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    Place Names of South Australia - G

    B44055Glenelg

    Glenelg

    The Old Gum Tree

    Editorial note

    The September 2002 issue of the Newsletter of The Historical Society of South Australia included an article by the editor entitled "Not the Proclamation and not the Tree".

    Mr Manning wrote a letter in response which is extracted below. The editor declined to publish it.

    B56837Extracts from a letter to the editor of the Historical Society of South Australia Newsletter by G.H.Manning dated 19 September 2002

    ....Following the publication of my second work on the nomenclature of South Australia in 1990, I spent the next 10 years formulating an index of Adelaide's newspapers... During that time I came across many references to the controversy surrounding the Old Gum Tree (OGT) and, accordingly, I would like to share with you a summation of my findings taken from my data base and the following sources:

    Note: All sources relative to my findings are annotated in these documents.

    Where does the reality lie in respect of the site of the foundation ceremony at Holdfast Bay on 28 December 1836 and was the OGT, a once resplendent arched gum tree, the site? At the time of the State's centenary the Royal Geographical Society of A/asia (SA Branch) undertook a comprehensive examination of available primary and secondary sources surrounding that event and concluded:

    Bold words, indeed, but, in my opinion, both untrue and unwise! Commencing in 1857 an intermittent wrangle has ensued as to whether the modern-day "Old Gum Tree" was, in fact, the scene of the historic event surrounding the ceremony of 28 December 1836. Startling new evidence in the form of an 1837 sketch of Gouger's hut and tent by Elizabeth Fisher, showing an arched tree immediately at the rear, together with a statement from Mr R.G. Symonds, assistant surveyor to Colonel Light, that Gouger's tent was attached to that tree, and a hitherto unreported letter from Elizabeth Fisher dated 10 February 1837, confirming the location of Gouger's abode, must cast strong doubts upon the findings of the Royal Geographical Society and, perhaps, lead to the acceptance of the OGT as the ceremonial site.

    In the following appraisal, a brief repetition of facts was necessary on occasions in the interest of supporting a logical and sequential argument as to the events of that day at Holdfast Bay.

    Mary Thomas's Pronouncements

    You quote from Mary Thomas's Reminiscences, completed in 1866, where she discounts the proposition that the OGT is the "Proclamation Tree", but a decade earlier evidence of certain chicanery as to her recall of events was abroad.

    Invariably, the protagonists against the OGT as the venue look to her as an impeccable source as to the events of the day but, strangely, her diary* entry of 28 December 1836 makes no mention of a "proclamation tree"- it reads, in part - "... the G. Sec. read the proclamation and a party of marines from the Buffalo fired a feu-de-joie..".
    * The diary is in the Mortlock Library - PRG 1160. V 5 8 9.

    Inexplicably, this reference was tampered with and reproduced in the Observer of 2 January 1858 as follows: "The Governor's private secretary read the proclamation under a huge gumtree, a flag was hoisted and a party of marines fired a feu-de-joie..." [added words emphasised]. The motive for this distortion of her earlier pronouncement is unknown. However, it must be said that the alteration appears to be a clumsy attempt at deception. While casting no aspersions on any person, it must be noted that her son was joint proprietor of the Observer at the time of the unfortunate, and indeed misleading, variation to the prime source document.

    It is a remarkable circumstance that immediately after the ceremony at Glenelg in 1857 the solitary dissenter to the OGT as the ceremonial place was Mary Thomas. At that time there must have been many surviving colonists who had been present, but no other objection to the remarks made at the 1857 ceremony by the Governor was forthcoming. One might be excused for concluding that the OGT was the "place" and that Mary Thomas had either a lapse of memory, or hidden agenda, when the words in her 1836 diary were tampered with in January 1858.

    The Work of J.S. Rees

    While this gentleman introduced new evidence into the debate, I believe his findings contain several errors and false conclusions, one of which compromises his ultimate assertion that the OGT was not the "proclamation" tree. He concluded his treatise as follows:

    I believe the following aberrations appear in his booklet:

    Evidence from T.B. Strangways

    At best, this statement can only be classified as a secondary source (I have more to say on this subject later) - The relative newspaper report is in the form of a letter written by H.B.T. Strangways. It appears in the Register, 6 February 1897 at page 6f and says, inter alia:

    Reminiscences of Helen Mantegani

    The Register of 11 February 1886 at page 7g has the following letter from Helen Mantegani, daughter of Mr & Mrs Robert Thomas:

    The Observer of 26 December 1896 and 16 May 1914 publishes her reminiscences in respect of the tree and, at a later date, an investigative reporter of the Register (see 28 December 1923, page 9) said:

    In the Observer of 26 December 1896, page 2d (supp.) she is reported as saying:

    and in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, Session 1901-1902, Volume 5 she says:

    As a matter of interest a young citizen made the following comment in the Register, 25 August 1915, page 6f:

    Reminiscences of Elizabeth Fisher

    The memories of John Cummins Morphett in 1924 in respect of his mother's (Elizabeth Morphett nee Fisher) presence at the ceremony are, I suggest, secondary in character. Indeed, if the provenance of a sketch of Robert Gouger's hut and tent held by the SA Art Gallery, and attributed to her (Accession no. 731HP1), is accepted as being correct, her recall was obviously flawed..*
    [* See below where her reminiscences, as related to her son, are at odds with a letter she wrote on 10 February 1837.]

    Wood "believed" to be from the "Proclamation" Tree

    No specific reference as to the source of the "story" is provided in your article. The photograph was taken about 1870 and therefore the notation upon the reverse was made at that time or later. Is there a "primary source" reference, such as a newspaper report, or other documentation as to Mr Bennetts' demolition of the supposed "Proclamation Tree"? If not, this "convincing evidence" as you assert might, reasonably, I suggest, be classified as a secondary source.

    If further evidence is required as to the damage done by "hearsay" to our history, I refer [you]to Manning's Place Names of South Australia where, in the "Sources" section, such meandering on the part of early nomenclators is discussed.

    Painting of John Michael Skipper

    You conclude that "the most compelling evidence for distinguishing between the Old Gum Tree and the 'true' proclamation tree is to be found in a water colour painted by John Michael Skipper..." I refer [you]to a sketch made by Elizabeth Fisher early in 1837 purporting to be Robert Gouger's tent and hut at Glenelg (see comments above and below). There is little similarity in these sketches - If both are accepted as being authentic in respect of the topography of the early settlement on the Holdfast Bay plain, might I pose the question - Which artist employed "artistic" licence? (See under the next two headings for further comment on contemporary sketches).

    The alleged words of Robert Gouger, on the reverse of this painting which you conclude are "believed to be either in Gouger's hand or a later copy", are, I suggest, inconclusive and a future explorer into the OGT saga may care to make a comparison between this handwriting and that contained in Robert Gouger's journal?

    Paintings of the Old Gum Tree

    You quote the late Dr John Tregenza as saying that Skipper's work was "the only contemporary visual record showing the relationship between the 'Old Gum Tree'... and the true proclamation tree which stood outside Gouger's tent and provided welcome shade..." However, there is another, in addition to that of Miss Fisher,which I discuss above - I refer [you] to J.S. Rees, The Old Gum Tree, where there is a sketch purporting to have been drawn by Robert Gouger, but the caption is incorrect as it is attributed to Mary Hindmarsh - see Mortlock Library ref. A 1128.

    The Validity of Contemporary Sketches (Mr Skipper and Miss Hindmarsh) as to Detail

    For ease of assimilation the following comments are set down in tabular form:

    Logic demands that the respective versions of the overall scene were subjected to artistic licence and, accordingly, are misleading. Indeed, a casual glance at both the Hindmarsh and Skipper sketches supports this contention. Further evidence from Elizabeth Fisher, discussed under the next heading, confirms that Gouger's tent was contiguous to the OGT.

    If Symonds' statement that Gouger's tent was "partly supported on the southern end and upwards" by the OGT is factual, the tree must have been obscured partially by Gouger's tent which, quite probably, may have led Mary Hindmarsh to expunge it from her sketch because of an inordinate imbalance, and Skipper to "shift" it to the left of its precise location, thus adding balance to his overall scene. This theory is supported by Elizabeth Fisher's sketch, where an arched tree is visible behind Gouger's tent!

    The Old Gum Tree - Was it the Site of the Foundation Ceremony?

    A vital question remains to be answered - Where was Gouger's tent in relation to the Old Gum Tree? In 1893 a newspaper reporter opined of Mr R.G. Symonds that "his frequent contributions to the press have already indicated his individuality and force of character." Therefore, it can be reasonably assumed that he was in possession of his faculties and a person whose word could be relied upon. He was present at the ceremony and said:

    We are now left with two definitive sites for the OGT, namely, by Helen Mantegani and Mr Symonds. If the latter's is accepted as fact then it is indisputable that someone read a proclamation in front of it about 3 pm on 28 December 1836. Alternatively, if Mrs Mantegani's site is correct it was close to the hut housing the Stanhope press on which a "proclamation" was printed under the guidance of Robert Thomas. The evidence provided by the Fisher sketch adds further weight to the location of the tree to be behind Mr Gouger's tent and supports Mr Symond's statement.

    Further, an informative letter from Elizabeth Fisher to an Aunt in England on 10 February 1837 is reproduced in the Observer, 2 January 1858, page 6e and, as it was written shortly after the "proclamation" ceremony when her memory was "fresh", I believe it to be a vitally important historical statement and, indeed, it confirms Symonds' assertion as to the precise location of Gouger's tent. I have, for obvious reasons, superimposed relevant italicised comments upon her narrative:

    In Elizabeth Fisher's reminiscences, as recorded in your piece, she says - "... the bent tree was used as the entrance to the 'tent' [Gouger's?] in which the cold collation was served..." This statement is, in respect of the "cold collations" venue, according to the recall of all "eyewitnesses" who mention the repast, false - Note that Mr Symonds' contends that about 270 people were present and they would have been hard pressed to congregate in a settler's tent.

    However, of primary importance is that she states, quite clearly both in her 1837 letter and reminiscences, and as portrayed in her contemporaneous sketch, that Gouger's hut (tent?) was contiguous to the OGT, thus supporting the remarks of R.G. Symonds. Her letter is, I believe, vital in resolving the vexed question before us because:

    Messrs J.H. Fisher and John Morphett

    These two gentlemen were influential members of the executive and capitalist classes in the infant colony and were both present at Holdfast Bay on 28 December 1836 at the so-called "Proclamation" ceremony.

    At an official luncheon held near the Old Gum Tree on 28 December 1857 it was reported that both of them were guest speakers and in a reflective mood said, respectively:

    Again, in later years Sir John Morphett was to reaffirm his avowal on two occasions as to the authenticity of the Old Gum Tree as the ceremonial place:

    Charles Moon, A Seaman on HMS Buffalo

    He was aged 23 years in 1836; his reminiscences appear in the Register, 27 June 1892, page 6c where he claims:

    Joseph A. Hill

    An interview with Mr J.A. Hill, the District Clerk of the Booyoolie Council, who arrived in the colony in the Africaine in 1836, is reported in the Advertiser, 28 December 1893, page 5d:

    Robert Wright

    He arrived in the Cygnet, aged 17 years, and was present at the ceremony; in the Register of 10 January 1894, page 6c he states:

    To the best of my knowledge the only people claiming to be present on the memorable day and dissenting personally, were:

    This concluded the majority of my evidence in rebuttal of many of Mr Healey's conclusions as recited in his article of September 2002. (A precis of my findings forwarded later to Mr Healey for publication was rejected as being "Not substantial enough"). I concluded with comments on known "secondary" sources, the "proclamation" ceremony and a post script suggesting all available evidence be reproduced in one article for the benefit of future researchers.

    Secondary Sources

    For what they are worth I reproduce hereunder all "secondary" sources I have located over the past 20 years - note that those in favour of the OGT are far in excess of the dissenters!

    Henry Gawler made the following comments in the Register, 9 February 1886, page 7d:

    In May 1836 George Stevenson accepted an offer from Governor Hindmarsh to become his private secretary and many years later Mrs de Mole added to her father's version (see above) of events in a spirited defence of his past declaration:

    John Hill, was the former boatswain of HMS Buffalo and it was his proud boast that:

    Many years later a correspondent to the Register contended that Mr Hill raised the Union Jack at the State's foundation ceremony in 1836:

    This statement is confirmed in a newspaper advertisement in 1857:

    The Register of 30 November 1857, page 2h reports a comment made by the Mayor of Glenelg in respect of the tree:

    On 28 February 1858 the Editor of the Register says:

    The Adelaide Times of 30 November 1857, page 2e says :

    The Adelaide Times of 23 December 1857, page 1e carries an advertisement in respect of proposed festivities "on the site of the Old Gum Tree" and on 29 December 1857, page 2c it said:

    The Observer of 2 January 1858, page 3a says:

    The Register of 28 December 1865, page 2g has an editorial which says:

    A correspondent to the Register on 2 January 1866, page 3b says:

    The reminiscences of Mrs Elizabeth A. Foulger are in the Advertiser, 18 December 1918, page 7c where she says, inter alia:

    The Register of 28 December 1923, page 9 traverses the "pros and cons" of the debate as to the authenticity or otherwise of the "Old Gum Tree" and concludes:

    A letter concerning the validity of "the old gum tree", being that under which the "proclamation" was read, appears in the Register, 4 June 1877, page 6e:

    J.W. Billiatt has some further words on this subject - see Register, 25 May 1881, page 7b:

    The Chronicle of 31 August 1895, page 5c reproduces an interview with Mr John Thorn, "A Member of Colonel Light's Staff":

    An obituary of Daniel Wickham is in the Observer, 14 October 1911, page 34b; it includes the following:

    "Is the Old Gum Tree Genuine?", by Rev John Blacket, is in The News, 1 January 1935, page 4f:

    A letter written by H.J. Hindmarsh, a great grandson of the Governor, in which he supports the tree as being the site of a "proclamation" is in the Chronicle, 13 June 1935, page 48d.

    "Proclamation Tree Controversy", an article produced by the Royal Geographical Society, is in the Advertiser, 3 July 1936, page 20h:

    The "Proclamation"

    Dependent upon the interpretation of Robert Gouger's words in his journal as to the events of the day, coupled with George Stevenson's assertion as to his participation, it can be deduced that the so called "proclamation" was read twice.. In his journal, Robert Gouger says:

    In 1849 George Stevenson contended that:

    An investigative reporter of the Advertiser, early in the 20th century, after examining pertinent evidence, arrived at the following conclusion, which is persuasive but not without an element of conjecture:

    Conclusion

    May I suggest that several of your Newsletter pronouncements are based on secondary sources, and therefore open to criticism as to their veracity, and the statement "that the 'Old Gum Tree' was some distance away from where Hindmarsh's first proclamation was read..." is, in my opinion, not proven.

    Further, you record that "[The OGT] could not have provided either shade..." - An eyewitness, Mr R.G. Symonds (see above), addresses this matter - while the remainder of the aforesaid quotation speaks of the lack of "sufficient space beneath* it for the assembly of colonists" which, I believe, cannot have any possible place in a logical debate concerning the precise location of the erstwhile "Proclamation Tree".
    *I suggest the spectators would have assembled in front of Gouger's tent which was fixed by ropes to the OGT, thus preventing any one from standing underneath the tree.

    I would suggest that the matter is not as clear cut as you suggest and your statement - "Not the Tree" - is, perhaps, a little premature. Indeed, you and I are poles apart in our respective conclusions, and any discerning reader might conclude that the dilemma has not been resolved. However, the convincing evidence of R.G. Symonds, which is supported by the Elizabeth Fisher's letter and reminiscences, the Fisher sketch and the hitherto unnoticed evidence of Charles Moon, Joseph A. Hill and Robert Wright, has, surely, swung the pendulum away from past edicts. Further, the evidence of Mary Thomas and Helen Mantegani has, I suggest, been proven to be suspect and so I suggest that, reasonably, it may be claimed today that the site of the "proclamation" was the OGT.

    Finally, may I suggest that from the evidence and explamations presented above one might reasonably assume that the facts were simply as follows: An executive meeting took place in Gouger's quarters contiguous to the OGT and, following the determination of the so-called "proclamation", Governor Hindmarsh directed his private secretary, George Stevenson, to make an appropriate announcement outside the Colonial Secretary's hut/tent.

    You will appreciate that, in compiling, this summary, I have had occasion to make many judgements as to the efficacy, or otherwise, of the available evidence and, accordingly, I beg forbearance for any errors or omissions in my deliberations. However, I sincerely hope that the source material brought forward will be a catalyst for further research. Indeed, my quiver is empty except for the attached appendix.

    The Fisher sketch is held by the Art Gallery of SA - Accession no. 731HP1 and it is said that it was drawn in January 1837 by Elizabeth Fisher as a representation of Robert Gouger's tent and hut at Glenelg. It was gifted to the gallery in 1973 by a Miss Bonnear, an antiquarian dealer.

    The Old Gum Tree at Glenelg - Historical Place or Myth?

    Startling New Primary Source Evidence Discovered

    by Geoffrey H. Manning

    (Written in November 2002 and forwarded to The Advertiser)

    Since the colony of South Australia was founded on the plains of Holdfast Bay on 28 December 1836, an ongoing wrangle has persisted and various historical bodies, together with interested historians, professional and otherwise, have churned out their opinions upon this vexed subject. For example, the eminent historian, Reverend John Blacket, in an article entitled "Is the Old Gum Tree Genuine?", said: "I know from personal study of the surroundings of the tree, compared with early documents, that the tree marks the spot of the proclamation."

    On the other hand, at the time of the State's centenary the Royal Geographical Society of A/asia (SA Branch) undertook a comprehensive examination of available primary and secondary sources surrounding the event and concluded:

    Invariably, the protagonists against the Old Gum Tree (OGT) as the venue turn to Mary Thomas, wife of the Editor and Publisher of the SA Gazette & Colonial Register, as an impeccable source as to the events of the day but, strangely, her diary entry of 28 December 1836 makes no mention of a "proclamation tree"- it reads, in part - "... the G. Sec. read the proclamation and a party of marines from the Buffalo fired a feu-de-joie..".

    Inexplicably, this reference was tampered with and reproduced in the Observer of 2 January 1858 as follows: "The Governor's private secretary read the proclamation under a huge gumtree, a flag was hoisted and a party of marines fired a feu-de-joie..." [added words emphasised]. The motive for this distortion of her earlier pronouncement is unknown. However, it must be said that the alteration appears to be a clumsy attempt at deception and, as such, it appears in her reminiscences published in 1866.

    It is a remarkable circumstance that immediately after the colony's "coming of age" ceremony at Glenelg in 1857, she was the solitary dissenter to the OGT as the ceremonial place. At that time there must have been many surviving colonists who had witnessed the "Proclamation", but no other objection to the remarks made at the 1857 ceremony by the Governor was forthcoming. One might be excused for concluding that the OGT was the "place" and that Mary Thomas had either a lapse of memory, or hidden agenda, when the words in her 1836 diary were tampered with in January 1858.

    To add to the century-old controversy, today, historians cannot agree as to whether the "Proclamation" was read by George Stevenson, the Governor's private secretary, Robert Gouger the Colonial Secretary, or by both of them at different times. Indeed, early in the 20th century, an investigative reporter of The Advertiser, after examining pertinent evidence, arrived at the following conclusion, which is persuasive, but not without an element of conjecture:

    In recent times several historians have, unfortunately, regurgitated the findings of those who bitterly opposed the OGT as an historical place. For example, in The Advertiser of 28 January 1997 it was said, inter alia : "... the story that the colony was proclaimed on that day and that this occurred under the Old Gum Tree is apocryphal" and the author proceeded to support this contention with a series of statements that do not stand up under close scrutiny.

    Further, in September 2002 the editor of a newsletter of a State-wide historical society, quoting from the fallible reminiscences of Mary Thomas and other sources, some of a secondary character, told his readers that:

    It is an indisputable fact that, apart from Mary Thomas, not another dissenter was forthcoming in respect of comments made in the Adelaide Times of 30 November 1857:

    The other known eyewitnesses, objecting at a later date, were Helen Mantegani, daughter of Mary Thomas (aged 12 years in 1836), and Giles Strangways, who demurred in the Adelaide Observer, 26 December 1896 when he said: "The ceremony was not performed under [the Old Gum Tree] as so many would like to believe, but not far away..."

    On the other hand, there were those adamantly opposed to these sentiments, among whom were John Morphett, James Hurtle Fisher, George Stevenson and a host of others, including R.G. Symonds, an assistant-surveyor to Colonel Light, who recalled that:

    This statement is supported by a hitherto unpublished sketch of Elizabeth Fisher in 1837 of Gouger's quarters at Glenelg where, to a discerning eye, the faint outline of portion of an arched tree may be seen at the rear. The original is held in the Art Gallery of South Australia - Accession No. 731HP1.

    With the introduction of the unassailable evidence from this sketch, coupled with the words of R..G. Symonds, there can be no doubt that the pendulum has swung away from those who, in the past, denigrated the OGT as a South Australian historical icon. Therefore, South Australians may, we believe, proclaim it to be the ceremonial site of 1836 and placate nonbelievers with the following words from Mr J.W. Billiatt, a member of John McD. Stuart's epic overland expedition, and Henry Gawler, son of Governor George Gawler:

    General Notes

    A February 1837 letter from Elizabeth Fisher is reproduced in the Observer,
    2 January 1858 - it describes the "proclamation day" in some detail.

    The arrival and installation of Governor Hindmarsh is recounted in the Observer,
    2 January 1858, page 6d.

    "The Early Days of the Colony" is in the Observer,
    18 March 1865, page 5h;
    also see 1 April 1865, page 4d.
    An editorial on the 'proclamation' day is in The Lantern,
    1 January 1875, page 6.

    A sketch is in the Adelaide Illustrated Post,
    23 March 1867, page 1;
    a photograph in The Critic,
    28 November 1903, page 16.

    The following extract is from an editorial written by George Stevenson in the SA Gazette & Mining Journal, 29 December 1849, page 3b:

    The Observer of 5 January 1929, page 18a says:

    The Register of 28 December 1923, page 9 traverses the "pros and cons" of the debate as to the authenticity or otherwise of the "Old Gum Tree" and concludes:
    George Stevenson's daughter added to his version of events in the Register, 1 May 1916, page 7c: The Register of 30 November 1857, page 2h reports a comment made by the Mayor of Glenelg in respect of the tree: "The Twenty-First Anniversary", the reminiscences of A.H. Beyer, is in the Register,
    29 November 1907, page 3a.

    A letter written by Miss Fisher (later Mrs John Morphett) on 10 February 1837 is reproduced in the Observer,
    2 January 1858, page 6e:

    On 28 February 1858 the Editor of the Register says: The Adelaide Times of 30 November 1857, page 2e says:

    [A] public meeting was held... at the Saint Leonard's Hotel, Glenelg, to take into consideration the most desirable means of celebrating on this spot, under the old gum tree at Glenelg, the arrival of this colony at the twenty-first year of its existence... It is desirable to commemorate the event by a public celebration under "The Old Colonists' Tree"... the name of the tree under which the colony was proclaimed. (No dissent was forthcoming from readers to this forthright statement.)

    The Adelaide Times of 23 December 1857, page 1e carries an advertisement in respect of proposed festivities "on the site of the Old Gum Tree" and on 29 December 1857, page 2c it says: At an official luncheon within the near environs of the Old Gum Tree on 28 December 1857 the Adelaide Times reported in its edition of 29 December that two of the speakers, Messrs J.H. Fisher and John Morphett, both of whom were present at the 1836 ceremony, said, respectively: Again, on 13 February 1886, page 37e of the Observer and on 20 June 1887 in the Register at page 6a Sir John Morphett is reported as saying: Information on a plate to be affixed to it is in the Register,
    23 January 1858, page 3f, 26 and 27 February 1858, pages 2g and 2g.

    The Register of 28 December 1865, page 2g has an editorial which says:

    A correspondent to the Register on 2 January 1866, page 3b says: Letters concerning the validity of "the old gum tree", being that under which the "proclamation" was read, appear in the Register,
    31 May 1877, page 6g and 4 June 1877, page 6e: While Mrs Mary Thomas's diary of 28 December 1836 makes no mention of a "proclamation tree" - "... the G. Secretary read the proclamation and a party of marines fired a feu-de-joie..."
    - it is inexplicably reproduced in the Observer of 2 January 1858 to read -
    "The Governor's Private Secretary read the proclamation under a huge gumtree, a flag was hoisted, and a party of marines from the Buffalo fired a feu-de-joie...".
    In The Diaries and Letters of Mary Thomas, pages 84-86 (Reminiscences, completed in 1866) she discounts the proposition that the "Old Gum Tree" is the "Proclamation Tree".

    J.W. Billiatt has some further words on this subject - see Register, 25 May 1881, page 7b:

    Support for this version is to be found in the Register,30 March 1865, page 3f where Mr John Hill, the former boatswain of HMS Buffalo says: A correspondent to the Register on 2 January 1883, page 5d contends that Mr Hill, who arrived in the Buffalo and raised the Union Jack at the State's foundation ceremony in 1836 is reputed to have said: This statement is confirmed in an advertisement which appears in the Adelaide Times, 18 December 1857, page 4: Also see Register, 8 and 30 March 1865, pages 3a and 3f and Observer, 18 April 1885, page 29c -
    the latter has biographical details of John Hill and information on the proclamation ceremony.

    Comment on the tree and other matters by H. Moseley is in the Register,
    4 August 1881, page 3d (supp.).
    The golden wedding of Mr & Mrs Moseley is reported in the Register,
    28 August 1888, page 5a.

    "An Act of Vandalism" is in the Register,
    25 January 1886, page 6h, 6 February 1886, page 7h.

    On 6 February 1886 at page 5a the Editor of the Register commented that:

    To this implied invitation for informed comment two "eye-witnesses" to the event responded with contradictory statements:

    Also see 6 and 16 February 1886, pages 7h and 3h. Mr Symond's statement is supported in the Advertiser,
    29 December 1905, page 5f - "The tent of Mr Gouger [was] pitched under the now historic 'old gum tree'.") This version of events is given further credence and all but unassailable authority by an extract from Robert Gouger's diary reproduced in the Register on 27 November 1886, page 6f:

    Henry Gawler made the following comments in the Register, 9 February 1886, page 7d: The Register of 18 June 1887 at page 5c has a report on the planting of gum trees by the side of the professed memorial tree on that day; also see 20 June 1887, page 6a and 16 July 1887 which mentions a photograph being taken of the arborial event.

    The reminiscences of a "Buffalo Man" (Robert Moon, a seaman aboard the ship) are in the Register,
    27 June 1892, page 6c:

    An interview with Mr J.A. Hill, the District Clerk of the Booyoolie Council, who arrived in the colony in the Africaine in 1836, is reported in the Advertiser, 28 December 1893, page 5d: Similarly, Robert Wright, a colonist who arrived in the Cygnet and was present at the ceremony, says in the Register, 10 January 1894, page 6c: The Chronicle of 31 August 1895, page 5c reproduces an interview with Mr John Thorn, "A Member of Colonel Light's Staff"; The Register,11 February 1886, page 7g has a letter from Helen Mantegani and the Observer of 26 December 1896 and 16 May 1914 publishes her reminiscences in respect of the tree and, at a later date, an investigative reporter of the Register (see 28 December 1923, page 9) says: In the Observer of 26 December 1896, page 2d (supp.) Helen Mantegani is reported as saying: and in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, Session 1901-1902, Volume 5 she says: On the same day at page 2e (supp.) Giles Strangways says: The Register of 6 February 1897 at page 6f has a "second-hand" report attributed to T.B. Strangways: An investigative reporter of the Advertiser, after examining pertinent evidence, arrived at the following conclusion on 28 December 1933, page 6e: "At the Old Gum Tree" is in the Register,
    29 December 1899, page 5c; also see 2 January 1901, page 6e.

    An interested young citizen makes the following comment in the Register, 25 August 1915, page 6f:

    An 1858 photograph of the tree is in the Observer,
    4 January 1908, page 29,
    a 1915 photograph in The Mail,
    23 January 1915, page 7f;
    also see Chronicle, 31 December 1927, page 48 and 2 January 1930 for one taken in the 1850s.

    The reminiscences of Mrs Elizabeth A. Foulger are in the Advertiser,
    18 December 1918, page 7c where she says, inter alia:

    The Register of 16 July 1920 at page 8h has a letter from a correspondent which says, inter alia: "Replacing the Old Gum Tree" is in the Observer,
    22 December 1883, page 25e;
    also see Observer,
    25 June 1887, page 29a,
    6 January 1900, page 45a,
    "Preserving the Old Gum Tree" in the Advertiser,
    6 March 1907, page 6d.

    "At the Old Gum Tree" is in the Register,
    29 December 1898, page 5i.

    "Mark Twain on Proclamation Day - Racy Talk About Pioneers" is in the Advertiser,
    28 December 1907, page 9e.

    A photograph of the Governor and party under the tree is in the Chronicle,
    1 January 1910, page 28,
    of the Glenelg corporation in the Observer,
    4 January 1919, page 24.

    An interesting letter concerning Proclamation Day appears in the Register,
    6 April 1911, page 9a.
    A history of the event appears on 29 December 1913, page 7a.

    An obituary of Daniel Wickham is in the Observer, 14 October 1911, page 34b; it includes the following:

    An historical article on the tree, together with photographs of it in 1849 and 1913, is in The Mail,
    27 December 1913, page 8c.
    An 1876 sketch is in The Critic,
    1 January 1913, page 10.

    "Historic Trees" is in the Register,
    10 October 1918, page 7c.

    "The Glenelg Gumtree", by A.T. Saunders, is in the Register,
    16 July 1920, page 8h.

    "Philosophy of the Old Gum Tree" is in the Register,
    29 December 1921, page 6f; also see 28 December 1922, page 9d.

    "The Old Gum Tree - A Question of Identity" is in the Register,
    28 December 1923, page 9a,
    "Is It the Proclamation Tree?" on 29 December 1924, page 8b.
    A proposal to make the land a national reserve is traversed on 10 July 1926, page 13a.

    "The Old Gum Tree - Its Own Story" is in the Register,
    27 December 1927, page 12,
    "A Natural Relic - The Old Gum Tree", by Rev John Blacket, on 13 February 1928, page 12c.

    "The Foundation of South Australia - A Story for Commemoration Day" is in theRegister,
    25 December 1926, page 13b,
    "The 28th - 1837-1857" on 29 December 1926, page 11f;
    also see Advertiser, 23 July 1928, pages 8-11.

    "The Old Gum Tree" by Rev John Blacket is in the Observer,
    18 February 1928, page 56a.

    A poem attributed to Mr J. Sadler is reproduced in the Advertiser,
    28 December 1929, page 17h; the first of two verses reads:

    See Advertiser, 30 December 1929, page 8 for photographs of the tree in the "early 1850s" and in 1929;
    for comments from Mr A.T. Saunders see 31 December 1929.

    "Old Gum Tree and State's History" is in the Advertiser,
    20 December 1934, page 16e.

    "Is the Old Gum Tree Genuine?", by Rev John Blacket, is in The News,
    1 January 1935, page 4f:

    "Proclamation Tree Controversy", an article produced by the Royal Geographical Society, is in the Advertiser,
    3 July 1936, page 20h: The Society suggested the wording for a tablet to be affixed to the tree: A letter written by H.J. Hindmarsh, a great grandson of the Governor, in which he supports the tree as being the site of a "proclamation" is in the Chronicle,
    13 June 1935, page 48d.

    "The Old Gum Tree", Glenelg - Is It The Proclamation Tree, a pamphlet researched and written by J.S. Rees, is held in the Mortlock Library (See A 1128). (An exposition of the above information has been compiled by the author and lodged in the Mortlock Library - Personal Record Group 412.)

    Glenelg
    Glenelg, River - Goodwood
    G