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The maritime portion of South Australia
Title : The maritime portion of South Australia The maritime portion of South Australia
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Creator : Arrowsmith, John, 1790-1873
Place Of Creation : London
Publisher : Published [J. Arrowsmith] 10 Soho Square Strand
Date of creation : Feby. 5th 1839
Additional Creator : Light, William, 1786-1839 Flinders, Matthew, 1774-1814 Chesser, William Finniss, Boyle Travers, 1807-1893
Format : Map
Dimensions : 540 x 670 mm
Contributor : State Library of South Australia
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This map of the southern portion of South Australia was originally published by John Arrowsmith in 1839 as part of his London atlas. The map was drawn from the surveys of Captain Matthew Flinders in 1802 and of Colonel William Light, Surveyor General for the colony of South Australia from 1836 to 1838.

Flinders had navigated the 'unknown coast' section of southern New Holland, including Kangaroo Island. Light played a pivotal role in the selection and surveying of the site for Adelaide and planning the city. The Colonization Commissioners had instructed Light to examine some 1,500 miles of coastline, select the best site for settlement, and survey the town site and country sections. In recent years there has been debate as to who actually determined the site for Adelaide.

No additional surveying of the South Australian coast was carried out between Flinders' and Light's surveys. Inset maps of The maritime portion of South Australia feature: 'Sketch of Encounter Bay', 'Sketch of Nepean Bay and Kingscote Harbour', 'The City of Adelaide, with the acre allotments' and '[The Gulf St Vincent]'. The map records place names and general topography with notes on vegetation, and includes limited inland exploration up the River Murray.

The plan for Adelaide comprised a grid pattern adjusted to accommodate the region's topography. Adelaide was divided into two districts on either side of the River Torrens: residential North Adelaide to the north, and Adelaide to the south. Adelaide contained 700 one-acre blocks, with central Victoria Square, and four additional squares: Light, Hindmarsh, Whitmore and Hurtle. Extensive designated parklands of open spaces surrounded the districts.

Subjects
Period : Pre-1836
Further reading :

Brown, Anthony J. Ill-starred captains: Flinders and Baudin, Hindmarsh, S. Aust.: Crawford House Publishing, 2000

Cooper, HM. The unknown coast: being the explorations of Captain Matthew Flinders, along the shores of South Australia, 1802, Adelaide: The author, 1953

Dutton, Geoffrey and David Elder. Colonel William Light: founder of a city, Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1991

Flinders, Matthew. Terra Australis: Matthew Flinders' great adventures in the circumnavigation of Australia, Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2000

Ingleton, Geoffrey C. Matthew Flinders, navigator and chartmaker, Guildford, Surrey: Genesis Publications in association with Hedley Australia, 1986

Light, William. William Light's brief journal and Australian diaries, Adelaide: Wakefield Press, 1984

Johnson, Donald Leslie and Donald Langmead. The Adelaide City Plan: fiction and fact, Wakefield Press, Adelaide, 1986

Johnson, Donald Leslie. 'The Kingston/Light plan of Adelaide and founding the city', Journal of the Historical Society of South Australia, no. 32, 2004, pp. 5-18

Internet links :
Adelaide City Council: City Archives: see Civic Collection: Early maps and images of Adelaide Bowe, Chris. 'The Light myth' The Adelaide Review July 2004

Encounter 1802-2002: celebrating Flinders' and Baudin's expeditions in search of the 'unknown' southern coast of Australia.

Light, William. Letter 22 November 1836: 'First colony in South Australia' Treasures Wall, State Library of South Australia

State Library of New South Wales: From Terra Australis to Australia see: Flinders' Journeys

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