AU5027-2 History of South AustraliaTitle: History of South Australia: From its Foundation to the Year of its Jubilee
Author: Edwin Hodder
Media: 1 CD (2 vols, 812 pages)
Year: (1893) 2007
ISBN: 9781920978556
Item Code:
AU5027
Price: AUD$27.50
Link to website

It was a lifelong wish of George Fife Angas’ (one of the founders of South Australia), that a history be written about his adopted homeland, South Australia. Sadly having died in 1879 he never saw that dream fulfilled, as it wasn’t until 1893 when Edwin Hodder wrote his book “The History of South Australia From its Foundation to the Year of its Jubilee with A Chronological Summary of all the Principal Events of Interest up to Date”. This two volume set containing over 800 pages, is primarily based on the papers of George Fife Angas.

CHAPTERS
Divided into sixteen chapters, the topics covered by this book include: early explorations; attempts to found a colony; the pioneer settlers; administrations of  Captain Hindmarsh, Colonel Gawler, Captain George Grey, Major Robe, Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell, Sir Dominick Daly, Lieutenant-Colonel Hamley, Sir James Fergusson, Sir Anthony Musgrave, General Sir William F.D. Jervois and Sir William C.F. Robinson.

CHRONOLOGY
A special feature of this book is the ‘Chronological Summary of Events’. Events included have been chosen as they appear to ‘mark progressive stages in the development of the colony’. Starting with 28 December 1836 with the arrival of Governor Hindmarsh, and concluding on 7 November 1892 with Sir John Morphett’s death. This section alone is over 220 pages, and covers a whole range of topics, which include many appointments and deaths. It is guaranteed you’ll learn new facts about South Australia after reading this!

SAMPLES
A few sample entries are below [but have been condensed for this extract]:

  • Oct 1837, arrival of the first Congregational minister
  • May 1838, first execution, the gallows was a tree on the parklands
  • Sep 1844, arrival of 200 German emigrants
  • Jun 1845, discovery of the Burra Burra mine
  • Jul 1847, £160,000 assigned for immigration purposes from England, at the rate of one per month
  • Jul 1848, four of the five bushrangers who escaped from Van Diemen’s Land apprehended on Kangaroo Island
  • Jan 1850, ‘Register’ issued as a daily newspaper
  • Nov 1855, first electric telegraph operational between the City and the Port
  • Feb 1861, £500 collected and sent to the sufferers in the great Indian famine
  • Dec 1871, thermometer 180F in the shade and 153F in the sun
  • Jan 1871, great damage done to the southern portion of the overland telegraph from extraordinarily high floods

The three images below are pages from the chronology, right click on each for a larger view.

sample page 147
sample page 147
sample page 187
sample page 187
sample page 193

sample page 193

 

 

 

 

 

For anyone who wants to know the history of South Australia, together with details of the people who made it happen, as well as oodles of anecdotal history – this is one to add to your collection.

This set of books has been digitised by Archive Digital Books Australasia, and is now available on CD-ROM.