ships despatched by the South Australian Company and the Colonization Commissioners arrived at Nepean Bay, Kangaroo Island. They had believed the Island was the site for the capital city, but they were "sold a pup". Almost immediately the surveyors looked elsewhere, settling on Adelaide. Everyone from those first eight ships (and a few more ships in the next few years) would have disembarked at Nepean Bay, probably living there for a time. But most would have stayed there for no more than a few months, moving to the mainland, never to return. Indeed by 1848 of the several hundred migrants, there were only about 25 people remaining at Nepean Bay.
The population across the Island slowly increased as the Government granted farming leases. In 1877 the Government caused the island to be surveyed and thrown open for selection, and so a large influx of population took place, mainly farmers from the mainland. World War I took its toll, but there was a post war wave.
After World War II the next wave was a Returned Soldiers Settlement Scheme. Many of those soldiers have descendants living there today.
- It can be argued that the "pioneers" could be defined as the first generation of those who headed each of these waves.
- But some might insist that a pioneer would be a person arriving before a significant cut off date such as 1848, 1877, 1900, 1918, 1939 or 1947 (and staying for at least a year).
- Others might argue it should be restricted to people who made a positive impact on the Island - but that idea gets a little dangerous, particularly with modern day descendants whose ancestor was arbitarily excluded!
So I can well appreciate Anne's suggested quiz. Although there would be modern day families who pride themselves of their pioneer ancestors, who actually don't fit that criteria.
