John Rymill
9 September 1968 John Rymill On 9 September 1968 an obituary in The Advertiser recounted the achievements of John Rymill, an important but possibly less well known Antarctic explorer. He was born in Penola in 1905 and educated at Melbourne Grammar School. He continued his tertiary education in London studying surveying and navigation at the Royal Geographic Society and anthropology at London University. After some experience in polar expeditions to the Arctic in 1934 he headed a British expedition to the Antarctic to survey and map Graham Land, since re-named the Antarctic Peninsula. Rymill bought a Brittany-built fishing boat which he re-fitted and named Penola after his birthplace. After a successful, though hazardous at times, journey of exploration and scientific work, the party returned to England in 1937 to acclaim from colleagues and recognition from the Royal Geographic Society and American Geographic Society. His book Southern Lights: The Official Account of the British Graham Land Expedition 1934-37 chronicles the adventures and achievements of the group. On the death of his mother in 1938 Rymill and his English wife returned to the family estate near Penola where with similar dedication and enthusiasm he re-established the under-developed property. After serving in the Navy in World War Two he continued work at Penola where he bred horses, Angus cattle and Corriedale sheep. He died on 7 September 1968, four months after a car accident near Tailem Bend on 16 May as he was following an ambulance taking his sick wife to hospital. Trevor Gill and Ray Titus, South Australia: Profiles of People and Places, Wakefield Press, 1986, pp.75-80.
48 Hour Week
1 September 1873 48-Hour Week On 1 September 1873 450 employees and 50 employers came together at a banquet to celebrate the first 48 hour week. This had been achieved through the efforts of building trade workers who had appointed a committee to work on an agreement acceptable to the industry. The first firm approached was one of the largest contracting firms in the city and after negotiations the agreement was signed. At the dinner, held in Whites Rooms, Sir Henry Ayers gave an address in which he said in part: The improvement in steam and water power ought to benefit the working classes and shorten their hours of toil. Thus they would be able to improve their minds and raise themselves socially and increase their political power. Labor began to be heard in parliament when in 1893 ten of its nominees were elected to the House of Assembly and it was then that the principle of an eight-hour day received legislative sanction. The celebration of this achievement is carried on with Labor Day holiday and parade. The 40-hour week was sanctioned in 1948. ‘How Labor Day was born’, The News, 11 October 1938, Newspaper Cuttings Book, Volume 2, p.124.
William Bickford
11 September 1850 William Bickford William Bickford arrived in South Australia from Devon in 1839 with the intention of sheep farming, but he found the price of sheep and cattle to be too high and changed his mind. He decided to take up his profession as a chemist and sent to England for stocks of drugs and other requisites and opened the first druggist shop in Adelaide. It was very successful but unfortunately on the 11 September 1850, after three days illness, he died at the age of only 38 years. His wife carried on the business then passed it into the hands of their sons, William and Harry, when they were old enough. They expanded it into one of the leading druggists in South Australia trading under the name of A.M. Bickford and Sons. The name is still carried on in the well known Bickford’s Lime Juice Cordial. George Loyau, Notable South Australians , p.16.
John Daw And St Marys Church Sou
12 September 1846 John Daw and St Mary’s Church [South Road] The first service of St Mary’s Church of England on South Road was actually held in a schoolroom on 12 September 1846. John Daw who arrived in South Australia on 23 September 1838 had orders for land worth £1000 bought by his father in England and with these he purchased 1000 acres south of Adelaide at what is now the suburb of St Mary’s. Daw later donated land for the church, rectory and school. The schoolroom was built first and the church and graveyard of St Mary’s on the Sturt were consecrated by Bishop Short on 11 May 1849. Daw later sold his property to B.H. Babbage and in 1860 moved to Kangaroo Island where he became first chairman of the Kingscote District Council. He died at Cygnet River on 21 February 1911 at the age of 85 years. Daws Road and Daw Park commemorate his name. The old schoolroom was demolished in 1928 but the church and graveyard remain in the midst of the busy commercial area of South Road. Register, 11 February 1928, Newspaper Cuttings Book. SLSA.
Earl Of Aberdeen Hotel
13 September 1887 Earl of Aberdeen Hotel George Keys, who had come to South Australia from London, became licensee of the Earl of Aberdeen Hotel, on the corner of Carrington Street and Pulteney Streets, on 13 September 1887. In 1890 the following description of the hotel appeared in the Aldine History of South Australia: The Earl of Aberdeen had been established upwards of 35 years. It is a two storey stone and brick building containing 16 large, lofty, well-ventilated rooms, with a large balcony, the view from which is very picturesque overlooking as it does the Belair and Mount Lofty Hills, and the ocean and the square opposite. The hotel is fitted with baths and has every convenience for the comfort of visitors and travellers. It has spacious and cool cellars, which are well stocked with all the best brands of wines, spirits or beers. Gas is laid on in the principal rooms. The cuisine being under the immediate supervision of Mrs Keys, visitors will find a first-class table, the arrangements of which are complete. The prices too are very moderate ranging from 30s upwards. There are also large yards and stables connected with the hotel. The Mitchum (sic) tram passes the door every 20 minutes, landing passengers in the centre of the city. The hotel was in existence in 1850 and in 1986 was restored to something of its former glory and reputation. W.F. Morrison, The Aldine History of South Australia , 1890, p.728.
Dr Richard Schomburk
14 September 1865 Dr Richard Schomburk On 14 September 1865 Dr Richard Schomburk began work as the Director of Adelaide’s Botanic Garden, succeeding G.W. Francis. Schomburgk was born in Prussia in 1811, son of a Lutheran minister. In his youth he took part in political disturbances and had to leave to avoid arrest. He arrived in South Australia in 1849 and took up farming on the Gawler River and became Curator of the Gawler Museum. His standing as a botanist and horticulturist of international repute made him an ideal choice for the Botanic Garden and with his worldwide connections he was able to add many species from other countries. In 1876 he added a rose garden of classical, continental design and there the fountain, built by Coalbrookdale, was erected in 1908 from a donation of £150 from Robert Barr Smith. The Palm House, which cost £4000, was imported from Bremen and was opened by Lady Musgrave, wife of the Governor, on 22 January 1877; she described it as a ‘fairy palace’. One of Schomburgk’s major contributions was the building in 1879-80 of the Museum of Economic Botany and he also founded the National Herbarium. The elaborate iron gates on the North Terrace entrance were installed in June 1880 and the Kiosk was provided for by a bequest from A.M. Simpson. In 1877 Botanic Park was added and the carriage drive opened to the public in 1884. Yarrabee House, built in 1865 as the residence of the medical officer of the Lunatic Asylum, was added to the Garden after the closure of the asylum. Dr Schomburgk died suddenly on 24 March 1891, but in his 25 years as Director he achieved much for the Garden which continues to provide a pleasant haven in the city. Judith Brown, Town Life in South Australia, Rigby, 1980, pp.22-4.
Paddle Steamer Avoca
18 September 1922 Paddle-steamer Avoca On 18 September 1922 Captain J.G. Arnold took the ageing and somewhat decrepit paddle-steamer Avoca from Port Adelaide on a hazardous sea voyage to the Murray mouth and thence up river to Morgan to be slipped and repaired. Built in 1877 the 112-foot boat was said to be one of the largest on the river and was used for carrying cargo. After several mishaps, by the 1920s with paddle boxes gone and with masts added she was used in the Port River and nicknamed Squid because her decks were usually half awash. When Captain Arnold reached Murray Bridge he had to remove the masts to get under the railway bridge, having already dragged down a number of telephone lines across the river. After re-fitting in Morgan the Avoca was used for various purposes; fitted out as a show boat she was used on excursion trips from Murray Bridge. Avoca is now moored at Mildura. Ian Mudie, Riverboats Sketchbook, Rigby, 1975, p.16.
Maralinga Atomic Tests
25 September 1957 Maralinga Atomic Tests On 25 September 1957 the second of three explosions of atomic bombs took place at Maralinga, yielding six kilotons, eleven days after the first and smaller bomb which yielded one kiloton. The testing of these weapons, code named ‘Antler’, followed an agreement between the Australian and British governments. After earlier tests held at Woomera in 1953 and Maralinga in 1956 Prime Minister Menzies decided that a more permanent organisation was needed which would give Australia more political as well as administrative control over the Maralinga range and this resulted in a new body: the Maralinga Board of Management under the control of the Department of Supply. Another body, the National Radiation Advisory Committee, was also set up to monitor safeguards at the testing site. The third bomb in the series, called ‘Taranaki’, was detonated from a balloon at a high altitude and fallout from the explosion was reported, in the form of acid rain, as far away as Adelaide. In fact at least one of the bombs contained a highly radioactive component and this resulted in the high radiation levels discovered in the area after the tests. After further so-called minor trials, which went on until 1963, Maralinga was closed down and in spite of a major clean-up in 1967 it remained virtually deserted. Robert Milliken, No Conceivable Injury, Penguin, 1986, pp. 222-24.
West End Brewery
26 September 1980 West End Brewery The last beer to be delivered from the West End Brewery left the Hindley Street premises on 26 September 1980. The brewery was built in 1859 by W.H. Clark who became bankrupt the following year. William Knox Simms who had been involved in breweries in Pirie Street and Halifax Street took over the business in 1960. In 1888 Simms and Sir Edwin Smith of the Kent Town Brewery joined forces and formed the South Australian Brewing, Malting & Wine & Spirit Company which included Rounsevell and Simms’ Wine & Spirit business. In 1893t the company had disposed of the wine and spirit component and became The South Australian Brewing Company Limited. At the time of the amalgamation it was decided that brewing would be done at the newer Kent Town brewery, but this was changed and brewing continued at West End while Kent Town became the maltings. In 1938 SABCo took over the Walkerville Co-operative Brewing Company at Southwark. The move to have all SABCo’s operations at Southwark brought about the closure of West End brewery in 1980. It was the last of the city breweries. M.H. Ward, Some Brief Records of Brewing in South Australia , Pioneers Association of SA, Series 1950-51, No.5
Alexander And George Murray
27 September 1839 Alexander and George Murray Alexander Murray arrived in South Australia from Scotland on 27 September 1839. In 1842 he bought property at Magill from his uncle Sir James Malcolm. He also had property at Mount Crawford where he planted what, but as this was not very successful, owing to problems of wheat smut, he resorted to his knowledge of sheep flocks. He also had land at Wirrabara where his name is remembered in Murraytown. He was MHA and MLC for nearly 25 years. On his death on 17 March 1903 his son George Murray, a lawyer who became an associate of the Chief Justice, Sir Samuel Way, and later Chief Justice himself, took over the properties and had extension made to the house at Magill. By 1910 ‘Murray Park’ was a show piece and Sir George as Lieutenant Governor entertained many distinguished visitors there. A great philanthropist he gave many thousands of pounds to the University and Teachers College. He died on 18 February 1942. ‘Murray Park’ became part of the Magill campus of the SA College of Advanced Education (now University of South Australia). Eric Gunton, Grac ious Homes of Colonial Adelaide , Adelaide, 1983, pp.83-4.