Description

Media: EBOOK - download
File format: PDF file 28MB (552 pages)
Author: T. Worsnop
Year: (1878) 2025
ISBN: 9781921175060
Publisher: Archive Digital Books Australasia

Thomas Worsnop, late Town Clerk of Adelaide, wrote this book, 'The History of the City of Adelaide: From the Foundation of the Province of South Australia in 1836, to the End of the Municipal Year in 1877, with Appendix and Map' in 1878.

The book contains a very detailed history of the city over 457 pages. It is divided into chapters year by year and includes details on the development of the city's infrastructure and technology, the appointments of people in various leadership roles, the creation of cultural icons and monuments throughout the city, the development of local government as well as expounding on the social development and the growth of business and market in the city.

The Appendix includes excerpts taken from various sources including several letters, as well as copies of documents and lists. This publication also includes a map of Adelaide and several pages of advertisements.

This book is of immense value to anyone interested in Adelaide's past or the development of new cities.

High quality scanned images of the whole of the original book. It has been bookmarked for easy navigation, and pages can be searched, browsed, enlarged and printed out if required.

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1 Review

Adelaide from 1836 to 1877
4
Posted by Margaret Sutherland on 7th Oct 2024

Thomas Worsnop was made Town Clerk of the Municipality of Adelaide in 1869. After a few false starts, Adelaide gained its Constitution in 1857, and Worsnop's account of European development concludes with the 25 year anniversary in 1877.

My (Scottish) ancestors arrived in Adelaide in 1877, so I was pleased to read Worsnop's account of the city at that time. It helped to understand the city that they made their future in.
Since he was the Town Clerk, it's inevitable that Worsnop included detailed descriptions of the City's funds, the clashes with Mayors and colony Governors, and the challenges of building infrastructure. Not to mention the constant complaints about the state of the roads!
Judging from today, it's not an easy read - there's the flowery language of the time, and at times it's difficult to follow which year is which. However, it's worth persevering for the snippets of information to be gleaned. For example, in 1851 the discovery of gold in the eastern States bled Adelaide of 16,000 of its workers overnight, almost causing an economic collapse. Then too, Adelaide played a key role in funding and delivering the Overland Telegraph to Darwin (1872) and then to Perth (1877).
It's not the complete story of course. I would have liked to have seen more discussion of the South Australian Company in the story of Adelaide. But this is a government man's account, and thus its focus is on the administration and development of the city. It's well worth the read.

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