This book, written by Sir Charles James Napier following his selection as first governor of South Australia, but published after his declining of the offer, gives an overview of his plans for the establishment and management of the new colony in South Australia.

The decision to establish a colony in South Australia was made in 1834 in order to expand British settlement in the country. The new colony was declared a free colony, meaning that it would not receive convicts transported from Britain. Also, unlike the previous colonies, the charter establishing South Australia declared that any settlement should not encroach on lands occupied by Indigenous Australians. In theory, this was to be a model colony, and Napier’s book explored how this was to be achieved.

Napier resigned from the post in 1835, before the first ships had even left Britain, citing several reasons for his decision in this book. In November 1836, the first settlers arrived in South Australia, founding the city of Adelaide, named after the consort of William IV.

Despite their legal protection in the charter and proclamation establishing the colony, as South Australia expanded, settlers soon came into conflict with Indigenous Australians who were forcibly removed from lands they had lived on for 40,000 years.