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Home » Themes » Landscape » Settlement
150 Years of WilliamstownPrint Page 
The plaque commemorates 150 years of the settlement of Williamstown.
Soon after the arrival of colonists in South Australia in July, 1836 expeditions were sent out to explore the hinterland. By December 1837 explorers had reached Lyndoch and by 1838 other explorers had reached the Murray River passing through the Barossa Valley. The valley was named by Colonel Light after Barrosa (Hill of Roses) in Spain where he had fought against the French in 1811 in the Peninsula War. The spelling mistake was never corrected.
By 1839 Colonel Light, the Surveyor General of South Australia, was selling off large tracts of land in the valley. The first person to settle at Williamstown was Thomas Adams who called the place Victoria Creek. The land was considered of such little value that Adams traded the land for a mob of horses and a man named Johnstone cut the land up into allotments. He named the small town after his eldest son, William and Elizabeth Street he named after his wife.
Location
| Address: | Memorial Drive, Williamstown, 5351 |
|---|---|
| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.670203 Long: 138.890645 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Landscape |
| Sub-Theme: | Settlement |
Dedication
| Approx. Monument Dedication Date: | November-2007 |
|---|
CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF WILLIAMSTOWN
IN 1854 SECTION 984 COMPRISED UNFENCED PASTURE STONE & BRICK HOUSE AND OUTBUILDINGS LICENSED AS A PUBLIC HOUSE FOR SALE OF WINE.
LEGEND HAS IT THE LEWIS JOHNSTON WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THE LAND WHILST HE WAS OVERLANDING HORSES FROM SYDNEY IN 1857 HE EXCHANGED THE HORSES FOR THE LAND. RECORDS FROM THE GRO SHOW THAT LEWIS JOHNSTON BOUGHT SECTIONS 984, 985 AND PART 35 ON 12 MAY 1857 FOR £500/-/-/ FROM THOMAS ADAMS.
LEWIS SUBDIVIDED THE LAND AND NAMED IT AFTER HIS SON WILLIAM IN 1858. ASSESSMENT RECORD FOR 1859 SHOW THE FOLLOWING OWNERS AND OCCUPIERS.
Occupier Owner Allotment Description
[Names] [Names) [Number]
WILLIAMSTOWN AND DISTRICTS
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
NOVEMBER 2007
