Samuel STEPHENS

In Memory of

SAMUEL STEPHENS

Died 18 January 1840 aged 31 years

First Colonial Manager of the South Australian Company

Arrived Kangaroo Island 27 July 1838

JOHN STEPHENS

Died 28 November 1850 aged 44 years : Proprietor of

"The Observer" and "The Register"

FIDELIA wife of John died 8 November 1891 and

their daughters SOPHIA died 31 March 1850 and

EMMA died 9 July 1918, wife of Charles James Penny

EDWARD STEPHENS

Arrived Glenelg January 1837, first cashier and

Manager of the South Australian Bank

returned to England in 1853 and died there

A Jubilee 150 Project by

Public Service Association

ANZ Bank,

Department of Environment

Kangaroo Island Pioneers Association

With a memorial to Elizabeth Beare

West Terrace Cemetery, Road 1 South, on the east side of Path 31, in Grave 46

Dene Cordes comments 8 April 2016:

One of the first major projects that the KIPA took up was, at the suggestion of President, Bill Holmesby, to restore the badly crumbled Stephens Vault at West Terrace Cemetery. It really was in a bad condition, although one could see that it had been a prominent site.

In order to raise the hefty sums of money, the KIPA decided to approach several of the connected organisations/businesses.

I undertook to contact the Public Service Association of which I was a member at the time. I asked them to contribute because Samuel Stephens would have been an early employee of he community. They readily agreed and gave, I think, $1000.

The ANZ was approached because one of he Stephens brohers was Manager of that Bank. They, too donated.The Dept. of Environment donated because it was also Dept of Heritage. And the KIPA made up the rest. It was all paid for, and was remarkable because Stephens had no descendants, and neither did Elizabeth Beare. Members of the Beare family contributed. The handsome, restored vault was the result. There was a ceremony to unveil the vault.

I am sure that there would be ample information in KIPA newsletters, and also The Advertiser. But I am writing this because, these days, we are privileged to have a website. This verbal anecdote by me might be very important one day.

It all started because the KIPA wanted to find Elizabeth Beare’s grave and mark it permanently. The rest all followed.

It was a big achievement by the rather young KIPA.