William Light

William Light (self-portrait, circa 1815)

Colonel William Light (born April 27, 1786 in Kuala Kedah , † October 6, 1839 in Adelaide ) was a British officer, explorer, painter and the first general surveyor of South Australia . He determined the location and layout of the streets in the capital Adelaide.

life and work

Sicilian Scenery , 1823

Light was the Siamese Kuala Kedah (now Malaysia ), the son of Francis Light , founder of the British colony of Penang born and Martina Rozells. He grew up in Penang until the age of six, after which he was sent to Theberton in England for further education .

At the age of 13, Light volunteered for two years in the Royal Navy . He then traveled through Europe and India before joining the British Army in 1808 . From 1809 to 1814 he took part in the Napoleonic Wars in Spain on the Iberian Peninsula . He was promoted to lieutenant in 1811 and became friends during the siege of Badajoz with General Graham on. After the war he served as a captain in various locations in England. Light retired from military service in 1821 and married E. Perois from Londonderry on May 29, 1821, where he was last stationed.

William Light, Sicilian Scenery , 1823

After two years, Light returned to Spain to fight the French invasion on the side of the revolutionary forces . He was given the rank of lieutenant colonel but was seriously injured in the defense of A Coruña . After his return to England he married on October 16, 1824 the twenty-year-old Mary Bennet, daughter of the Duke of Richmond. There is no information about the whereabouts of his first wife, she presumably died. For the next six years both traveled through Europe, particularly France and Italy. They sailed across the Mediterranean on the yacht Gulnare bought by Light. Some of the Briton's best paintings and drawings are from this period.

Between 1830 and 1835, Light Muhammad Ali Pasha , the founder of modern Egypt , helped set up his own navy. Here he met John Hindmarsh , with whom he shipped troops and equipment to Syria for the Pasha. Light divorced his wife in 1832. After Hindmarsh was appointed Governor of South Australia , he proposed Light as Surveyor-General (chief surveyor). Light left the United Kingdom on May 1, 1836 on the Rapid and reached Australia on August 20, 1836.

Light selected a location for the capital Adelaide about 10 km inland on the River Torrens and designed the layout of the city. He planned the city with wide streets in a checkerboard pattern and spacious parks. The main roads ran from east to west to avoid the sandstorms from the north. The river and the nearby Adelaide Hills should ensure an adequate freshwater supply. For these reasons, Light had rejected other proposals from the Governor and the British Crown, such as Kangaroo Island , Port Lincoln and Holdfast Bay .

With further explorations inland, Light explored the Barossa Valley . Shortly thereafter, in 1838, he gave up his position as Surveyor-General because he refused to use more inaccurate surveying methods for exploration, and started his own company. A fire at the Land and Survey Office in January 1839 destroyed many of Light's diaries, papers and drawings.

Light spoke several languages ​​and was a painter. Many of his drawings were published in London in 1823 and 1828. Some of his works are on display in the South Australia Art Gallery.

Light died of tuberculosis on October 6, 1839 . He was buried in Light Square in Adelaide. A first memorial was created in 1843, but had to be replaced in 1905.

Honors

• 1995 Australia: 5 dollar silver commemorative coin with his portrait and the city map of Adelaide. 925 silver, 39 mm, 35.79 g, Canberra Mint, edition: 14,000 pieces

Individual evidence

• "Light, William", Angus & Robertson concise Australian encyclopaedia (1983), ISBN 0-207-14820-1
• Elizabeth Kwan Living in South Australia: A Social History Volume 1: From Before 1836 to 1914 (1987)
• Geoffrey Dutton, Founder of a City: the life of Colonel William Light, first Surveyor-General of the colony of South Australia (1960) Cheshire. Subsequent republications: Rigby, 1971 and 1984; and as Colonel William Light: founder of a city (1991) Melbourne University Press.