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Centenary of the Discovery of Lake BonneyPrint Page Print this page

14-September-2017
14-September-2017

Photographs supplied by Graeme Saunders

The monument commemorates the centenary of the European discovery of Lake Bonney by Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney in 1838.  

At the end of 1837 the newly-established South Australian settlement was threatened with famine, and Hawdon, who had returned to New South Wales, with Charles Bonney, drove 300 head of cattle from the Goulburn district to Adelaide, where they arrived on 3 April 1838. They camped on the shores of Lake Bonney, which Hawdon named after his companion.

The obelisk that the Barmera Tourist and Publicity Bureau has decided to erect to mark the hundredth anniversary of the discovery of Lake Bonney by Joseph Hawdon will be unveiled on Saturday, March 12, at 3.30 p.m.   A great deal of interest in the anniversary celebrations has been shown by the Royal Geographical Society in Adelaide, and it will be represented at the ceremony. A bronze plate will have the following fitting words inscribed on it: "Erected by the residents of Barmera to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Discovery of Lake Bonney by Joseph Hawdon, on March 12, 1838."
Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark, SA), 24 February 1938.

Joseph Hawdon was one of our greatest explorers, and his feat in bringing cattle from Albury to Adelaide in the was one of the droving exploits in Australian history, said Mr. Sam Mclntosh at Barmera on Saturday afternoon, when he unveiled a memorial obelisk to commemorate the discovery of Lake Bonney 100 years ago that day by Hawdon's overland party.
The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA), 14 March 1938.

 

 

Location

Address:Dean Drive, Barmera, 5345
State:SA
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -34.249354
Long: 140.460166
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Monument
Monument Theme:Landscape
Sub-Theme:Exploration
Actual Event Start Date:12-March-1838
Actual Event End Date:12-March-1938
Designer:Barmera Tourist and Publicity Bureau
Link:http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/adbonli…

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Saturday 12th March, 1938
Front Inscription

Erected By The Residents
       Of Barmera
To Commemorate The 
100th Anniversary Of The
Discovery And Naming Of
 LAKE BONNEY
By JOSEPH HAWDON On 
March 12th 1838.

Source: MA,ADB
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au