__NOTOC__ Osmond Gilles (24 August 1788 – 25 September 1866) was a settler, pastoralist, mine owner and 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'' ...

’s first

colonial treasurer Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

. Born 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 ...

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

descent, in 1816 he went into partnership with Philip Oakden in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany as a merchant, where in 1825 he married Patience Oakden, Philip's sister. They returned to England, where his wife died in 1833. They had no children, and Gilles never remarried, but took on several protegees, including his nephew

John Jackson Oakden John Jackson Oakden (1818 – 31 March 1884), pastoralist, was an English explorer of South Australia, part of the European exploration of Australia, and a pioneer runholder of the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Early life Born in 1818 at Y ...

. Gilles migrated to the new Australian colony on in 1836 accompanied by his ward Emily Blunden (referred to as Blundell on the passenger list), sister of Dr John Blunden, and acted as the Colonial Treasurer. He was a prominent businessman and land owner, with the largest holdings of any settler in 1837. He was, with his secretary

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 ...

, and a few others, the fortunate ticket-holder in the ballot for the purchase of city acres at Glenelg, of which he took full advantage. He sat on the Street Naming Committee on 23 May 1837.

Named for Gilles

* Gilles Street in the Adelaide Central Business District *Gilles Arcade, off

Currie Street Currie Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map
of the

Queen's Theatre *

Glen Osmond Road Glen Osmond Road is a major section of the Princes Highway (and Highway 1) in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. Connecting the Adelaide city centre with the Adelaide Hills via the South Eastern Freeway; Glen Osmond Road carries half of Adel ...

* O.G. Hotel, Gilles Plains, founded 1843 and still operating *O.G. Road, a major thoroughfare through the suburb of Klemzig adjacent and much later than the O.G. Hotel *'' O.G.'', a cutter built in Glenelg 1840 *Osmond Terrace, a major thoroughfare through the suburbs of Norwood and Fullarton. (Osmond Road,

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 ...

was named for Harry Osmond, a local businessman.) *Adelaide suburbs of

Glen Osmond Glen Osmond is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Burnside which is in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills. It is well known for the road intersection on the western side of the suburb, where the South Eastern Freeway (National ...

and Gilles Plains. A new suburb formed from a portion of Gilles Plains has been named Oakden after Gilles' wife. *Gilleston Park on the Gilles Plains and farmed by Dr. John Blunden, *Gilleston, now part of

Balhannah Balhannah is a town in the Adelaide Hills about 30 km southeast of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It was established in 1839 as a farming community by James Turnbull Thomson, who built the first hotel. The town soon grew to inco ...

* Lake Gilles which is located in the north of

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named af ...

was named after Gilles by the British explorer,

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved t ...

, in 1839.

References

Citations

Sources

Osmond Gilles at the Australian Dictionary of Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilles, Osmond Settlers of South Australia 1788 births 1866 deaths Public servants of South Australia English emigrants to colonial Australia Treasurers of South Australia 19th-century Australian politicians

Named for Gilles

See also

References

Citations

Sources