Last but not least : the Torrens system’s path to Western Australia

Abstract

Western Australia was the last of the Australian colonies to adopt the Torrens legislation - it did so well over a decade after all the others. This article is the only in-depth analysis both of the reasons for the delay and of the process of adoption in Western Australia. As in the other colonies, public pressure for cheap, secure and efficient conveyancing was the chief driver of the process, but there were some peculiarities about Western Australia’s path to the Torrens system.