Installation Of Augustus Short As
28 December 1847 Installation of Augustus Short as Bishop of Adelaide The venue for this special event in the life of the diocese of Adelaide, the occasion when it was inaugurated and its first bishop installed, was Trinity Church, the first Anglican church to be erected in the colony. Set on the side of a creek running down to the Torrens where a ford crossed to North Adelaide, Trinity’s foundation stone was laid on to 26 January 1838. It was built of golden limestone quarried from near Government House, quoined with red bricks. Its roof line was low, its tower squat. The building had recently been rebuilt/refurbished during 1845, with seating for officials and others who rented pews, with one sixth of the seating free. The ceiling was flat. Dr Short described it as ‘too low, cruciform’, with no reference to church parties intended! The major rebuild of 1888 saw about a metre and a half added to the walls of the church, (which can be detected externally by the change of colour), height added to the tower, and the high vaulted ceiling installed, all under the direction of Mr Woods, Adelaide’s leading architect. The short sanctuary of 1845 was extended, the vestry and other entrances added, together with Gothic touches such as the pulpit (extant). The present aisle layout dates from the late 1920s. The galleries as now extant were installed in the 1950s-1960s, while the present chancel extension was installed only a couple of years ago. About 200 were present, including all the clergy of the new diocese. They robed in the schoolroom in surplice and scarf, the bishop in rochet, scarf etc, ie ‘full canonicals’, and processed into the church preceded by members of the Church Society, (which contributed funds towards church growth and the erection of the diocese). Also present was the Governor, in his new official uniform, looking fine. Government officials, and representatives of the Dissenting congregations, as well as the press and other interested citizens, came despite the fact that the weather was ‘fiercely hot’. They were all eager to see this new thing, a bishop of the Church of England in their midst. The Service was Evening Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, read by the incumbent, the Revd James Farrell (who was named by Dr Short as Dean of the diocese soon after), followed by Communion, conducted by Dr Short, who to the great delight of those present assisted in distributing the elements. . Between the two parts of the service, Mr Bartley, soon to be appointed Registrar of the diocese, read the Letters Patent from the Crown establishing the diocese of Adelaide and thus erecting Adelaide to the status of a city. Dr Short was appointed to be bishop of this new diocese, brought into being by carving up the former diocese of Australia into four new dioceses (Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne and Adelaide). The Letters patent also named Trinity Church as the cathedral of the diocese, and authorised the bishop to name another site as and when he thought fit. After that, documents confirming Dr Short’s consecration as a bishop in Westminster Abbey were read by the Revd Matthew Hale (soon to be named archdeacon). The bishop’s sermon during the Communion service was based on Ps 107:30, ‘So He bringeth them unto the haven where they would be’ using the Prayer Book version, no doubt reflecting his great relief in having arrived! He encouraged ‘the clergy and elders of the church’ in the dissemination of the Gospel, the ‘conversion of souls’ and warned them against appearing to seek ‘filthy lucre’. The Register reporter, probably the editor, John Stephens, no friend to the Church of England, was yet eager to inform his readers of the new phenomenon that had come into their midst. He remarked that Bishop Short ‘possesses a clear, pleasing and sufficiently powerful voice, with all the appearance of the “sober” virtues enjoined by the Apostle St Paul, and the promise of longevity, as well as great usefulness in his holy calling. The Bishop’s delivery is unaffectedly plain, and pleasingly exempt from any languid intonation, or that succession of tasteless cadences which characterises the preaching of many modern divines; his style is lively and conversational; and his hearers will not fail (we think) to participate in those kindly impressions which pervaded all who were present at the solemn and interesting Episcopal installation.’ At the conclusion of proceedings at the church, a reception followed at Government House for the clergy and members of the Church Society, with speeches of welcome to the bishop and his wife. Sources: WH Coombs, journal entry for 28 Dec 1847; Register 1 Jan 1848; Brian Dickey , Holy Trinity Adelaide 1836-1988: the history of a city church, Adelaide, 1988.
Old Colonists Festival
29 December 1871 Old Colonists Festival On 29 December 1871 the South Australian Register reported on the Old Colonists festival held the night before to celebrate the 35 th anniversary of the settlement of the colony of South Australia. The convener of the dinner, Emmanuel Solomon, had gathered many of the early settlers still surviving, now noted citizens of Adelaide and the country, including Henry Ayers, Sir John Morphett, Sir George Kingston, Captain Hart and many more. There were representatives from all walks of life, from doctors to farmers, from the miner to the lawyer. Twenty years earlier a similar gathering had been held in a tent at the rear of the City Bridge Hotel in Hindley Street but this event was held in the more opulent surroundings of the five-year old Town Hall, considered to be the best in Australia. The dinner was time for reminiscing and as the editor remarked: ‘These old colonists were men who could tell many a tale of early struggles and privations of which more recent comers have very little conception’. South Australian Register , 29 December 1871, p.4.
Centenary Tower
3 December 1900 Centenary Tower On 3 December 1900 the Lieutenant Governor, Sir Samuel Way Chief Justice of South Australia, laid the foundation stone of the Centenary Tower in Mount Gambier to commemorate the naming of the mount by Lieutenant Grant, RN commander of HMS Lady Nelson on 3 December 1800. Lieutenant Grant was on an exploration voyage and because the Lady Nelson , had a sliding keel he was able to get in close to the shore. On this voyage in December 1800 he named Cape Northumberland, Cape Banks, Mount Shank and Mount Gambier after Admiral Lord Gambier. The tower stands high on a hill overlooking the Valley and Blue Lakes and the town which grew at the foot of the extinct volcano. Gambierton, as it was first known, was founded in 1854 by Hastings Cunningham and by 1861 the south-east area had nearly 5500 settlers, most involved in the pastoral industry. Mount Gambier prospered to become the main town of the South-East district and the second largest outside Adelaide after Port Pirie. Eric Gunton, Memories in Stone , 1984, p.15
Hanging Of Elizabeth Woolcock
30 December 1873 Hanging of Elizabeth Woolcock Elizabeth Woolcock, born in Burra in 1847, the first and only woman to be hanged in South Australia was executed in the Adelaide Gaol on 30 December. She had been found guilty of murdering her husband, Thomas, by poisoning. In her testimony she stated that he had ill-treated her and that she was ‘tempted by Satan to carry out the act’. The newspaper report said that she was repentant of her crime and went to her death calmly. It had been eleven years since the last execution in Adelaide Gaol when Malachi Martin was hanged in 1862. In 1861 four Aborigines had been hanged for the murder of Mary Ann Reinberd. Register , 30 December 1873.
John Mckinlay
31 December 1872 John McKinlay The death of John McKinley, a tall and formerly robust man, on the last day of the year of 1872 at the age of 53 years, was attributed to the result of the privation and hardships he had undergone on his exploration to the north of the continent. In 1862 he survived a difficult expedition to the Gulf of Capentaria but in 1865 undertook another appointment to report on the best site for a settlement in the Northern Territory. He sailed from Port Adelaide in September 1865 and reached Adams Bay in November. Denouncing this place as worthless he set out on foot to search for a better area, but it was the rainy season and travel was difficult. On the Alligator River the party found itself cut off by water, and a horse was killed to eat as provisions were short. As a last resort McKinlay had the remaining horses killed and used the hides over a framework of saplings to make a raft to hold all the party and the scanty provisions supplemented with dried horseflesh. This way they voyaged down the river and along the coast through the open sea to Adams Bay. He returned to Adelaide but never fully recovered his health; he died in 1872 in Gawler and is buried in the Willaston cemetery. A monument to him was erected in Murray Street, Gawler in 1875. George Loyau, The Representative Me of South Australia , Howell, Adel, 1883, pp. 168-72.
Adelaides First Golf Club
4 December 1872 Adelaide’s First Golf Club After the notification of his appointment to New Zealand the Governor, Sir James Fergusson, received a message of appreciation from the Mayor of Adelaide, to which he replied on 4 December 1872, saying in part: … admiring as I do its (Adelaide’s) fair proportions, its stately site and its healthy situation, I would express my hope that the continued prosperity of the colony will hasten the completion of its handsome design … In 1869 Sir James himself contributed a little healthy recreation to the city when he and a fellow Scotsman, David Murray MLC decided it would be nice to have a golf course. The site chosen was just north of where Victoria Park is now and a greenkeeper from Scotland was put in charge of making the course. The nine hole course with its narrow fairways and small greens could only be used in winter as the clubs, imported from Scotland, did not stand up to the Australian summer, the glue joints often cracking open. Young boys delighted stealing the balls too, as at first crowds of ordinary people gathered to watch the ‘swells’ of Adelaide playing games. But the greatest problem facing the club was the cows that grazed the parklands and although the greenkeeper cut the grass close, with a scythe, the inquisitive cows still walked over it and did what cows did. This pioneer club battled on until 1875 but in the end the cows won and the course was abandoned. There were makeshift courses also at Gawler, Mitcham and Dulwich but it was not until 1890 that the North Adelaide Golf Club was formed and the links set out there which still remain in good use. H.A. Lindsay ‘Adelaide’s first golf course’, Chronicle , 24 January 1935.
Bank Of Adelaide
5 December 1865 Bank of Adelaide The Bank of Adelaide was incorporated by an Act of Parliament under a Deed of Settlement on 5 December 1865, with an authorized capital of £250,000 in 50,000 £5 shares. The board of directors was: Henry Ayers, T.G. Woodhouse, Robert Barr Smith, Thomas Magarey and G.P. Harris. Under the able management of John Souttar the bank acquired substantial accounts and connections and three years after it was established paid a 6% dividend to its shareholders. By 1875 its paid up capital was £400,000. During the financial crisis of the 1890s the Bank remained solid. Branches were established in country districts and, in 1890, one in London. Branches in other colonies followed. From 1865-1910 the Bank issued its own £1, £5, £10 and £20 notes. In 1878 the first steps were taken toward the building of the head office on the corner of King William and Currie Streets. The design competition was won by Edmund Wright and was described as being “exceedingly plain compared to the Bank of South Australia” (now Edmund Wright House). The Bank continued as a South Australian institution until 1979 when it amalgamated with the Australia and New Zealand Bank and still occupies the building. Cyclopedia of South Australia , Volume I, 1907, pp. 512-3
Maritime Museum
6 December 1986 Maritime Museum The Maritime Museum at Port Adelaide was opened by the Prime Minister, Robert (Bob) Hawke, on 6 December 1986. The museum, in the old Bond store in Lipson Street, which houses the largest maritime collection in Australia, is part of the Port Adelaide Heritage Area which was declared in 1982. The area also included a Chandlers Store, Sail makers loft, Court House and Customs House. The museum features a collection of figureheads from old sailing ships and a full size replica of the ketch Active in dry dock. Amongst the most interesting of the exhibits are three re-created cabins from the 1840, 1910 and 1950 eras which give the visitor a real feeling of life on board ship. As well as the many other artifacts within the museum building there are a number of outside attractions including the old Port Adelaide lighthouse, built in Birmingham in the 1860s and placed strategically at the end of Commercial Road, and the steam tug Yelta and SS Nelcebee , are tied up in the river nearby. In 1988 the Museum shared the honour with the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney of being declared the best museum in Australia. Newspaper Cuttings – History Trust Promotion 3
Rosetta Cove Whaling Station
7 December 1839 Rosetta Cove Whaling Station The advertisement for the sale of the Rosetta Cove whaling station at Encounter Bay, which appeared in the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register on 7 December 1839, was brought about through a series of misfortunes and bad management. In March 1837 Samuel Stephens for the South Australian Company arrived to establish a whaling station near the Bluff and at the same time Captain Blenkinsop arrived from Sydney on a similar mission, setting up camp near Granite Island. From the beginning there was animosity as well as competition between the two groups. Blenkinsop accused Stephens of enticing his men away with a promise of higher pay and Stephens complained that Blenkinsop was interfering with his fishery. To add to the SA Company’s woes Stephens, by an oversight, overpaid his men, then three of their ships were wrecked in gales. In 1838 Captain Hart replaced Stephens and John Barton Hack bought the Granite Island station from Blenkinsop and these two joined forces in 1839. But even so further losses followed and the SA Company began to withdraw from the enterprise. J.B. Hack lost money on the venture and Captain Blenkinsop was drowned, along with Judge Jeffcott, at the Murray mouth while on a fruitless expedition to find a deep water harbour in the area in December 1837 and Samuel Stephens died after a fall from his horse in January 1840. The last whale caught in the Bay was in October 1872. Max Colwell, Whaling Around Australia , Rigby 1969, pp.53-9.
Aboriginal Lands Trust Act
8 December 1966 Aboriginal Lands Trust Act A pioneering piece of legislation was passed in the South Australian Parliament when the Aboriginal Lands Trust Act, the first ever Act in Australia to recognize Aboriginal land rights, was assented to on 8 December 1966. Don Dunstan introduced the Bill to grant Aborigines pre-eminent mineral rights for the land held in Trust. He also argued that in theory in the founding of the colony plans by the British Government to preserve Aboriginal rights to land had been subverted and they had been dispossessed. Dunstan maintained that rights to minerals ‘would be some small compensation for the failure to provide the Aboriginal people of South Australia with the land which … they were to be provided with on the founding of the province’. (SAPD 13/7/66, p.477.) However, this provision of the Bill was removed by the Opposition in the Upper House. The Aboriginal Lands Trust Act created a Trust in which Aboriginal land can be vested; it is separate from the Public Service and consists of three or more members, all of Aboriginal descent. Aboriginal Reserves can be vested in the Trust and the Government can transfer other crown lands to it and can also (with the approval of the Minister) buy, lease and sell land to which it holds title. A. Parkin & A. Patience (Eds), The Dunstan Decade , Longman Cheshire, Melbourne, 1981, pp.132-33.