Proclamation or Commemoration Day

As Eyre Peninsula is part of the State, and as December 28 is a public holiday throughout South Australia, it is appropriate that we should know why the day is so important, the more so as next Monday we shall celebrate the centenary of the day on which the Governor (Capt. John Hindmarsh) landed at Glenelg, and on which day certain official acts and functions were performed. Through the rather loose way in which the term 'proclamation' or ' proclamation of the Colony' has been used, it was suggested that the subject was sufficiently interesting to devote an article to it.

In the previous article slight mention was made of the data to show that the appointment of the Governor was made on February 2, 1836. Although the search to substantiate that date brought forth much interesting matter it was not contemplated to use it in this paper, so there will be some duplication.

The Constitution of South Australia was of a piece-meal description. The British Act could not be brought into force until certain conditions were carried out. The Bill received the Royal assent on August 15, 1834, the last day of the session. On May 5, 1835, Commissioners were gazetted, on May 8 they held their first meeting and they were sworn in on May 11.

CHOICE OF GOVERNOR

As early as August, 1834, Col. Light was suggested as Surveyor-General, and in April, 1835, Col. C. J. Napier wag negotiating for the position of Governor. On May 12, 1835, Robert Gouger wrote to Lord Glenelg in reference to appointment as Colonial Secretary. Gouger considered that the work done by him since 1830 warranted his receiving that appointment. By the end of May, Napier was out of the running for the position of Governor, and recommended to Gouger that Col. Light should be given it. But before receipt of that letter Capt John Hindmarsh, a post-captain in the Royal Navy, had made overtures for the position, and being favorably recommended, by the end of May he virtually was appointed. From then onwards he apparently assisted the Commissioners.

By July, 1835, the Commissioners were considering the various appointments. Brown was nominated as emigration agent, Kingston as deputy Surveyor-General, Torrens fought hard for an appointment for Gilles, and the Commissioners approved of Gouger receiving the appointment of Colonial Secretary. All these were only tentative, having to receive the approval of the Government. In a former article reference was made to the difficulty in selling the initial quantity of land and raising the necessary security, and how that difficulty was overcome, so it is not necessary now to repeat that story. Gouger's diary has been relied upon for the bulk of the forgoing, unfortunately there is then a gap in the diary. Hodder, the editor of the diary, supplies some particulars of the happenings between July, 1835, and June, 1836, when the diary was resumed.

ERECTION OF PROVINCE

Hodder stated that the appointment of the Governor (Capt. J. Hindmarsh) was settled at a salary of £800 a year, with an allowance of £500 for outfit. The following were appointed to hold offices in the colony (some body has inserted the date December 14, 1835, in the book from which the information is culled ; it may be right, it may be wrong, but the King's order in Council is of a much later date) :—

J. H. Fisher and R. Gouger (at £400 each), Sir J. W. Jeffcott (judge) £500, C. Mann £300, G. Stevenson £200, T. Lipson £200, O. Gilles £300, J. Brown £250, Col. W. Light £400, G. S. Kingston £200, five assistant surveyors at £100 each, two junior assistant surveyors at £150 each, T. Gilbert £100 and Dr. Cotter (colonial surgeon) £100.

The conditions laid down in the Foundation Act having been complied with, the British Goverment was in a position to allow the Commissioners to carry out the scheme. In the London "Gazette" of February 2, 1838, appears the announcement "The King has been pleased to appoint John Hindmarsh Esq., Captain in the Royal Navy to be Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of South Australia."

On the 19th of the same month the King issued his letters patent erecting South Australia into a province. This legal instrument was presented to our Public Library Board about 30 years ago, and is a most elaborate affair, richly engrossed and most difficult to read.

In addition to this, according to Gouger, there was the King's order in council on the same subject dated February 23. With two such notifications it was quite clear that from those dates, South Australia was a province and no further action was necessary and any attempt to perform one was only overriding the King's power.

Although the position of Governor was gazetted in February, it was not until July 11, 1836, that Hindmarsh received his Commission letters patent. This is a much more elaborate affair than the one mentioned above, and is hung in a conspicuous position in the Public Library.

The final act in England was the King's order in council dated July 13, 1836, appointing the persons selected for the various offices. They were : — Sir John William Jeffcott, Knight, Judge of the Province; Robert Gouger, Colonial Secretary; Charles Mann, Advocate General and Crown Solicitor; James Hurtle Fisher, Registrar; George Stevenson, Clerk of the Council; Rev. Charles Beaumont Howard, Colonial Chamain; Osmond Gilles, Colonial Treasurer and Collector of Revenue; Thomas Lipson, Commander in the Royal Navy, Naval Officer and Harbormaster; John Brown, Emigration Agent; Thomas Gilbert, Colonial Storekeeper.

The first four mentioned constituted, with the Governor, the Legislative Council for the Colony, with Stevenson as Clerk of the Council.

It will be noticed that the members of the survey staff are not mentioned in this order ; they must have received their commissions earlier. After the surveyors, Gouger was the first of the officials to arrive in South Australia, he having come by the Africaine (Nepean Bay November 3, Rapid Bay November 7). Then followed the Buffalo with the Governor, J. H. Fisher and G. Stevenson on December 28.

HISTORIC DAYS EVENTS

I will narrate the official acts of that day as notified in the "S.A. Gazette and Colonial Register" of June 3, 1837, this being the first edition of the paper subsequent to the arrival of the settlers in South Australia. The Governor arrived and met his councillors. The council had to be constituted, and this was done. The council consisted of the Governor, Gouger and Fisher, with Stevenson as clerk (Jeffcott and Fisher had not arrived in the Colony). I imagine Gouger and Fisher would take the oaths of their office.

We can now follow Gouger's official report : "His Excellency John Hindmarsh, Knight of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order, Captain of the Royal Navy, produced in Council this day His Majesty's order in Council dated 23rd February 1836, erecting South Australia, into one Province, and constituting the Council thereof. His Excellency the Governor also produced His Majesty's Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, dated the 11th July 1836 appointing His Excellency, Governor and Commander in Chief of the Province of South Australia and the prescribed oaths were then administered to His Excellency by the Colonial Secretary. By His Excellency's command, Robert Gouger, Colonial Secretary."

One other act performed in Gouger's tent is recorded in the "S.A. Gazette and Colonial Register": Glenelg, December 28, 1836. His Excellency produced His Majesty's order in Council dated 13th July appointing .... (as the names are quoted above they will not be repeated here.— J.D.S.) By His Excellency's command, Robert Gouger, Colonial Secretary.

This seems to have completed the routine work inside the tent, with the exception of agreeing to the wording of the "Proclamation" that was to be read to the colonists outside. The official account takes no cognizance of the public reading of the ''commission," the Governor's salute or the reading of the "proclamation."

Gouger's entry in his diary of December 28 seems necessary to amplify the official account: — ''This morning, on going as usual to let out my goats, I saw two large vessels entering the Bay, which proved to be the Buffalo (bringing the Governor and other officials ) and the Cygnet from Port Lincoln. Before 8 o'clock a message arrived at my tent requiring my attendance on board. I found His Excellency and all the party in good health and spirits and full of hope and ardour to commence their colonial career. After some consultation it was decided that the Governor and emigrants should land here at once, and that, in the course of the day, the necessary oaths should be taken and the Governor's Commission read. At 3 'o'clock the marines from the Buffalo were drawn up in a line and the whole of the colonists assembled in front of my tent. Before, however, reading the Commission in public, I took the necessary oaths of office and, as senior member of Council present, I administered to the Governor the oaths of office. We then held a council in my tent for the purpose of agreeing upon a proclamation requiring all to obey the laws and declaring the aborigines to have equal rights and an equal claim with the white men upon the protection of the Government. The Commission was then read in public, a feu de joie was fired by the marines, the white ensign hoisted, and a salute fired by ships. The proclamation having been read, the meeting adjourned to Mr. Kingston's tent where a cold dinner was provided for such as chose to partake of it."

The "S.A. Gazette and Colonial Register" on June 3, 1837, reporting on the doings in Gouger's tent on the first twenty-eighth, used almost the same words as appeared in the Gazette notice, above Robert Gouger's name. The editor continues his narrative : "After this the Commission was read to the settlers, of whom about 200 were present. The British flag was unfurled to the winds. The marines firing a feu de joie whilst the Buffalo thundered forth a salute from her broadside."

EXTRACTS FROM DIARY

Mrs. Robert Thomas kept a diary of those early days, and extracts were printed in the "S.A. Register," 5/1/1858. She stated that the populace was to assemble at Gouger's tent "where His Excellency the Governor was expected to be at 3 o'clock, to read his Commission and proclaim the Colony." There was the wonderful dinner to prepare and arrangements were made for meeting the newcomers, then "the largest company assembled we had yet seen in the colony — perhaps 200 persons. The Governor's private secretary read the proclamation under a large gum tree, and a party of marines from the Buffalo fired a feu de joie and long hurrahs followed." This account would be the first to use the unfortunate term "proclaim the colony." In her subsequent narrative of events there is no indication of any act of "proclaiming the colony," but only the reading of the proclamation, which must be and could have only been the one requiring all to obey the laws.

Miss Fisher, afterwards Lady Morphett, wrote to her aunt in England, under date February 10, 1837. She said that after arriving at Holdfast Bay "a boat was instantly lowered and sent on shore and returned with Mr. Gouger, the Colonial Secretary, and some other gentlemen. After some consultation it was agreed that the proclamation should be read, for which purpose it was necessary that all the officers belonging to the colony should go on shore, and it was afterwards determined that the ladies should accompany them." This was done, the officers of the ship atten ing in full uniform. She then proceeds : "We first proceeded to the Colonial Secretary's hut, and as soon as all the gentlemen were assembled, the ladies adjourned to another hut belonging to Mr. Brown, the emigration agent, and remained there until the Governor had taken the oath of allegiance. When that ceremony was over we again joined the gentlemen, and Mr. Stevenson, His Excellency's secretary, read the proclamation aloud, after which a party of marines (which bad been sent on shore from the Buffalo) fired a feu de joie and we proceeded to where a cold collation had been prepared for us under a large gum tree. This was the first time I trod in South Australia, and on this day was laid the foundation of a colony of which the most sanguine expectations have been formed.''

The proclamation read on December 28 was, I understand, prepared by George Stevenson on board the Buffalo, and as the first official act by the Governor and council is of infinite interest. It read : —

PROCLAMATION
By His Excellency John Hindmarsh, Knight of the Royal Hanoverian Gue phic Order, Governor and Commander in-Chief of His Majesty's Province of
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

In announcing to the Colonists of His Majesty's Province of South Australia, the establishment of the Government, I hereby call upon them to conduct themselves on all occasions with order and quietness, duly to respect the laws, and by a course of industry and sobriety, by the practice of sound morality, and a strict observance of the Ordinances of Religion, to prove themselves worthy to be the Founders of a great and free Colony.

It is also, at this time especially, my duty to apprise the Colonists of my resolution, to take every lawful means for extending the same protection to the Native Population as to the rest of His Majesty's Subjects, and of my firm determination to punish with exemplary severity, all acts of violence or injustice which may in any manner be practised or attempted against the Natives, who are to be considered as much under the Safeguard of the law as the Colonists themselves, and equally entitled to the privileges of British Subjects. I trust therefore, with confidence to the exercise of moderation and forbearance by all Classes, in their intercourse with the Native Inhabitants, and that they will omit no opportunity of assisting me to fulfil His Majesty's most gracious and benevolent intentions towards them, by promoting their advancement in civilization, and ultimately, under the blessing of Divine Providence, their conversion to the Christian Faith.

By His Excellency's command,
ROBERT GOUGER, Secretary.
Glenelg, 28th December, 1836.

It is difficult to get a word to cover the work done on that first twenty eighth ; almost immediately in the papers, that is after June 1837, the term "proclamation of the Colony" or synonymous terms were used, although occasionally the word commemoration took its place ; thus on 28/12/1857 it was proposed on the 21st anniversary, to affix a brass plate on the old gum tree, but owing to unfavorable weather it was not done. The inscription was to have been : "On this spot, on the 28th December 1836, the colony of South Australia was proclaimed and established as a province by Captain John Hindmarsh, R.N., the Governor thereof, acting in the name and on behalf of His Majesty King William IV in the presence of the Chief Officers of the Government and other Colonists . . . ."

I like the reading of another report appearing in the Register, 5/1/1858 reporting the celebrations "The twenty first anniversary of the founding of the colony of South Australia was celebrated on Monday at Glenelg." In substantiation of the correctness of the term "proclamation of the Colony" I was told that it was the term used by the Government in its list of holidays. Various Acts relating to holidays were turned up, with the following results :

The Bank Holiday Act, 19 of 1873, states that December 28 is a holiday. This Act remained in force with slight modifications until 1910. Section 31 of the Civil Service Act, 3 of 1874, said that "the anniversary of the proclamation of the Colony" was a holiday. This section remained in force until 1910, with slight alterations. The consolidating Act; No. 1010 of 1910 for bank and public holidays repealed all previous Acts and sections relating to holidays. This new Act provided that "the twenty-eighth day of December " should be a holiday, except when coming on a Saturday or Sunday, in which case the following Monday should be observed. Did the Government repent in having previously called the day "proclamation of the Colony" and in the new Act prefer to be on safe ground by simply referring to the date without making any remark as to its significance ?

As has been remarked frequently in previous articles, it is difficult to overtake a misstatement, so in this case it may be difficult to remove the erroneous expression "proclamation of the Colony." It appears that the Glenelg meeting was the first of the Legislative Council, and naturally it was meet that the various credentials should be produced as well as orders in council. Letters Patent and such-like. Officially that was all that was necessary to establish the new Government, but the penultimate act of the day, the reading of the Governor's commission, and the Governor's salute was apt and appropriate, and gave a spectacular demonstration. As such the day would have been worthy of remembrance.

December 28 cannot be called Proclamation Day (signifying proclamation of the Colony), but it can be most fittingly and faithfully be called "Commemoration Day," commemorating the day on which the Government of South Australia was established in South Australia.

I should like to say that much credit is due to the proprietors of this paper for publishing these tales of the early days so fully, and desiring that they should faithfully portray the actual happenings. It was only through this that the misconception regarding December 28 was discovered, and it is to be hoped something will be done to rectify the wrong impression that has become almost a part of South Australia. What brought the subject to a head was answering the simple question : was Capt John Hindmarsh Governor when, he visited Port Lincoln on December 24, 1836 ?

The next article will deal with Governor George Gawler's visit to Port Lincoln.