Henry Capper was the emigration clerk who founded the '' South Australian Record'' in 1837, a periodical published in London devoted to news from the

colony of South Australia In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

. The ''Record'' ran from 1837 to 1841 under several title changes. Capper also published two books addressed to prospective migrants to South Australia, both of which went through several editions. However there is no evidence that he ever visited Australia.

The ''South Australian Record''

In 1837 Capper founded the ''South Australian Record'', a periodical published in London devoted to news from the

for the benefit of intending migrants and investors. A regular feature was publication of letters received by people in Britain from friends and relations who had settled in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. The ''Record'' was at first published monthly (price 5d.) by Capper and John Gliddon from an office at 37 Great Marlborough street, Westminster, from 8 November 1837. A paragraph in the ''Record'' of (perhaps) 8 May 1839 contained a candid appraisal of one of the

South Australian Company The South Australian Company, also referred to as the South Australia Company, was formed in London on 9 October 1835, after the '' South Australia (Foundation) Act 1834'' had established the new British Province of South Australia, with the S ...

's representatives in the colony, which drew the ire of Robert Torrens, who recommended to the Governor that he publicly disown the statement as an "error" on Capper's part. Rather than submit to this insult, Capper resigned from his position with the Colonization Office, but continued publishing the ''Record''. The ''South Australian Record'' became briefly ''South Australian Record and Australasian Chronicle'' in 1840, became the ''South Australian Record and Australasian and South African Chronicle'' then in March 1841 the ''Australasian Record'' which ran to either late 1843 or early 1844.

Books

Capper assembled two compendia of advice and useful information for intending emigrants, aimed at two distinct classes of prospective emigrants. *''South Australia'' First edition November 1837 but greatly expanded in second edition May 1838, entitled ''South Australia: Containing Hints to Emigrants, Proceedings of the South Australian Company, a Variety of Useful and Authentic Information, a Map of the Eastern Coast of Gulf St. Vincent and a Plan of Adelaide'' This book, which went to at least four editions, is available as a recent (2018) imprint of Sagwan Press. *''How to Get to South Australia, being information for Labouring Emigrants respecting the above Colony.'' First published in October 1839, this publication went through at least four editions, the third being freely available to rea
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In 1840 Simpkin and Marshall produced a booklet in which large sections were copied from ''How to Get to South Australia''.

Other activities

Capper was the emigration clerk to the Colonization Commissioners, South Australian Colonization Office at

Adelphi, London Adelphi (; from the Greek ἀδελφοί ''adelphoi'', meaning "brothers") is a district of the City of Westminster in London.Mills, A., ''Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) The small district includes the streets of ''Adelphi ...

. Capper was also a partner in the shipping firm of Capper and (Abraham) Gole, who in October 1840 were appointed agents by the Colonization Commissioners for the sale of land in South Australia. In 1845 the firm of Capper and Gole was declared bankrupt. There is no reason to believe Capper ever visited Australasia. In 1839 Capper established the Colonial Reading Rooms. These combined the functions of a bookseller with that of a shipping agent, and provided access to emigrant guides, pamphlets, journals and colonial papers. Initially located at 11 Park Street Westminster, close to the

Colonial Land and Emigration Commission The Colonial Land and Emigration Commission (CLEC), also known as the Colonial Land and Emigration Board, was a British government authority under the supervision of the Secretary of State for the Colonies that facilitated emigration within the ...

(CLEC) offices at 9 Park Street. By 1851, the reading rooms had moved to 6 Charing Cross, in the bookselling area of London. Capper continued to operate his reading rooms until at least 1856.

Not to be confused with...

Despite the obvious similarity in titles of their respective books, there appears to be no family or other connection between Henry Capper and Orientalist

John Capper Major-General Sir John Edward Capper (7 December 1861 − 24 May 1955) was a senior officer of the British Army during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century who served on the North-West Frontier of British India, in South Africa and ...

F.R.A.S. (c. 1814 – 1898), author of ''The Emigrant's Guide to Australia'', which is mostly concerned the goldfields of New South Wales and Victoria. Its chapter on South Australia is particularly trenchant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capper, Henry History of South Australia 19th-century British newspaper founders English newspaper editors Date of birth missing Date of death missing