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Biographies - K to M

Kangaroo Island.

Captain Matthew Flinders and his crew replenished their fresh meat supply from kangaroos they killed after going ashore during February 1802.  Flinders named the spot Kangaroo Island on the 22nd, in gratitude.  The haunt of sealers and whalers for some years soon afterwards, Kangaroo Island became the first area for official permanent European settlement in 1836.  For immigrants arriving by sea, a sight of Cape Borda signalled almost the end of their long voyage.

Kavel, August (1798-1862).

Born in Berlin and one of the earliest pupils in the new University there, A Kavel later became a Lutheran pastor in Klemzig, Brandenburg, south-east of the capital.  Dissatisfied with a Protestant Church union which the Government forced upon the country, Kavel at last received permission for him and his congregation to emigrate to SA during 1838.  He was the pioneer pastor in Klemzig and Hahndorf, and in the end settled at Tanunda, where he died.  Fluent in English from working for several years in the London docks, Kavel often represented his people in dealings with the Government and private British settlers.

Kavel, Ann Catherine.

A native of Leytonstone, Essex, formerly part of Epping Forest, Ann Catherine Pennyfeather emigrated to SA in 1840 aboard the City of London.  She must have met August Kavel during his two-year stay in England between 1836-1838.  Pastor Teichelmann, one of the Lutheran Missionaries to the Aborigines, married the couple on 28 April 1840 at Klemzig.  Mrs Kavel died in childbirth with her stillborn baby son, at Klemzig, on Christmas Day 1842.  The Hailes family possibly visited Klemzig in the 1840-1841 summer, or at the beginning of the 1842 summer shortly before Mrs Kavel died.

Kensington.

One of the earliest of the ring of small villages which were soon established around Adelaide, Kensington quickly became popular as a near-country retreat for prosperous city merchants and tradesmen.  Charles Catchlove, an Adelaide builder, laid out the sub-division in 1838, and named it after the borough of Kensington, now part of London.  Catchlove had arrived in SA aboard the Tam-o-Shanter in 1836 and became a publican in Adelaide and Gawler.

King William Street, Adelaide.

Adelaide’s main thoroughfare, named after King William IV, the reigning British sovereign when SA was founded in 1836.  Early on, various banks, insurance companies, importing firms and land agencies set up between North Tce and Victoria Square.  Between 1853-1856, a bridge was constructed across the Torrens River to link King William St with King William Rd and North Adelaide, without the necessity of crossing via a ford.

Klemzig.

Refugee Prussians established Klemzig SA in December 1838, on two sections of land belonging to GF Angas on the banks of the Torrens River upstream from Adelaide.  The settlers and their spiritual leader, Pastor Kavel, named the place after their homeland village in Brandenburg.  The spot soon became an important source of fresh vegetables for the people of Adelaide.

Knight, Frederick. (1850-Died 28/9/1927)

Born 1850 Essex, England.  To SA 1855 with parents in the Hyderabad.  Educated by EL Hamilton, late Inspector of Aborigines.  1863, began apprenticeship with John Dunn. Later bought the business in March 1907.  Married Emma Milford.  A JP.  Father - Samuel Knight d 21/7/1906.  Martha Knight d 11/5/1883.

Lady Wellington.

Built at Falmouth, Cornwall, England, in 1813, this brig came to South Australia in 1838, where it remained for Van Diemen’s Land trading until becoming wrecked off Pt Adelaide.

Langmeil.

Langmeil was founded by German farmers and gardeners from Klemzig SA, who settled on strips of land on both sides of the North Para River from 1843 onwards.  Only after a Lutheran Church had been erected in the district in 1846 did Pastor August Kavel shift permanently to live there.  Gradually, the area became merged with Tanunda, laid out adjacent to Langmeil in c1848.  Langmeil-Tanunda formed the central township of a region the pioneer Germans termed Neu-Schlesien (New Silesia).

Leader, Charles Sydney (c1845-13/5/1908)

Husband of Annie E Leader of Monreith.  Died at Miss Hand’s hospital, after a throat operation, aged 63.  Well-known estate agent and member of the firm of Lyons & Leader.  Came from Britain when a youth.  Entered Wright Brothers, an old-established land agency firm. Partners retired about 35 years ago.  He carried it on with the late Mr Lyons.  Very philanthropic.  Treasurer of the Children’s Hospital and the District Trained Nursing Society, member of the Board of the Home for Incurables.  Recently appointed to the Board to administer the Martin Bequest.  Not interested in political or municipal affairs.  Attended St Peter’s Cathedral.  Lived in Melbourne St, North Adelaide, mostly, but latterly lived at Monreith, Portrush Road.  Born in London and came to SA with his parents and an elder brother on the John Mitchell 21/4/1849.  He had to go to work at 13, when his father died unexpectedly.  Had his education at Mr J Bath’s School.  Frank Leader was the manager of the Government Printing Office.  A junior clerk at Elder Smith, then with Messrs Wright Brothers.  A clerk was Mr Charles Lyons, with whom Leader later went into partnership.  In 1879, when the Messrs Wright left for England, Lyons & Leader took over the business.  Mr Lyons died suddenly on 30/10/1899, after a meeting of the company, of heart failure.  Leader carried on with the help of his two sons under the same name.  Life member of the Children’s Hospital after serving 25 years on the board.  Hon Sec of the St Peter’s Cathedral completion fund.  Great cricketer and footballer.  Hon Sec of the Adelaide Oval, before John Creswell.  Member of the Adelaide Liedertafel.  SA attorney for JC WIlliamson, the theatrical entrepreneur.  Sons Sydney Haynes and Percy Francis.  Daughters Ella Mabel and Ruby. Brothers Robert (Messrs Darling & Sons) and Thomas Leader (Bank of SA).  HF Leader, wife and 3 children.  CS Leader married on 3/12/1879 to Annie Elizabeth Davies, at Christ Church North Adelaide.

Leader, Henry Francis Senr (?-5/1/1864)

Lived in Great Percy St, London.  Emigrated aboard the John Mitchell 21/4/1849, with wife and three children, Frank, Charles and Elizabeth.  Two more girls and two more boys born in Australia.  Died suddenly.  Went to the monster Oddfellows Picnic's, certainly the largest picnic party that was ever got up in SA, at Gaskmore Park, James McLeod’s estate near Paradise, on New Year’s Day, and took ill shortly afterwards.  Secretary of the Loyal Albert Lodge and Secretary of the City Rifles.  Had belonged to the City Rifles since its establishment.  The only optician in adelaide for many years - opposite Garner’s Rooms in King William St.  He had an escort of City Rifles and Oddfellows from his home at Lower North Adelaide to the North Road Cemetery.  Robert Haynes b 11/10/1851; Caroline Haynes b 16/3/1860; Thomas Mortlock10/9/1864.  Elizabeth, the eldest girl, married Thomas John Shaw Smith, a North Adelaide tailor and draper, on 22/3/1866.  They attended the Brougham Place Congregational Church.

Leader, Henry Francis ‘Frank’ Junr (30/9/1843-29/7/1890)

Born in Great Percy St, London.  Died aged 47.  Educated at Mr J Bath’s school, North Adelaide.  Married but no family.  Superintendent of Christ Church North Adelaide Sunday School, warden, lay reader at St Cyprian’s Lower North Adelaide.  Family had belonged to Christ Church since arrival in the colony.  Rose from apprenticeship to become Manager of Shawyer’s printing works and then entered the Government Printing Office as a compositor over 20 years ago.  When E Spiller died in 1888, he became Government Printer and Comptroller of Stationery.  High rectitude and straight business dealings.  Three sisters, Mrs TJ Smith and two unmarried.  Lived on MacKinnon Parade.  Married a daughter of the late Mr JP Chennell.

Leigh Street, Adelaide.

During 1840, William Leigh, of Little Aston (south-west of Lichfield), Staffordshire, presented two Adelaide Town Acres for the use of the Church of England.  The street adjoining these properties became known as Leigh St, in consequence.  Today, the Anglican Church still owns this valuable estate, known as the Leigh Trust.

Light, Colonel William (1784-1839).

Born in Penang, W Light later served with distinction for the British army in Spain during the Napoleonic Wars.  While on later military naval duty in Egypt, Light met John Hindmarsh, who became the first Governor of SA.  William went with him as the colony’s first Surveyor-General.  After laying out Adelaide and surveying much of the surrounding countryside, Light resigned his post in 1837, upon a severe quarrel with the Colonial Commissioners.  W Light continued in private surveying practice until his death of consumption in 1839, a few months after N Hailes arrived from England.

Yes, I remember Colonel Light, a little, dark, very active, clever man, who laid out Adelaide, and was always in hot water with Colonel Gawler.  He died in October 11839, I think, and they said his heart was broken on account of the way the worried him about the site of the city.  p222 Observer (1/8/1896) Reel 80.  Remiscences of Mrs John Bevis, 142 Ward St, North Adelaide, aged 100.

Lights Passage.

The entrance to the Port River from Gulf St Vincent.  Governor Hindmarsh named this spot in a Government Gazette notice of 3 June 1837.  It is likely that the Lady Wellington grounded in Light’s Passage, while on a voyage between Pt Adelaide and Launceston.

Linger, Carl

Lived in the easternmost cottage on Town Acre 25, North Tce, an area filled with small cottages.  Had a brass plate on the front door.  Linger used to stroll the fashionable portion (between Fitch’s Corner and King William St) of Rundle St each day btween 2-5pm. He was of medium stature, neat in his dress and invariably smoking a cigar - a sign in those days of being a little higher in the intellectual sphere.  LIedertafel sang anthems around the GF Angas A band played the Dead March vary quietly to draw a crowd and to make it appear as though the music came out from the Grave.

Lindsay House, Angaston.

Built by Henry Evans, a son-in-law of GF Angas, near Angaston, Lindsay House eventually became the property of GF Angas himself after he arrived in SA during 1851.  The Evanses moved to nearby Keyneton.  Now, the property enjoys renown as a horse breeding stud.

Lobethal, Ferdinand Müller.

A German shepherd employed by the SA Company, found the township site while seeking new pasture for his flock.  Eighteen families from amongst his fellow emigrants, who had arrived in the Skjold in late 1841, established themselves there.  Their spiritual leader, Pastor Daniel Fritzsche, named the settlement Lobethal or Valley of Praise, on 4 May 1842, the day the founders took over their property.  Between 1918-1935, the town was known as Tweedvale.

Lord Goderich.

A three mast ship of 400 tons, built by Dikes & Gibson 1828 Kingston upon Hull, Lincs, England.  During mid-October 1837, the vessel departed Gravesend, London, with general cargo and 126 passengers bound for Pt Adelaide.  During the voyage, a drunk cabin passenger died during a meal.  As a result, an extremely bitter feud broke out between others of the cabin passengers and Captain Andrew Smith.  The master sailed to Brazil, where the British Consul in Rio (Mr Hesketh) appointed Stephen Whettem as superintendent of the emigrants in place of EC Gwynne (the Register wrongly reported that the captain had been replaced).  Unfortunately, the Lord Goderich remained in Pt Adelaide for several months longer than necessary because of delays in unloading cargo.  Local newspapers featured advertisements from both parties, who continued to feud until the ship left for Hobart in July 1838.  The Lord Goderich returned to Australia with a complement of convicts during 1841.

Lubasch, Gottfried (1789-1856).

A native of Brandenburg, Prussia, Gottfried Lubasch had served in Napoleon’s army in Russia in 1813, where he saw the burning of Moscow.  Twice married, Gottfried had a family of five daughters, all of whom eventually came to live in SA.  The Lubasch family emigrated aboard the Zebra to the colony in 1838.  Gottfried was Hahndorf’s first hotelkeeper, mailman and policeman.  Later, he farmed between Hahndorf and Balhannah.

Lunatic Asylum, Parkside.

Until 1846, mentally ill people had treatment at the Adelaide Gaol.  Then, the Government opened a hospital facing Greenhill Rd, which removed to North Tce during 1852.  Overcrowding caused new premises to open in 1870 at Parkside.  Formerly behind a high stone wall, these buildings are still used in conjunction with other sites in the metropolitan area.  Today, the Lunatic Asylum is known as the Glenside Mental Hospital.

Lyons, Charles (22/1/1844-30/10/1899)

Then with Messrs Wright Brothers.  A clerk was Mr Charles Lyons, with whom Leader later went into partnership.  In 1879, when the Messrs Wright left for England, Lyons & Leader took over the business.  Mr Lyons died suddenly on , after a meeting of the company, of heart failure.  Leader carried on with the help of his two sons.  Born ‘within the sound of the Falls of Niagara’ in Canada, the second son of TW Lyons, who worked in the Land Titles Office for many years.  C Lyons entered the Survey Office as a talented draughtsman. Then became clerk in Messrs Wright Brothers, in 1860.  When E Amand Wright went to England, Lyons & Leader took over.  Lasted for over 20 years.  Honourable in all business dealings and was greatly admired.  End October-beginning November, made an annual trip to the north to inspect properties possibly for sale.  Adelaide Hospital Board member.  Kensington & Norwood Council.  Greatly interested in mining in WA and SA and was a director of many companies.  Got the Leigh Creek Coal Co out of financial difficulties and died shortly after a meeting of directors in their office, 12 Hindley St, on Monday evening.  Died of syncope in the Exchange Hotel, after drinking a whisky and peppermint, in the arms of his chemist (Winch) and fellow director CP Lakeman.  Synodsman of the Anglican Church.  President of the Sick Poor Fund and Hon Sec of The Adelaide Benevolent & Stranger’s Friend Society.  Norwood School Board of Advice.  A tenor in the Adelaide Philharmonic Choir.  Wife, a daughter of Goodman Hart. Lived at Glenroy, Park Tce, Parkside.

Mann, Charles (1800-1860).

Arriving aboard the Coromandel in 1837, as SAs first Advocate-General, Mann resigned after quarrelling with Governor Hindmarsh.  C Mann resumed government appointments in 1844 and held many such positions at various times, right up to the date of his death.  He was a very active person and took a prominent part in colonial life.

Matthew, Charles (c1797-25/3/1867)

Probably from Airlie, Scotland.  In SA by January 1846, as he bought land in Bentham St, Adelaide.  Described as a coach builder. Charles Matthew married twice.  His first wife, Lucy, nee Lilliatt, died 27/12/1857, at the family property, Airlie House, Section 5, Goodwood Road.  Second wife, Georgiana, died 24/11/1870, a sudden demise.  His only son, James John Matthew (1829-?), was born at Longforgan, Fifeshire, Scotland.  His daughter Isabella Mary Ann (c1821-11/12/1879), married William Gale, a Morphett Vale farmer.  Following Charles Matthew’s death, his property went into trust.  Robert Dodgson and William Ferguson had to pay Georgiana the proceeds from rents on the Matthew Town Acres in Waymouth St and several nearby country sections.  After her death, his two children, James and Isabella, and several nieces, Lucy Hannah Bell, Jane White, Mary White, to share equally.

Mauritius

A small tropical island in the Indian Ocean, off the east coast of Madagascar and continental Africa.  From 1815, Mauritius was a British colony.  During SAs early colonial times, vigorous trade occurred between the two places.  In fact, during February 1843, one of the first exports of SA wheat was made to Mauritius.  FR Nixon, who surveyed much of the Mt Barker District and had the windmill built on the watershed between Hahndorf and Mt Barker in 1842, lived in Mauritius after he left SA.

MacFarlane, Duncan (1793-1856).

Scottish-born MacFarlane arrived NSW 1824 as a sailor, and then began squatting in the mountains near present-day Canberra.  Duncan came to SA 1838 with his friend, William Dutton, on the brig Parland.  MacFarlane joined Dutton and Dutton’s father-in-law, John Finnis, in taking out the Mt Barker Special Survey during January 1839, the first such land sale in the colony. T he men had brought with them substantial loans from a wealthy Sydney merchant, Thomas Walker, apparently to snap up property in such a fashion should it become available.  MacFarlane established a station, using his own stock brought over by sea from NSW.  Dependable Scottish shepherds came to live in a row of stone huts almost upon the later Mt Barker township, which Duncan and his partners laid out on part of MacFarlane’s sheep run during 1840.  A sales office opened next to the homestead.  Soon, scab and closer settlement made the area unsuitable for sheep and Duncan shifted his pastoral interests to the South-East.  He also took up shares in the Glen Osmond silver-lead mines.  In old age, D MacFarlane retired to his home at Glen Osmond.  He was a JP and presided fairly over trials.

MacGeorge, Robert Forsyth (c1796-26/10/1859).

Born Dumfriesshire, Scotland.  To SA 1839 Ariadne, with wife Elizabeth and 11 children.  Next year, from surveyor George Ormsby, he purchased a strip of Town Acre 52 in Hindley St, where he opened a linen drapery business.  His £500 mortgage on his Hindley St business site paid off, in 1853, MacGeorge bought a vacant block of land on TA 207, where some years later, the German Clubhouse rose.  A year later, RF MacGeorge bought half of TA 1028 facing Kingston Tce; his neighbour to the west was wealthy Christopher Bagot.  Shortly before he died, he bought a property in Jeffcott St, which his widow subsequently leased to various tenants. ‘that noble, but fatal ship’ Saloon passenger aboard the Royal Charter.  A prosperous voyage from Melbourne of 58 days to Queenstown, Ireland, and the ship dashed on Cape Lynns rocks, on the northern Welsh coast, en route to Liverpool, during wild weather without a pilot.  Only 39 out of nearly 500 people on board saved.  Compared to the Admella.  Many people returning from Australia with some £500,000 worth of gold specie.

Mackay, JPF (?-1893).

A son of A Mackay JP of Pt Augusta.  Educated at Whinham College.  1874 joined the staff of the Bank of Adelaide.  1st appointed to Gawler branch.  Then relieving manager, and served at Booleroo Centre.  Manager of Curramulka Branch between 1886-1891.  Failing health caused him to retire in 1892.  Very interested in local affairs wherever he went.

Martin, Henry ()

Butcher in Grenfell St 1841 and Rundle St 1845-46, before joining his brother Thomas in Hindley St c1847.

Martin, Thomas (?-21/5/1898)

A Hindley St butcher until 1854, when he returned to England.  Visited again in 1857-58. Royal Adelaide Hospital £100,000 and Children’s Hospital £50,000,

21/5/1898 T Martin died.  He lived at Beechwood With dean, near Brighton, Sussex.  Appointed the Governor, Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Sir Henry Ayers, Sir John Colton, and his local attorney James Smith as executors and trustees.  To have £1,000 each for their trouble.  Annuity of £4,000 to his wife, Mary, nee Fiveash Henderson & Hayward were the local solicitors. James Smith the attorney.  The late Mr Martin was one of the largest owners of city freehold properties, principally in King William and Rundle Sts, between Leigh and Pulteney Sts.  Arrived in SA 1839.  A very well-known colonist.  Sent the whole of his investment capital to SA for many years.  Stopped when progressive land tax was introduced by Dr Cockburn.  Took a great interest in colonial affairs.  Bequests to his sister-in-law, Mrs William Fiveash and nieces, daughters of Robert Fiveash.  Also his brother Henry.  Later trustees appointed, but no more Governors.  Trustee Charles Sydney Leader died 13/5/1908.  Trusteeship wound up in 1913, with a Supreme Court Order 19/5/1913.  Last trustees were George Warren Smith shipping agent Pt Adelaide, George Klewitz Soward architect Adelaide, William Herbert Phillipps gent Adelaide, George Brookman gent Adelaide.  --  Observer 2/7/1898 p28. Chronicle 9/7/1898

McGee, Michael.

About 10pm on the night of 27 March 1838, two armed men bailed up SA's Sheriff, Samuel Smart, as he sat working at his desk at home.  Later, S Smart identified Michael McGee, who fired a musket and grazed Smart’s cheek.  Some 500 people watched the long murder trial, the first in the colony.  The execution took place from a gum tree in the North Parklands, in front of the Colonial Store, on 2 May 1838.  After McGee had admitted to the crowd how wicked he was, the signal was given, and the cart drove off.  He struggled a good deal ... the executioner having performed his part in rather a slovenly manner ...  Some of the mounted police and marines were present.

McGowan, teacher

Came from Liverpool.  Opened a school at Hawdon Vale, Echunga in 1841.  Had a school in Grenfell St in 1839.

McLaren, David (1785-1850).

Scottish-born David McLaren early varied a prosperous accountancy business with Christian mission work in the numerous ports along the Clyde River.  Through this activity, he met GF Angas, who arranged his appointment as an emigration agent at Glasgow and Greenock for the newly-established colony of SA.  Almost immediately afterwards, David secure the important post as second Resident Manager of the SA Company.  He moved the firm away from shipping and whaling, instead to concentrate on stockraising on extensive Special Survey lands the SA Company bought in the Onkaparinga and Torrens River valleys.  Under McLaren’s supervision, the firm did so well that he accepted the London management of the company in 1841 and so left SA for ever.

Meyer, Christian Ludwig Senr (c1805 -12/12/1893).

Born Bremen, Germany.  To SA 1846 Patel.  Returned to Germany to marry 1847-1848.  Became Consul for Hanover 1849.  Initiated the large flow of Harz Mountain miners and other migrants from Hanover to the Burra and other mines.  An Adelaide merchant (traded as CL Meyer & Co, between King William St & Freeman St, 68 Grenfell St) until 1879, when he returned to Germany to retire.  JP.  Took no part in public life.  Campaigned for a State Bank.  One of the 1856 petitioners who asked Arthur Hardy in 1856 to establish a schoolroom under the auspices of the Board of Education.  Lived at Glenholme (Section 271), built in 1850, facing Portrush Road, Glen Osmond, behind Benacre; his eldest son inherited the house.  Died at Halle, Westfalen, Germany. Sons, CL Meyer of Grenfell St.  Also a CH Meyer.  Married daughter in Germany. -- Observer 20/1/1894. p 125 col a.

Christian Ludwig Meyer Junr (b 23/8/1849-d 10/12/1916).  Lived for the whole of his life in the same home at Glen Osmond.  Belonged to St Saviour’s Church.  Keen supporter of the Glen Osmond Institute.  Secretary of the Building Commitee.  An agent at 68 Grenfell St.

Carl Hermann Meyer (b 7/5/1851-d. 29/3/1936).

Son - Ferdinand August (b 4/5/1853. Died18/4/1854, aged 11 months).

Daughter born - 27/6/1857.

Son born - 28/4/1860.

Monarto, Queen.

The last recorded Queen of one of the local Murray River Aboriginal tribes.  By the 1860s, German farmers from Hahndorf had begun to grow wheat in the Hundred of Monarto, through which the former main road between Mt Barker and Murray Bridge passes.  During the 1970s, a satellite city called Monarto was planned for the area.

Montefiore Hill, North Adelaide.

The high point of the suburb, with magnificent views over the North Parklands to South Adelaide.  John McDouall Stuart’s 1861 inland expedition left from Montefiore Hill, and a huge crowd of working class people held a mass meeting there during 1892 to discuss the Broken Hill miners’ strike.  Jacob Montefiore (1801-1895), the wealthy City of London Jew who gave his name to the hill, was one of the original SA Colonisation Commissioners appointed in 1835.  For a period in the 1840s-1850s, he lived in Adelaide, conducting a mercantile warehouse with other members of his family in King William St.

Montefiore, Jacob (c1798-?).

Born in Jamaica, where his father was a merchant and sugar planter for some years.  Went to England as a youth for education and then founded the firm of Montefiore Brothers, London.  In 1838, the firm opened a branch in Sydney and established a sheep run in NSW.  Mr Dalgetty, the wealthy Melbourne wool family, began his career in Montefiore’s business in Sydney.  During the 1850s, J Montefiore lived in Melbourne, as agent for the Rothschild family.  For some years, he was also in Adelaide, where his business operated on the site of the Imperial Hotel in King William St.  Philip Levi & Co took over the operations.  Brothers JB and Horatio.  Married a daughter of the late Mr Gompertz, a London actuary.  Jacob Montefiore was a JP, Royal Colonial Institute and Royal Geographical Society.  Mid-1885, presented a painting of himself in an armchair, reading the Register, to the SA Art Gallery.  Also gave a cabinet portrait of himself for the Adelaide City Album.  Became the London Commissioner for SA at the Colonial & Indian Exhibition.  Last surviving member of the SA Commissioners appointed in 1834.  Lives in Hyde Park, London, and enjoys good health.  GW Hawkes has been the SA agent for the Montefiore Brothers for many years. -- Observer 1/1/1887 21e.

Montefiore, Joseph Barrow (c1802-1893).

While in Adelaide, he operated as a merchant on the site of the present Imperial Hotel, 80 King William St, Adelaide.  He bought the The Glen estate at Glen Osmond, where Mr Justice Boothby later lived.  Retired in England, the Montefiores lived in Kensington Gardens Square, London.  JB Montefiore was a first cousin of Sir Moses Montefiore, the famous Hebrew philanthropist. -- Observer 9/9/1893 p 509 e.

Morgan.

One of three runaway Van Diemen’s Land convicts, who tried to kill Sheriff Samuel Smart in his tent one night.  Police captured two of the three, but Morgan escaped to the Encounter Bay coast, near two whaling stations where other ex-convicts from Van Diemen’s Land worked.  Guided by a blacktracker, a small party of troopers eventually captured Morgan.  On the subsequent return journey to Adelaide, he proved too obdurate to move and so the police left him handcuffed firmly to a young gum tree some distance south of the Onkaparinga River estuary.  A relief party found the man still handcuffed to the tree, but he had suffered dreadfully from prowling wild dogs, mosquitoes and flies, while his flesh was badly cut from attempts to cast off the handcuffs.  At his subsequent trial, Morgan was sentenced to transportation for life.

Morphett, John (1809-1892).

London-born J Morphett, a land agent, arrived SA 1836 Cygnet, as a favour for having sold so many SA preliminary land orders amongst his family’s wealthy British friends.  He continued this record in the province (besides helping to survey Adelaide) and married the daughter of JH Fisher, the Resident Commissioner.  During 1837, Morphett belonged to European-led expeditions which discovered the Torrens River and first climbed Mt Barker.  In time, John Morphett was keen to establish a colonial aristocracy.  He joined the SA Parliament and held many high offices over the years.  Morphett made his property, Cummins, near Glenelg, into a fine estate.

Moseley, William (c1815-d 30/9/1849). 

To SA 1836 Tam O’Shanter.  Farmer, publican.  Married 8/4/1843 Adelaide, Christian, nee McIntyre.  3 boys; 1 girl.  Lived at Mt Barker, Adelaide, Crafers.  Buried at St James’s Blakiston.  Died intestate - Left an estate of £2,000.  The widow remarried 11/6/1863 publican Richard Dixon Hawkins, of Wellington.  Likely to be a son of George Moseley (c1770-d 17/9/1863), who arrived on the Tam O’Shanter and remarried on 26/6/1854, the widow Elizabeth Newton, at the age of 84.  Was Henry Jackson Moseley, who arrived on the same boat, a cousin?

Mount Barker District.

For South Australian colonists in the 1840s, the old Mt Barker District stretched from approximately Macclesfield and Meadows in the south to Mt Torrens in the north.  The District’s eastern borders were the Bremer-Scott Creek headwaters, while the New Tiers directly across the Onkaparinga River marked the boundary to the west.  Mt Barker township lay strategically in the centre of the region.  Captain Collett Barker was the first European to make a recognised sighting of the Mt Barker summit, during his ill-fated coastal journey to the Murray mouth in April 1831, when Aborigines speared him to death.

Mount Lofty.

Captain Matthew Flinders named the highest peak in the Southern Adelaide Hills, a feature on the way to Mt Barker.  He could see the mountain from his ship, Investigator, anchored near Kangaroo Island on 23 March 1802.  Government survey teams erected a trigonometrical cairn on the summit in 1840 to aid in the survey of land in the neighbourhood.  Quickly, the point became a landmark for seamen.

Mount Lofty Ranges.

Captain Matthew Flinders named Mt Lofty, the highest peak in the Southern Adelaide Hills, a feature on the way to Mt Barker.  He could see the mountain from his ship, Investigator, anchored near Kangaroo Island on 23 March 1802.  Government survey teams erected a trigonometrical cairn on the summit in 1840 to aid in the survey of land in the neighbourhood.  Quickly, the point became a landmark for seamen.  The mountains surrounding this peak became known as the Mt Lofty Ranges.  In earliest colonial times, these hills were often referred to as the Hay Ranges, named after Robert Hay, the permanent Under Secretary in the Colonial Office at the time SA was settled.

Municipal Council, Adelaide.

Formed in 1840, the first Adelaide City Council was renowned for being the oldest such organisation in Australia.  N Hailes was elected as a Councillor.  Unfortunately, many causes, though principally to do with lack of funds, led to the suspension of the Council in 1843.  Between 1849-1852, the Council was gradually revived, and has operated with full powers continuously since June 1852.

Murdoch, John.

Died intestate.  Left an estate of £12,699 & 10d.

Murray Street, Gawler.

The main street of Gawler takes its name from Henry Dundas Murray, one of the original proprietors of the Gawler Special Survey of 1839.  For years, the thoroughfare was frightfully dusty in summer and outlandishly boggy during winter.