Colonel+William+Light

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As the Surveyor General for the colony of South Australia, Colonel William Light was responsible for city and country surveys. He was a soldier, a seaman, a musician and an artist, and he was good at all those things. He was expected to choose the site for the city, survey country sites and peg out the city in only two months.

First Light looked at Victor Harbor and Kangaroo Island and decided that they were no good for a city needing a safe port. Port Lincoln would not do either because it had no fresh water. So he chose Adelaide with access to the Port River.

Light's plan of Adelaide, with its parks, squares and wide streets, is unique in the world. In a lottery draw for land purchase, Light gained first pick and chose Thebarton, named after his home village in England. But many people did not like the place Light had chosen for the city, and they were very critical of him. Light resigned and with Finniss formed a private surveying company.

Light became ill with tuberculosis. He did not have much money and he made a living selling vegetables from his garden. In January 1839 his hut on North Terrace burnt down and he lost most of a lifetime’s diaries, notebooks, paintings and drawings. At this time, though, he did some exploring, and passed through the Barossa trying to find a way through to the River Murray. He camped near the creek at Light Pass.

William Light died in 1839, still proud of the plan of Adelaide, even though other people did not like the place he had chosen for the city.

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