Place Names of South Australia - A
Alberton
Nomenclature
A private subdivision of preliminary section 423, Hundred of Yatala, originally known as 'Albert Town', was named after Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort. Section 423 was granted to the South Australian Company on 7 March 1839. A description of the village shortly after its foundation is to be found in Geoffrey H Manning's A Colonial Experience:- We continued for a mile or so along the desolate track which led to the scattered village of Albert Town which comprised small cottages built upon a plain of sand. The most conspicuous object was a gallows for hanging up bullocks' carcases. Upon the butcher's gallows several crows were perched, crowing mournfully; everything looked parched and dried and the very shingles on the roofs were curling up and splitting under the sun's relentless rays.
A scrawny horse wandered through a few reeds growing on the sand and apparently deluded itself into the belief that it was feeding on a rich pasture. A flock of goats was also within view, the presence of which could be detected, not only by sense of sight, but also by that of smell. After leaving Albert Town the land began to improve and signs of cultivation were evident.
The first record of the name in official documents appears on 6 February 1847 when allotment 27 was sold to Alexander Melville. However, in 1840 it was advertised as:
The Town of Albert - Near the New Port - early application is necessary as one half of the township has already been sold, chiefly in consequence of private application.
Many street names were taken from the names of the original purchasers and their English heritage. A correspondent to the Advertiser on 11 June 1866, page 3b opined:
- We can challenge any part of the colony for filth, stench and corruption in the shape of piggeries and butchers' yards, strewed with bones and offal...
General Notes
"Early Days at Alberton" is in the Advertiser, 10 February 1914, page 11e.
A report of public meetings re supplying water to the village is in the Register,
8 and 14 March 1851, pages 3e and 2c; also see
5 October 1854, page 2h and
SA Gazette & Mining Journal,
13 March 1851, page 3c.
Also see Adelaide - Water Supply.
Objections to the location of the "new" cemetery are in the Register,
1, 12, 17, 21 and 25 September 1855, pages 3f, 3b, 2e, 3c and 3d,
The closing of the cemetery is reported in the Express,
16 March 1874, page 3c.
"An Old Graveyard" is in the Register,
5 March 1917, page 9d,
"The Old Alberton Cemetery" in the Observer,
10 April 1926, page 10c,
"Forgotten Alberton Cemetery Rifled" in The Mail,
11 June 1927, pages 1-2c.
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On 17 November 1847, four acres of section 2300, Hundred of Yatala, were granted to Dean Farrell, R.R. Torrens, Mr. Woodcock, Captain Lipson and John Newman, for use as a cemetery. By some means this land became the property of the Anglican Church of St Paul the Apostle at Port Adelaide and for about 30 years the church had a decent income from it for burials therein. By 1926 it was in a
shocking state. The parsonage, adjoining it, had been sold and the land was over-run with prickly pears, with stems up to six inched in diameter. The cemetery was utterly uncared for and it was evident that grave railing had been broken for mere mischief.
On two sides of the cemetery was salt swamp, as was the land to the north as far as the wharfs, but it had filled up and for years the salt water had been dammed back and, in 1926, only cottages with trees and flowers surrounded the cemetery. The first burial was on 23 October 1846 when Thomas Cleveland, aged 40, bosun of the Canton was interred - cause of death 'drowned while drunk'.
In 1867 a bundle of bank notes was found hidden in a grave by a granddaughter of Mr. Rose, the cemetery sexton. This was a curious affair - the notes were part of the proceeds from a robbery at the National Bank, Port Adelaide.
Also see Place Names - Grand Junction.
The opening of a Wesleyan Church is reported in the Observer,
1 May 1858, page 5f.
School examinations are reported in the Chronicle,
1 January 1859, page 2g,
Register,
27 December 1860, page 3e,
Chronicle,
29 December 1866, page 2c (supp.); also see
Express,
16 November 1878, page 2c.
Entertainment at Saint George's School is described in the Register,
5 January 1871, page 5c.
An obituary of an early teacher, W.W. Leslie, is in the Observer,
25 September 1915, page 46b
The Public School opened in 1892; see
Register,
29 September 1892, page 5c,
4 October 1892, page 5b;
Biographical details of a headmaster, A. Hardy, are in the Register,
9 September 1905, page 9b.
information on its Mothers' Club is in The News,
31 January 1929, page 10c.
"Back to Alberton School" is in the Advertiser,
14 November 1929, page 11g.
A photograph of an Arbor Day is in the Chronicle,
6 August 1931, page 33.
Also see South Australia - Education - Arbor Days.
Information on the Alberton Ladies' School is in the Register,
24 December 1918, page 5g.
The opening of Mount Carmel School is reported in the Register,
24 January 1927, page 6g;
a photograph of the laying of its foundation stone is in the Chronicle,
28 July 1917, page 26.
A cricket match against Queenstown is reported in the Register,
8 September 1862, page 2g,
4 January 1870, page 5b,
Express,
2 November 1864, page 2b,
14 February 1870, page 3f;
results of an encounter with a team from Payneham are to be found on
26 May 1870, page 3f.
The first cricket match played in SA by a Tasmanian team was on the Alberton Oval in 1877 versus the "Queen and Albert Association" - see Register,
10 November (supp.), page 4d and
Observer,
24 June 1876, page 5g.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Cricket - Miscellany .
The laying of the foundation stone of the Baptist Chapel is reported in the Register,
1 September 1863, page 3h and
that of the Baptist Church on
13 January 1864, page 3e;
its second anniversary appears on
1 February 1866, page 2d and
a history on
7 June 1924, page 4.
A horse race meeting "on the open flat to the westward of the Port Road" is reported in the Register,
3 April 1866, page 3c.
A correspondent to the Advertiser on 11 June 1866, page 3b opines:
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We can challenge any part of the colony for filth, stench and corruption in the shape of piggeries and butchers' yards, strewed with bones and offal...
7 November 1870, page 2e.
A football match is reported upon in the Express,
21 and 24 July 1871, pages 2d and 2c.
Information on the oval is in the Register,
18 April 1903, page 4f,
9 and 11 May 1903, pages 6g and 3d,
14 August 1903, page 4g.
An inaugural carnival held on the Alberton Oval is reported on
29 December 1913, page 5f.
"A Football Crisis - Use of Alberton Oval" is in the Register,
4 and 7 April 1924, pages 8h and 13f; also see
10 April 1924.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Football.
The first meeting of the Alberton Meat Preserving Co. is reported in the Register,
11 August 1874, page 7c; also see
1 September 1874, page 6d,
Chronicle,
21 August 1875, page 10b.
Also see Adelaide - Factories and Mills.
Information on the Wesleyan Church is in the Register,
3 October 1877, page 6e; also see
30 April 1897, page 5d.
A history of the Methodist Church appears on
12 July 1924, page 4; also see
Advertiser,
14 October 1927, page 11c.
The opening of the Protestant Benefit Society Hall is reported in the Register,
21 January 1879, page 5c and
the Bible Christian Church on
13 July 1880, page 4g.
For information on the tramway to Port Adelaide see under Port Adelaide - Transport - Tramways.
The local boiling down works is the cause for complaint in the Register on 3 March 1884, page 6a:
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Strong men are made to vomit and women and children prostrated by volumes of disgustingly poisonous gases... rolling forth from this place...
The opening of the new Mission Hall is reported in the Register,
4 December 1884, page 5b.
Information on the Alberton and Queenstown Building Society is in the Chronicle,
15 May 1886, page 8d.
The town is described in the Register,
2 August 1888, page 3d.
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs Robert Russell is reported in the Register,
6 September 1889, page 5c.
Tree planting along the Old Port Road is described in the Register,
27 January 1892, page 5h.
Mr T.C. Hunt's pigeon loft is discussed in the Chronicle,
3 December 1892, page 15f;
information on the Alberton Homing Club appears on
27 May 1893, page 15d.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Pigeon Racing and Shooting.
The obituary of William V. Brown is in the Register,
4 February 1893, page 7e.
He conducted a dairy at Alberton which "consisted at first of one cow, the first imported to the colony. She came by the ship Indus and Mr Brown paid the fancy price of 40 pounds for her".
His wife's obituary appears on
9 July 1897, page 5b,
that of William V. Brown, junior, on
14 February 1920, page 9g and
of V.V. Brown in the Observer,
26 February 1910, page 41a.
The proposed formation of a musical society is discussed in the Register,
14 June 1893, page 5c.
Information on a choral society is in the Express,
4 October 1893, page 4a.
The diamond wedding of Mr & Mrs Robert Lord is reported in the Register,
27 April 1898, page 4g.
Information on a post office is in the Register,
11 August 1899, page 5b.
The reminiscences of A.T. Saunders are in the Observer,
25 July 1903, page 3a (supp.).
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs T.A. Abbott is reported in the Register,
7 October 1903, page 4i.
"A Disastrous Cyclone" is in the Register,
28 December 1903, page 5b.
A photograph of storm damage is in the Chronicle,
2 January 1904, page 42,
Observer,2 January 1904, page 26.
Also see South Australia - Natural Disasters.
A photograph of a bowling green is in The Critic,
18 April 1906, page 6.
2 November 1921, page 26.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Bowling.
Under the heading "Golf and Education" the Register of 19 September 1908 at page 8g says, inter alia:
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The proximity of the Seaton golf links to the Alberton School is a bane to the mind of the head master (Mr A. Hardy) who informed parents... that caddying had become an epidemic and threatened to seriously retard educational progress...
(Also see The Mail,
11 August 1923, page 2e,
Register,
15 August 1923, page 8f.)
[The boys] learn to smoke cigarettes and learn to swear. Such may be inseparable from golf... No man has the right to imperil the soul of a child. Let him play if he likes, but do not let him imperil the souls of these children.
(Advertiser, 19 September 1908, page 8h; also see Place Names - Seaton.)
10 November 1908, page 9f,
27 December 1909, page 8f.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Cycling.
"The Pinery" of 129 acres is described in the Register,
11 May 1911, page 4f.
Also see Place Names - Grange.
The diamond wedding of Mr & Mrs R. Remphrey is reported in the Register,
20 May 1914, page 10b,
of Mr & Mrs W.H. Keal in the Observer,
14 December 1918, page 28c.
Photographs of a Cheer-Up Carnival are in The Critic,
19 January 1916, page 14.
Information on the Alberton Cheer-Up Society is in the Register,
19 December 1916, page 6d.
Also see South Australia - World War I - Community Involvement.
Biographical details of W.H. Cammell are in the Register,
1 December 1914, page 4i,
of J. Bails on 13 July 1918, page 6g,
of B.E. Lykke on 15 October 1926, page 8h.
The diamond wedding of Mr & Mrs W.H. Keal is reported in the Register,
6 December 1918, page 4h,
of Mr & Mrs B.E. Lykke on 8 July 1930, page 25e.
Biographical details of William Jarvis are in the Observer,
6 March 1920, page 28;
an obituary of W.T. Jarvis appears on 5 February 1921, page 34c.
Biographical details of Ernest A. Badcock are in The Critic,
9 August 1922, page 5.
"Banana Growing" is in the Register,
14 January 1926, page 12f.
"A Ghost Story" is in the Advertiser,
19 May 1926, page 10a.
The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs Edgar Tapp is reported in theRegister,
11 March 1926, page 8f.
Biographical details of E.R. Tapp are in the Observer,
7 July 1928, page 34c. 7 July 1928, page 34c.
Information on the Alberton Scout Group is in The Mail,
7 July 1928, page 16f.
A photograph of the hall is in the Observer,
30 June 1928, page 38.
Also see Adelaide - Boy Scouts.
Alberton - Obituaries
REGISTER
John F. Parsons, builder, 19 April 1883, page 5b,
of Rev M. Lloyd on 28 December 1888, page 5b,
of Mrs John Eley on 27 February 1892, page 4h,
of Henry Dyke on 7 April 1892, page 5b,
of J.H. Bishop on 20 April 1892, page 3f.
of William V. Brown on 4 February 1893, page 7e. He conducted a dairy at Alberton which "consisted at first of one cow, the first imported to the colony. She came by the ship Indus and Mr Brown paid the fancy price of 40 pounds for her". His wife's obituary appears on 9 July 1897, page 5b,
of William V. Brown, junior, on 14 February 1920, page 9g and
of V.V. Brown in the Observer, 26 February 1910, page 41a.
of Israel Mazey on 28 June 1894, page 4h,
of George Bampton on 5 September 1895, page 5b,
of John Eley on 23 September 1895, page 6b,
of John Purches on 20 February 1896, page 5a,
of Edward Phillips on 31 May 1897, page 6f,
of James Williams, builder, on 30 March 1898, page 3i.
of Charles Coltman on 7 December 1894, page 5c,
of Charles J. Butler on 24 September 1898, page 5b,
of George P. Hodge on 25 August 1899, page 5d.
of John Charlton on 28 March 1900, page 5b,
of Captain E.L. Bartlett on 3 June 1901, page 4i,
of Matthew Adams on 4 July 1901, page 5c,
of Henry Parker on 1 October 1901, page 5a
of William Ellery on 25 April 1904, page 5a,
of J. Formby on 1 October 1906, page 4i,
of William Soper on 5 January 1907, page 7c,
of Harold W. Smith on 29 June 1907, page 9b,
of J. Longstaff on 27 June 1908, page 5a,
of John Bawden on 17 May 1910, page 6h,
of William Thomson on 31 March 1912, page 12f,
of William Smith on 8 August 1914, page 19e,
of Mrs Mary A. McGuiness on 3 August 1915, page 6h,
of T. McGuinness on 1 September 1915, page 8g,
of J.W. Caire on 24 November 1915, page 6h,
of A.E. Henderson on 5 July 1916, page 4g,
of Thomas Docherty on 28 February 1919, page 4h,
of G.P. Hodge on 9 December 1919, page 6h,
of J.E. Tonkeson 28 February 1920, page 8i,
of Dr W.A.V. Drew on 12 May 1920, page 7b,
of Mrs Laura Brown on 28 August 1920, page 7f,
of Mrs R.J. Morony on 29 September 1920, page 8c,
of W.T. Darton on 11 January 1921, page 4i,
of William T. Jarvis on 2 February 1921, page 7b,
of William H. Keal on 28 September 1921, page 8g,
of Frederick Reynoldson 10 February 1925, page 8f,
of Joseph Thompson on 23 March 1925, page 8h,
of H.C. Behn on 2 April 1925, page 13e,
of Frederick T. Boad on 13 August 1925, page 13d,
of Edmund Cadd on 24 and 26 August 1925, pages 8h and 15e,
of C.E. Todd on 9 October 1925, page 8h,
of Alexander Russell is in the Register, 12 January 1926, page 8f,
of Mrs Elizabeth McKinlay on 6 February 1926, page 11b,
of William Rix on 6 May 1926, page 10c,
of Mrs Angelina Williams on 28 May 1927, page 11b,
of Alfred Haines on 12 July 1927, page 8h,
of Mrs S. Jenner on 23 August 1927, page 11c,
of J. Bails on 3 December 1927, page 12g,
of Henry J. Dunn on 18 January 1928, page 13d,
of William J. Bland on 5 March 1928, page 8h,
of John H. Mazey on 4 July 1928, page 13b,
of Edgar R. Tapp on 5 July 1928, page 11c,
of James Cansdale on 10 July 1928, page 11e,
of Mrs C. Mattinson on 30 August 1928, page 15b.
OBSERVER
Of Mrs Elizabeth Whitehill on 12 July 1902, page 31d,
of William Ellery on 17 November 1906, page 38e,
of William Soper on 12 January 1907, page 38d,
of Mrs C.T. Richards on 25 April 1908, page 38b,
of William Smith on 15 August 1914, page 49a,
of T. McGuinesson 4 September 1915, page 46c,
of J.W. Caire on 27 November 1915, page 32d,
of Mrs Martha Omond on 14 October 1916, page 35b,
of W.H. Farquhar on 9 February 1918, page 13d,
of G.P. Hodge on 13 December 1919, page 27d,
of Mrs Laura Brown on 4 September 1920, page 19a,
of John Brewer on 2 September 1922, page 20c,
of James Cansdale on 14 July 1928, page 49d
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