Street Naming Committee (Adelaide)
Encyclopedia
The Street Naming Committee was set up to decide the names of the streets, the squares and the river of the new settlement of Adelaide
, South Australia
, as it had been laid out by Colonel William Light
in 1837. Light's map corresponds to the modern Adelaide city centre
and North Adelaide
. The committee met on 23 May 1837.
With a very few exceptions, the original names have been retained, although a large number of streets have since been added, particularly in the city centre. Brown Street and Hanson Street have been subsumed into Morphett Street
and Pulteney Street
respectively. Roberts Place has been renamed Sir Edwin Smith Avenue.
The names are of prominent pioneers or people who otherwise made some notable contribution to the founding of South Australia, many of whom never actually visited or lived in the colony. Some exceptions are due to Governor Hindmarsh and Judge Jeffcott wishing to name streets after their friends. Strangways Terrace was named after Thomas Bewes Strangways
, a committee member who was also a prospective son-in-law to the Governor. Pulteney Street
was named after Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm
who had recommended that Hindmarsh be appointed first Governor of the colony. More controversially, Archer Street was to have been named Willoughby Street, after Sir Henry Willoughby, a British
MP
who had initially opposed the South Australia Bill, but was later won over and convinced others also to change their votes. Through the Governor's interference, the name was changed to Archer, after a landowner who had given him some sheep. O'Connell Street and Kermode Street were named after Jeffcott's friends Daniel O'Connell
, who had defended him over a duel, and Robert Quayle Kermode, the father of his fiancé.
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, as it had been laid out by Colonel William Light
William Light
Colonel William Light was a British military officer and the first Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia...
in 1837. Light's map corresponds to the modern Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre
The Adelaide city centre is the innermost locality of Greater Adelaide, known by locals simply as "The City" or "Town". The locality is split into two key geographical distinctions: the city "square mile", bordered by North, East, South and West Terraces; and that part of the Adelaide Parklands...
and North Adelaide
North Adelaide
North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands.-History:...
. The committee met on 23 May 1837.
With a very few exceptions, the original names have been retained, although a large number of streets have since been added, particularly in the city centre. Brown Street and Hanson Street have been subsumed into Morphett Street
Morphett Street, Adelaide
Morphett Street is a main road in the west of the central business district of Adelaide, South Australia. It runs north-south, between North and South Terraces....
and Pulteney Street
Pulteney Street, Adelaide
Pulteney Street is a main road which runs north-south through the middle of the eastern half of the Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia...
respectively. Roberts Place has been renamed Sir Edwin Smith Avenue.
The names are of prominent pioneers or people who otherwise made some notable contribution to the founding of South Australia, many of whom never actually visited or lived in the colony. Some exceptions are due to Governor Hindmarsh and Judge Jeffcott wishing to name streets after their friends. Strangways Terrace was named after Thomas Bewes Strangways
Thomas Bewes Strangways
Thomas Bewes Strangways was an explorer and early settler of South Australia.He arrived in the new colony on the HMS Buffalo and at the time, was engaged to one of Governor John Hindmarsh's daughters. However, they never married and he later married Lavinia Albina née Fowler...
, a committee member who was also a prospective son-in-law to the Governor. Pulteney Street
Pulteney Street, Adelaide
Pulteney Street is a main road which runs north-south through the middle of the eastern half of the Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia...
was named after Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm
Pulteney Malcolm
Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm GCB GCMG was a British naval officer. He was born at Douglan, near Langholm, Scotland, on 20 February 1768, the third son of George Malcolm of Burnfoot, Langholm, in Dumfriesshire, and his wife Margaret, the sister of Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley...
who had recommended that Hindmarsh be appointed first Governor of the colony. More controversially, Archer Street was to have been named Willoughby Street, after Sir Henry Willoughby, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
who had initially opposed the South Australia Bill, but was later won over and convinced others also to change their votes. Through the Governor's interference, the name was changed to Archer, after a landowner who had given him some sheep. O'Connell Street and Kermode Street were named after Jeffcott's friends Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
, who had defended him over a duel, and Robert Quayle Kermode, the father of his fiancé.
Committee members
The Street Naming Committee comprised:| Governor John Hindmarsh John Hindmarsh Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH RN was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838.-Early life:... |
Judge Sir John Jeffcott John Jeffcott Sir John William Jeffcott BA MA was the first judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia. He also served as Chief Justice of Sierra Leone.-Biography:... |
| James Hurtle Fisher James Hurtle Fisher Sir James Hurtle Fisher was a lawyer and prominent South Australian pioneer. He was the first Resident Commissioner of South Australia, the first Mayor of Adelaide and the first resident South Australian to be knighted.... , first Resident Commissioner |
Robert Gouger Robert Gouger Robert Gouger was one of the founders of South Australia and colonial secretary.-Early life:Gouger was the fifth son of nine children of George Gouger , who was a prosperous city merchant, and his wife Anne, née Sibley. Robert was educated at Nottingham, England, and on leaving school he entered... , first Colonial Secretary |
| Colonel William Light William Light Colonel William Light was a British military officer and the first Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia... , Surveyor-General |
John Brown, Immigration Officer |
| Osmond Gilles Osmond Gilles Osmond Gilles was a settler, pastoralist, mine owner and South Australia’s first colonial treasurer.After several years of working in Hamburg, Germany as a merchant, Gilles migrated to the new Australian colony on the HMS Buffalo in 1836 and acted as the Colonial Treasurer... , Colonial Treasurer |
Thomas Gilbert Thomas Gilbert (pioneer) Thomas Gilbert was a pioneer of Adelaide, South Australia, having arrived with the first settlers in order to operate the first Colonial Storehouse.... , Colonial Storekeeper |
| John Morphett John Morphett Sir John Morphett was a South Australian pioneer, landowner and politician.-Early life:Morphett was born in London, the second son of Nathaniel Morphett, a solicitor, and his wife Mary, née Gliddon, of Cummins, Ide, Devon, and was educated at Plymouth and Highgate Grammar Schools... |
John Barton Hack John Barton Hack John Barton Hack was an early settler in South Australia; a prominent farmer, businessman and public figure. He lost his fortune in the financial crisis of 1840 and despite his best efforts, never regained anything like his former influence and prosperity... |
| Edward Stephens Edward Stephens Edward Stephens was one of the earliest settlers in the Colony of South Australia.He was born in London, the tenth child of Rev. John Stephens , sometime president of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference... (cashier and accountant of the South Australian Company) |
Thomas Bewes Strangways Thomas Bewes Strangways Thomas Bewes Strangways was an explorer and early settler of South Australia.He arrived in the new colony on the HMS Buffalo and at the time, was engaged to one of Governor John Hindmarsh's daughters. However, they never married and he later married Lavinia Albina née Fowler... |