![Cnr-N&W-Tce-monument](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Cnr-N%26W-Tce-monument.jpg)
William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British-
Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first
Surveyor-General of the
new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of the colony's capital,
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, and for designing the layout of its streets, six city squares, gardens and the figure-eight
Adelaide Park Lands
The Adelaide Park Lands are the figure-eight of land spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton and separating the City of Adelaide area (which includes both Adelaide city centre and North Adelaide) from the sur ...
, in a plan later sometimes referred to as Light's Vision.
He was the eldest son of Captain
Francis Light
Captain Francis Light ( – 21 October 1794) was a British explorer and the founder of the British colony of Penang (in modern-day Malaysia) and its capital city of George Town in 1786. Light and his lifelong partner, Martina Rozells, were th ...
, founder of
Penang, and Martina Rozells.
Early life
Light was born in
Kuala Kedah
Kuala Kedah is a mukim and parliamentary constituency in Kota Setar District, Kedah, Malaysia. It is a fishing port, located at the mouth of the Kedah River, and serves as a terminus for ferries to the tourist island of Langkawi. It is home to ...
,
Kedah
Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...
(now in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
) on 27 April 1786, the eldest son of
Captain Francis Light, founder and Superintendent of
Penang, and Martinha Rozells, who was of
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
or
French, and
Siamese or
Malay descent.
He was thus legally classed as
Eurasian
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...
, an ethnic designation which granted the designated a middle position between the natives and the Europeans. He was baptised on 31 December 1786,
[ Georgetown, Penang.
He lived in Penang until the age of six (1793), when he was sent to Theberton, a village in Suffolk, England to be educated by friends of his father.][ These friends were George Doughty, Sheriff of Suffolk, and his wife Anne.][ He never saw his parents again, and although his father provided generously for his education, Light did not inherit the considerable amount of wealth amassed by his father, as the estate was ruined by maladministration after Francis' death in October 1794.][ He became attached to the Doughtys, and later named his house in Adelaide after the family home. He was well educated, and soon became proficient in French, as well as showing a talent for drawing, ]watercolour painting
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...
and music. He became known in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
as rich East Indian, and attended the court of King George IV when still Prince of Wales.
Military career, first marriage, travel
At the age of 13[ in about 1799, Light volunteered for the ]Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, in which he served for two years, leaving as a midshipman.[
After a spell as a civilian internee in France in 1803–04, he attended his sister Mary's wedding to ]indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
plantation owner George Boyd in Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in March 1805, remaining in India until November 1806, before returning to Europe. He bought a cornetcy in the 4th Dragoons regiment of the British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
on 5 May 1808, being promoted to lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
in April 1809 en route to Spain to serve in the Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
,[ where he learnt ]Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
. After courageous service against Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's forces from 1809 to 1814, he served under the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...
working on mapping, reconnaissance and liaison. He showed both outstanding bravery and kindness in his actions, and was a favourite of Wellington. He went on to serve in the infantry in various parts of Britain – the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
and Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
– as a captain, after purchasing the rank in November 1814.[
After quitting the army with the brevet rank of major, Light married Miss E. Perois in Derry, Ireland, on 24 May 1821, and moved in literary and artistic circles in ]Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, Italy and Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
for a couple of years.[ However, his young wife died sometime during those years.]
In 1823 he returned to Spain to fight the French invasion as aide-de-camp to Sir Robert Wilson, who had raised an international (mostly French) force to help the "Liberales" in their constitutional struggle against King Ferdinand VII
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Charles IV of Spain
, mother = Maria Luisa of Parma
, birth_date = 14 October 1784
, birth_place = El Escorial, Spain
, death_date =
, death_place = Madrid, Spain
, burial_plac ...
.[ Originally volunteering as a private in the Vigo militia, Light was made a ]lieutenant-colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...
. He was badly wounded at Corunna in Spain.
Second marriage, travel
Returning to England in 1824, Light met and fell in love with the beautiful and wealthy 19-year-old Mary Bennet, illegitimate daughter of the 3rd Duke of Richmond, in the London studio of the miniature painter Charlotte Jones.[ After a whirlwind romance, they married on 16 October 1824. They travelled to Europe, spending a couple of years in ]France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, Switzerland and Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
(mainly Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
), where Light published his ''Views of Pompeii'' in 1828. Light returned to England, where he bought a yacht
A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
, ''Gulnare'', after which the couple cruised the Mediterranean for some years. In 1830 they went to Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
, where Light first met promoters of a new colony in Australia.[ Light made numerous sketches and Mary studied ]Egyptology
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious p ...
while in Egypt, becoming a friend and keen correspondent of Egyptologist John Gardner Wilkinson. The couple became friends with Muhammad Ali, Pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...
and founder of modern Egypt.[
Light sailed for England in 1831 in his own yacht to help recruit British men for the Pasha's navy.][ The process became prolonged, and Light stayed in England until 1835, while Mary continued her studies, travelling to Thebes for a second time and writing detailed journals of her travels and discoveries. Light separated from Mary in 1832, after she had formed a relationship with another officer.][ The couple never divorced, and Mary retained the surname Light for herself and three children she had by other men][ in 1833, 1834 and 1835.
Light helped Muhammad Ali to establish a modern navy, sailing his own yacht to England to help recruit British men for the Pasha's navy.][ He captained the ]paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses we ...
the ''Nile'' from London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
to join the Egyptian Navy,[ reaching Alexandria in September 1834. John Hindmarsh had prepared the steamer for delivery at Blackwall Yard on the ]River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
, travelled as a passenger on the ship on its journey to Alexandria, and was made captain of the ship by November.
Light started a relationship with the 21-year-old Maria Gandy (born 23 November 1811[), a woman of humble stock, who was his companion for the rest of his life.]
Surveyor-General of South Australia
By 1835, negotiations had been completed for the founding of the new British Province of South Australia, according to the scheme of Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Brit ...
, intended as a self-supporting free colony.
Light had given Hindmarsh a letter of introduction to Colonel Charles James Napier, who was the recently designated Governor of the new colony. However, Napier was not interested in the position, and upon hearing this, Hindmarsh rushed to London and lobbied for the position, after seeing Napier in Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
in May 1835. Napier recommended to the authorities that Light be given the post of Governor, but Hindmarsh had already been promised it.[ Light returned to London in January 1836, and on 4 February was appointed Surveyor-General of South Australia instead.][
On 1 May 1836 Light sailed for South Australia with Maria Gandy, two of her young brothers (William (19) and Edward (10)]), and some of his survey staff, on the survey brig, '' Rapid'', along with the nine other ships in the "First Fleet". The ship reached Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...
on 17 August 1836.[ Sailing from Nepean Bay on 23 September, Light started exploring ]Gulf St Vincent
Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger S ...
, sailing first past Rapid Bay
Rapid Bay is a locality that includes a small seaside town and bay on the west coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It lies within the District Council of Yankalilla and its township is approximately 100 km south of the stat ...
, then up to Port Adelaide before returning to Rapid Bay. In the meantime ''Cygnet'' had arrived at Nepean Bay, Kangaroo Island, with the assistant surveyors. Soon afterwards ''Africaine'' arrived, with Colonial Secretary Robert Gouger and other colonial officers anxious to know where the settlement should be situated. Light suggested that the ships land at Holdfast Bay for the meantime, while he went with a group to explore further. The group encountered a group of Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
s for the first time at Rapid Bay (belonging to one of the Ramindjeri
The Ramindjeri or Raminjeri people were an Aboriginal Australian people forming part of the ''Kukabrak'' grouping now otherwise known as the Ngarrindjeri people. They were the most westerly Ngarrindjeri, living in the area around Encounter Bay an ...
tribes) and was reported to have established a friendly and cooperative relationship with them. After finding the Port River, Light then sailed across to Port Lincoln
Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...
, on Spencer's Gulf, but found the area unsuitable. In addition to lack of surface water, Light found navigation of Spencer's Gulf and southern entry into Boston Bay more hazardous. On 18 December he decided on the site of Adelaide for the new capital, and headed north to survey the coast north with a view to its being the site for a harbour. HMS ''Buffalo'' arrived at Holdfast Bay on 28 December. That same day Governor Hindmarsh landed and, all pre-requisites having been met, proclaimed the commencement of colonial government (henceforth celebrated as Proclamation Day
Proclamation Day is the name of official or unofficial holidays or other anniversaries which commemorate or mark an important proclamation. In some cases it may be the day of, or the anniversary of, the proclamation of a monarch's accession to the ...
).
Designing Adelaide
Instructions for Light's role in the expedition "for the purpose of effecting such a survey of the different harbours and the adjoining land as may be necessary to the correct determination of the best site for the first town" were given in a document dated 9 March 1836.
There Light was the first to accurately chart the Port Adelaide River, before selecting the location and designing and laying out the plan of the City of Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. This he did, and managed to plan and found the city in only eight weeks, after a 14-day delay caused by George Strickland Kingston's incompetence.
Location
The site chosen by Light spanned the River Torrens
The River Torrens , (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the ...
, or Karra Wirra Parri, as it was known by the local people. One of the reasons he chose the location was because he observed that the Adelaide Hills would result in higher rainfall on the Adelaide plain. This was a promising indicator of good conditions for avoidance of drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
-prone areas. Settlement sites on Encounter Bay, Kangaroo Island, Spencer's Gulf, the West coast of St Vincent's Gulf and Holdfast Bay (now known as Glenelg) had been rejected. The site had many challenges, but Light wrote that he chose the site "because it was on a beautiful and gently rising ground, and formed altogether a better connection with the river than any other place".
Despite the natural advantages of the site, Light faced opposition, mainly from Hindmarsh, who wished to locate the city near the River Murray mouth near Encounter Bay
Encounter Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south central coast about south of the state capital of Adelaide. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his encounter on 8 April 1802 with Nicolas Baudi ...
, and some of settlers, who objected to the distance from the port. The opposition to the plan culminated in a meeting on 10 February, at which a letter from Light to Resident Commissioner James Hurtle Fisher
Sir James Hurtle Fisher (1 May 1790 – 28 January 1875) was a lawyer and prominent South Australian pioneer. He was the first Resident Commissioner of the colony of South Australia, the first Mayor of Adelaide and the first resident Sou ...
outlining the reasons for his choice, praising the good soil, extensive neighbouring plains and sheep grazing, a plentiful year-round supply of excellent fresh water, easy communication with its harbour, proximity to the Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...
, as well as the beauty of the country. The letter included a personal note:
"The reasons that led me to fix Adelaide where it is I do not expect to be generally understood or calmly judged of at present. My enemies however, by disputing their validity in every particular, have done me the good service of fixing the whole of the responsibility upon me. I am perfectly willing to bear it, and I leave it to posterity and not to them, to decide whether I am entitled to praise or to blame". An amendment proposed by Dr Wright and seconded by Deputy Surveyor George Strickland Kingston upheld Light's selection in March 1837.
After a quarrel between Hindmarsh and Resident Commissioner Fisher, which also drew in other settlers and officials, Colonial Secretary Gouger, one of Light's chief supporters, was suspended and replaced. In December 1837, Judge John Jeffcott was drowned at Encounter Bay (himself being a supporter of Hindmarsh's view and at the time trying to prove the safety of the Bay). Soon after this, Hindmarsh complained formally about the slow progress of the surveys, while at the same time hindering Light's work. Parties explored nearby areas, Light continued with his work on plans, supported by most settlers, and in July of that year, Hindmarsh was recalled.
City plan
When Light was designing Adelaide, his plans included surrounding the city with of park. Of these, he reserved 32 acres for one of the world's earliest public cemeteries, now called West Terrace Cemetery
The West Terrace Cemetery is South Australia's oldest cemetery, first appearing on Colonel William Light's 1837 plan of Adelaide. The site is located in Park 23 of the Adelaide Park Lands just south-west of the Adelaide city centre, between ...
.
Light referred to his unique figure-eight of open space as "Adelaide Park". Later, the purchase of the lands of Light's Adelaide Park, and repeated correspondence and discussions about the Adelaide Park land/lands eventually corrupted his original name to "Adelaide Park Lands".
Light placed the city to the north and south of the river, avoiding areas prone to flooding and making best use of the local topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...
.[ His survey plan divided the land into 1042 square one-acre lots; north of the Torrens (North Adelaide) and to the south (South Adelaide, now known as the city centre). Light's Plan reserved for town squares (38 acres) and government buildings (4 Town Sections of Public Reserves with Victoria Square frontages: now the Old Treasury Building/Lands Offices; GPO; Supreme Court, and Magistrates Court sites).
]
In March 1837, after 116 preliminary buyers had selected their portions, the rest of the Town Sections were auctioned. Due to local demands Light also planned Town Sections at the old Port Adelaide harbour and 29 were selected.
Adelaide's characteristic geometrical grid pattern is not unprecedented: apart from earlier examples going back to ancient Greece, it follows part of a series of rules created by Spanish planners for their colonial cities, known as the "Laws of the Indies
The Laws of the Indies ( es, Leyes de las Indias) are the entire body of laws issued by the Spanish Crown for the American and the Asian possessions of its empire. They regulated social, political, religious, and economic life in these areas. T ...
". They included the grid pattern with a main thoroughfare, centred around a main square. There are many historical precedents for five squares, including Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
in America, designed in 1682 by surveyor Thomas Holme
Thomas Holme (1624–1695) was the first Surveyor General of Pennsylvania. He laid out the first and original plan for the city of Philadelphia.
Holme was one of the Valiant Sixty, a group of early leaders and activists in the Religious Societ ...
, however Light's Plan has six public squares. There are however no records showing that Light deliberately copied any cities or rules for planning, and his implementation of planning principles for a beautiful and healthy city, melded sensitively and intelligently with the landscape, is unique.
"Light's vision" was to create an urban form which complemented nature, done with conscious purpose. Long before Light was engaged, the colonisation of South Australia had been designed as a kind of social experiment, drawing on the thinking of many notable minds: Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...
, George Grote
George Grote (; 17 November 1794 – 18 June 1871) was an English political radical and classical historian. He is now best known for his major work, the voluminous ''History of Greece''.
Early life
George Grote was born at Clay Hill near B ...
, Robert Owen, John Stuart Mill, and, closest to home, Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Brit ...
. Cities such as the ancient Greek city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
s, those in Spain’s colonies of the New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
and British Canada
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and other American cities, New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Van Diemen’s Land and Swan River Colony had been carried out. His plan bears a close resemblance to Gother Mann’s 1788 "Plan for Torento Harbour" (which was never laid out as planned, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, although a differently laid out town, named York, was established to its west, which later eventually expanded east and north covering the unrealised 'Torento' model township site, and renamed Toronto, Canada
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
), particularly in the square "Town Acres".
The oldest known version of Light's plan was drawn by a 16-year-old draughtsman in 1837, to instructions from Light, some time after the streets were named on 23 May of that year. Primary source researcher Kelly Henderson has confirmed that there is an extant original 1838 cadastral
A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref>
Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...
map of Adelaide, held by the State Library of South Australia. It was commissioned from Light, Finniss & Co. by the South Australian Company, shows the company's properties, and is signed with his firm's name by William Light, at the firm's office in Stephens Place, delaidein Oct 1838.
After resignation
By this time Light had spent a considerable amount of his own fortune on his work, and was suffering ill-health. He resigned from his position on 21 June 1838, after being directed to survey within a week and refusing to use less accurate surveying methods for country surveys. In July 1838, he formed a private company, Light, Finniss & Co., with assistant surveyors B. T. Finniss (arr. ''Cygnet
A cygnet is a young swan.
Cygnet may also refer to:
Places
* Cygnet Island, a small islet in south-eastern Australia
*Cygnet, Ohio, a village in the United States
*Cygnet River, South Australia, a locality on Kangaroo Island
* Cygnet, Tasmania, ...
''), Henry Nixon (arr. ''Navarino'') and William Jacob (among those who came out on the '' Rapid''), and draughtsman Robert G. Thomas (being among those who came out on the ''Cygnet
A cygnet is a young swan.
Cygnet may also refer to:
Places
* Cygnet Island, a small islet in south-eastern Australia
*Cygnet, Ohio, a village in the United States
*Cygnet River, South Australia, a locality on Kangaroo Island
* Cygnet, Tasmania, ...
''), offering a range of services to prospective purchasers of city and country properties, and to local government bodies. By agreement with the new Governor George Gawler
Lieutenant-Colonel George Gawler, KH, (21 July 1795 – 7 May 1869) was the second Governor of South Australia, at the same time serving as Resident Commissioner, from 17 October 1838 until 15 May 1841.
Biography Early life
Gawler, born on 2 ...
, Light surveyed the Port River
The Port River (officially known as the Port Adelaide River) is part of a tidal estuary located north of the Adelaide city centre in the Australian state of South Australia. It has been used as a shipping channel since the beginning of European ...
, and, for William Finke
William Finke (1814 or 1815 – 17 January 1864) was a prospector and pastoralist in South Australia, remembered as a sponsor of John McDouall Stuart's exploratory journeys, along with the Chambers brothers.
History
Finke, who may have been bo ...
, the town of Glenelg. However Light had to resign due to ill health by September, after Finniss had taken up a new appointment under Gawler as Deputy Surveyor-General.
His war wounds troubled him, and he suffered from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
, but he gained enjoyment from cultivating good crops of vegetables in his garden.
On 22 January 1839 the Land and Survey Office, along with the adjoining huts belonging to Light and Resident Commissioner James Hurtle Fisher
Sir James Hurtle Fisher (1 May 1790 – 28 January 1875) was a lawyer and prominent South Australian pioneer. He was the first Resident Commissioner of the colony of South Australia, the first Mayor of Adelaide and the first resident Sou ...
, and the first Government House, burned down, taking some of the province's early records and many of Light's possessions with it. The fire was attributed to arson. He had just begun work on preparing his journals, kept for 30 years, for publication, having left cases of papers for safety in the survey office, and apart from an excerpt already prepared, the journals were lost – a great blow to Light.
Other activities and personal life
Light spoke several languages and was a gifted and prolific painter and sketcher. Many of his watercolour
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
s were published in London in 1823 and 1828, and a number of his works, including an incomplete self-portrait in oils,[ are in the collection of Art Gallery of South Australia on North Terrace. Others are housed in the State Library of South Australia and in the Adelaide Town Hall. He often sold his works to support himself, but many were lost when fire destroyed the Land and Survey Office and his adjacent hut in January 1839.]
In December 1837 Light led an exploration from Adelaide, discovering and naming the Barossa Range, after which the Barossa Valley
The Barossa Valley (Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destina ...
was named.
Maria Gandy
Maria (pronounced "Mariah"[) Gandy (23 November 1811 – 14 December 1847) was designated by Light's Will as his housekeeper,] but thought to be his de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
wife. The status of their relationship caused the couple to be shunned by Adelaide society, and they had few visitors at their home (only two society women ever visited Gandy at her home), which they shared with Gandy's young brothers for some years.[
They first lived aboard the survey brig '' Rapid'', then in a tent at Rapid Bay, and then in a house made of bark and reeds, which was completely destroyed by fire, along with all of their personal belongings,][ in 1839.][ The four-roomed brick built cottage,][ built by William Gandy,][ was named Theberton House, after Light's childhood residence at Theberton Hall in Suffolk.][ H.C. Talbot says: "When William Light was a boy, his father sent him to England from Penang to be educated to his trusted friend, George Doughty of Theberton Hall, in Suffolk... He built a home on section 1, Hundred of Adelaide which he called Theberton House".]
Another brother, George Gandy, who arrived in 1838, named his child William Light Gandy in 1840.
On 7 July 1840, nine months after Light's death, Maria Gandy married Dr George Mayo
George Mayo (8 January 1807 – 16 December 1894) was a medical practitioner in the colony of South Australia.
Dr. Mayo was born in England the fourth son of Rev. Joseph Mayo, M.A., of Ozleworth Church, Gloucestershire. He studied medicine at ...
, with whom she had 4 children. They lived in the Thebarton cottage for a while, before moving to Carrington Street. In 1847, aged 36, Maria Mayo died of tuberculosis, not long after the death of their fourth child, and was buried in an unmarked grave in West Terrace Cemetery
The West Terrace Cemetery is South Australia's oldest cemetery, first appearing on Colonel William Light's 1837 plan of Adelaide. The site is located in Park 23 of the Adelaide Park Lands just south-west of the Adelaide city centre, between ...
.[ The 100 acres of Section 1 and the four Town Acres bequeathed to her were intact, and their rents and profits were accorded to her husband.][
On the 200th anniversary of her birth on 23 November 2011, the Maria Gandy Bicentennial Memorial was unveiled on the corner of Albert and Maria Streets in the inner western suburb of Thebarton (so named because of a typographical error][ The acceptance of Thebarton with an 'a' instead of an 'e' is credited to a typographical error and not the some time held view that it was a corruption of 'The Barton' based on the Old English bere-tun meaning 'barley farm'.]) near the site of their cottage, to honour Maria. On each of four sides is an inscription celebrating her roles as pioneer, settler, carer and mother.
Some strange drawings and diagrams discovered in the Flinders University library collections of Mayo and Dutton papers suggested that Gandy "moved around the state with an entourage of dwarfs".[
Today, historians view Gandy as providing strength to the sickly Light, helping him to achieve his goals while being treated as a pariah by many fellow pioneers.][
]
Later life, death and burial
Gandy nursed Light for three years while he was invalided by tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
, until his death on 6 October 1839 in Adelaide, aged 53. Reverend Charles Beaumont Howard, the only Anglican clergyman in South Australia at the time, had refused to visit him because of his relationship with Gandy.
On 10 October 1839, after a group of mourners met at his home, his funeral service took place at Trinity Church on North Terrace, after which the procession walked to the nearby Light Square. It was attended by hundreds, many of whom wept openly, and a gun salute was fired and the flag at Government House lowered to half-mast
Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salut ...
.
Gandy was executrix and sole beneficiary of Light's estate (which consisted mainly of unpaid debts) and paid for the funeral. The funeral took place on 10 October, and his body taken for burial at Light Square. More than 3,000 people attended the burial, including many who had been antagonistic towards him.[ The sole remaining document authored by Light was his will.][
A few days later a meeting of his friends, chaired by ]John Morphett
Sir John Morphett (4 May 1809 – 7 November 1892) was a South Australian pioneer, landowner and politician. His younger brother George Morphett was also an early settler in South Australia.
Early life
Morphett was born in London, th ...
, assembled to raise money for a memorial.[ The foundation stone for the memorial was laid by James Hurtle Fisher in 1843, and witnessed by a select few, but the edifice itself, designed by George Strickland Kingston free of charge,][ was not completed until February 1845. It was a pentagonal elaborate structure, built of freestone and topped with what was described by ]Francis Dutton
Francis Stacker Dutton CMG (18 October 1818 – 25 January 1877) was the seventh Premier of South Australia, serving twice, firstly in 1863 and again in 1865.
History
Dutton was born at Cuxhaven, Germany, where his father was British vice-con ...
as a Gothic cross high.
Legacy, recognition, memorials
The plan of the city of Adelaide stands as a lasting legacy to Light's genius, praised both in the early days and more recent literature.[
]
Light's Vision
The most well-known memorial of Light is the statue now on Montefiore Hill
Montefiore Hill is a small hill in North Adelaide, South Australia, which affords a view over the Adelaide city centre. Location and description
The hill lies within the northern Adelaide Parklands, within the area known as Park 26: Adelaide O ...
and known as Light's Vision, which points southwards towards the River Torrens and the city centre.[
]Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
sculptor William Birnie Rhind
William Birnie Rhind RSA (1853–1933) was a Scottish sculptor.
Life
Rhind was born in Edinburgh on 27 February 1853 as the first son of sculptor John Rhind (1828–1892), and his wife, Catherine Birnie. He was the elder brother of J. M ...
's design for the statue was selected by committee on 23 December 1904, and architects Garlick, Sibley and Wooldridge (consisting of only Henry Evan Sibley (1867–1917) and Charles W. Wooldridge at that point) designed the pedestal
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...
. The statue of Light was unveiled on 27 November 1906 in its original location at the northern end of Victoria Square,[ (opposite the General Post Office). The ceremony was presided over by the Mayor of Adelaide, Theodore Bruce, attended by many notables, including the Chief Justice, John Hannah Gordon, and the Premier, Thomas Price. The Governor of South Australia, Sir ]George Le Hunte
Sir George Ruthven Le Hunte (20 August 1852 – 29 January 1925) was a British politician. He served as Governor of South Australia from 1 July 1903 until 18 February 1909, soon after federation of Australia.
Life
He was born in Porthgain, Pem ...
, gave an address in which he praised Light highly, cheered on by the crowd.[
The statue was moved in 1938 to its present position on Montefiore Hill at the suggestion of the Pioneers' Association of South Australia, to commemorate the centenary of Light's death, and the renamed "Light`s Vision" at the suggestion of PASA president Sir Henry Newland. Legend says that Light stood on Montefiore Hill when he began planning the city,] but this is not confirmed.
The inscription on the plaque at the front reads: Colonel William Light First Surveyor General; Fixed the site and laid out the city of Adelaide in 1836; Erected by citizens; 1906. Several plaques have been added to the back.[
]
Other symbols of recognition
Light's achievements have been commemorated in a number of ways, including:
* Light Square, Adelaide, where he was buried. He remains the only person legally buried within the Adelaide "square mile".
*His grave monument, the original version having been designed by Kingston as the result of a competition, a pentagonal
In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°.
A pentagon may be simpl ...
structure made of sandstone and topped with a Gothic cross carved by Samuel Lewis and completed in 1844. In 1876 the Adelaide City Council placed a white marble tablet on a panel of the monument, with an inscription acknowledging the pioneers of South Australia for erecting the memorial.
**The sandstone weathered badly, and the memorial was replaced by the winning design in a competition, by architect Herbert Louis Jackman. It featured a bronze tripod
A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...
and theodolite
A theodolite () is a precision optical instrument for measuring angles between designated visible points in the horizontal and vertical planes. The traditional use has been for land surveying, but it is also used extensively for building an ...
on a tall column made of red granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
sourced from the Murray Bridge area, with a base of Monarto grey granite, and was unveiled in June 1905 by mayor of Adelaide Theodore Bruce after an address by Deputy Governor Sir Samuel Way
Sir Samuel James Way, 1st Baronet, (11 April 1836 – 8 January 1916) was an English-Australian jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia from 18 March 1876 until 8 January 1916.
Background
Way was born in Po ...
. It notes that Light is the only person legally buried after settlement within the city square.[ The 1876 marble tablet was removed, renovated and mounted on slate, and afterwards in the vestibule of the ]State Library
A national library is established by the government of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, they rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuab ...
. The gravesite and monument were upgraded during 1985–86 and again in 2008.[
**In 2019, an Adelaide conservationist proposed the rebuilding of the original monument on North Terrace, dedicating it to the ]Kaurna people
The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurna ...
, the Old Colonists of the South Australian Association, and the early settlers, in time for the 200th anniversary of the founding of Adelaide (2036).
* Light Passage, located in the Port River
The Port River (officially known as the Port Adelaide River) is part of a tidal estuary located north of the Adelaide city centre in the Australian state of South Australia. It has been used as a shipping channel since the beginning of European ...
between Pelican Point and Torrens Island.
* The Colonel Light Hotel. (Light Square, corner Currie St.) Established in 1849 as the Sir Robert Peel Hotel, in 1888 it was renamed the Colonel Light Hotel.
* The Light River, which has its source at Waterloo, South Australia, and runs to its mouth in the Gulf St Vincent
Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger S ...
.
*The County of Light was named after the Light River in 1842.
*In 1905, after the unveiling of the new grave monument, Light’s self-portrait in oils
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
was presented to the Art Gallery by George Gibbes Mayo, son of George Mayo
George Mayo (8 January 1807 – 16 December 1894) was a medical practitioner in the colony of South Australia.
Dr. Mayo was born in England the fourth son of Rev. Joseph Mayo, M.A., of Ozleworth Church, Gloucestershire. He studied medicine at ...
, who had died in 1894.[ He gifted the painting on condition that the State Government contribute £1,000 towards the replacement grave monument to the Light.
* The naming of the ]garden suburb
The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and ...
of Colonel Light Gardens in the 1920s.
*Light Memorial at Rapid Bay
Rapid Bay is a locality that includes a small seaside town and bay on the west coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It lies within the District Council of Yankalilla and its township is approximately 100 km south of the stat ...
– a cairn commemorating Light's landing at Rapid Bay, where he performed his first mainland survey in 1836, unveiled in 1928.
*A memorial known as the Colonel Light Survey Marker, in the form of an obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
and plaque
Plaque may refer to:
Commemorations or awards
* Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc.
* Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I
* Pl ...
, was created for placement near the corner of North and West Terraces, marking the approximate location of the Land and Survey offices and of Light's and Fisher's huts, which were destroyed by fire in January 1839.[ The memorial was unveiled on 16 July 1929 by Lord Mayor John Lavington Bonython, but went into storage in 2011,] before being re-situated outside the main entrance of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital
The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), colloquially known by its initials or pronounced as "the Rah", is South Australia's largest hospital, owned by the state government as part of Australia's public health care system. The RAH provides tertiary hea ...
.
*Located at the northern end of the Victoria Square, the State Survey Mark commemorates the placing of the first peg for the survey of the city by Light on 11 January 1837. This survey mark is the reference point for all other survey marks in South Australia. The mark was unveiled, along with a commemorative plaque by then Minister of Lands, Susan Lenehan on 21 April 1989.
*Theberton House was demolished to make way for a factory/warehouse in 1926 by Colton, Palmer and Preston Ltd. A plaque to commemorate Light's cottage was unveiled nearby in 1927. The site was taken over by the South Australian Brewing Company
The South Australian Brewing Company, Limited is a brewery located in Thebarton, an inner-west suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Lion, which in turn is owned by Kirin, a Japan-based beverage company. It manufactures ...
and the plaque was situated inside the old West End Brewery building. In 1995, a second plaque was erected by the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia in the brewery carpark, in Hindmarsh.
* Light Square in the Adelaide suburb of Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
(cnr. Nixon and Market Streets). Four cairns commemorate the early history of the area and original survey of the village by Light, Finniss and Co. in 1838.
*William Light School, a state government school located in the Adelaide suburb of Plympton
Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to P ...
. In 2017 it was renamed Plympton International College.
* A plaque on the Jubilee 150 Walkway, located along North Terrace in 1986, commemorates William Light.
*Each April the Adelaide City Council celebrates Light’s birthday, a tradition which began in 1859 when four of the colony's founders and friends of Light, George Palmer, Jacob Barrow Montefiore, Raikes Currie and Alexander Lang Elder, presented a large ornamental silver bowl known as the "Loving Cup", made in England in 1766–77, to the mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
and council, with the request that a toast be made to Light each year on his birthday.[ A portrait of Light created in 1836 was presented by an admirer to hang in the Council Chamber.
*A portrait of Light also hangs in the ]National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...
in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
New 1837 watercolour discovered 2019
A watercolour
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
painted by Light between January and April 1837 depicting the site of the Land/Survey Office and Light and Fisher's huts, being a variation on Light's "''Commencement of Settlement in South Australia, 1837''", with Mount Lofty
Mount Lofty (, elevation AHD) is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about east of the Adelaide city centre, within the Cleland National Park in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia.
The mountain's s ...
in the background, was discovered in a garage in September 2019. It is regarded as hugely significant, being one of the earliest depictions of Adelaide. However, the painting passed in at auction and was afterwards sold to a private collector for , despite being valued at between and and being hailed by fine arts dealer Jim Elder as a "rare and historic painting", who was "bitterly disappointed" that it would be lost to South Australian society. He said that "months of painstaking art history and genealogical research" into its provenance had led to a man called Shimmin, who had worked for Light’s colleague William Jacob in the Barossa Valley
The Barossa Valley (Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destina ...
and in whose family it had remained for generations. In the week before the auction, a television station had aired an "item from an interstate amateur art historian debunking the provenance of hework".
In the arts
Stage
In October 2019, co-commissioned by Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
's OzAsia
OzAsia Festival, or simply OzAsia, is an Asia-focused arts festival in South Australia, presented by the Adelaide Festival Centre for two weeks in late October to early November each year. It features theatre, dance, music, film and visual a ...
festival and Penang's George Town Festival, a play was created and staged by Australian writer and director Thomas Henning in collaboration with Malaysian
Malaysian may refer to:
* Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia
* Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia
* Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...
duo TerryandTheCuz, named ''Light''. Rather than presenting a by-the-numbers historical retelling, the play explores the personal circumstances first of Francis Light and his pivotal role in Penang's modern history, and then of his son William in Adelaide. The roles of the women in their lives are explored, as well as the geopolitical situation of the time which influenced the decisions of the elder and junior Lights.The life of Martina Rozells is also brought to life. The play is mainly about family, aiming to use Light's inner perspective to look at the world, and touches on "the values and notions of nationalism".[ Henning used the Mayo and Dutton collections at Flinders University for all of his research for the play. He sees Light as an unfulfilled individual, despite all of his success; his life was "also lonely and drifting".][
]
Misconceptions
Port Adelaide
The 29 Town Sections which Light allotted for the harbour area of Port Adelaide have been all but forgotten as part of his plan, which is often mistakenly thought to include only the city centre, with the North Adelaide part tacked on afterwards.
Christchurch, NZ
It is sometimes claimed that Light also designed the city centre of Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
in New Zealand. However, this is not possible; Light died in Adelaide in 1839, whereas Christchurch was only laid out by Englishman Edward Jollie in March 1850.[
Holm, Janet (2005) ''Caught Mapping: The Life and Times of New Zealand's Early Surveyors'', Hazard Press, Christchurch, pp. 36–37. ]
The shared principles of the town planning of Adelaide, South Australia, and Christchurch, New Zealand, were due to both being examples of E. G. Wakefield's 'Art of Colonization' and Benthamite town planning.
See also
*British colonisation of South Australia
British colonisation of South Australia describes the planning and establishment of the colony of South Australia by the British government, covering the period from 1829, when the idea was raised by the then-imprisoned Edward Gibbon Wakefield ...
*History of Adelaide
This article details the History of Adelaide from the first human activity in the region to the 20th century. Adelaide is a New town, planned city founded in 1836 and the capital of South Australia.
Aboriginal settlement
The Adelaide plains ...
* History of South Australia
Footnotes
References
In-line citations
Cited sources
* (Trove catalogue entr
here
Sources
* (Contents not available online)
* (Full text of e-book can be borrowed from archive.org
here
)
* (Subsequent republications: Rigby, 1971 and 1984; and as ''Colonel William Light : founder of a city'' (1991) Melbourne University Press. Not available online
Trove records
Further reading
*
*
*
* – contains quite a bit of interesting biographical info.
A history of the Kingston plan of Adelaide
(by Chris Bowe in Adelaide Review)
Light's maps
* Catalogue entr
here
* Catalogue entr
here
* (Accompanying tex
here
* ttp://mapco.net/adel1839/adelaide.htm The District Of Adelaide, South Australia, as divided into country sections. 1839br>The District Of Adelaide, South Australia, as divided into country sections. 1840
{{DEFAULTSORT:Light, William
Australian surveyors
English emigrants to Australia
People from Adelaide
People from Kedah
1786 births
1839 deaths
Australian people of Malaysian descent
British Army personnel of the Peninsular War
Explorers of South Australia
19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis deaths in Australia
Infectious disease deaths in South Australia
4th Queen's Own Hussars officers
Surveyors General of South Australia
City founders