NAVARINO 1837

PIONEERS AND SETTLERS BOUND FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The Navarino was a 3 mast barque, built in 1808 and rebuilt in 1835. She departed London under the command of Captaini Warming, arriving in Adelaide on 6 December 1837.

LIEUTENANT HENRY NIXON

LIEUTENANT HENRY NIXON arrived in the Province of South Australia on the Navarino in December 1837, after a career in the British Army, having served in Ireland, Nova Scotia and Scotland. In South Australia he was appointed an assistant in the survey team of the Surveyor-General, Colonel William Light. On 2nd July 1838 most of Light's survey team resigned in support of Light after a stand-off with the Colonization Commissioners for South Australia who thought that the surveys were proceeding too slowly.

There was a huge unmet demand for surveys which was affecting land sales, and Light was refusing to adopt a 'running survey' as the Commissioners had suggested. George Kingston continued surveying with the remainder of Light's original team, which included Henry Nixon, while Light, Boyle Travers Finniss and others formed a company to undertake survey work privately.

In July 1838 Nixon resigned from George Kingston's survey team complaining that he was treated as a slave, he joined Light and Finniss and in early 1839 also went into partnership with William O'Halloran as a land agent. Henry Nixon named the Village of Marion on the Sturt, and there is a street in Marion named after him. He died in 1843 and is buried in West Terrace Cemetery.

A map drawn by Nixon in 1838 from information about the Preliminary Country Surveys undertaken by Colonel William Light, depicts the almost Elysian appearance of the Adelaide Plains, with creeks and the river delineated with vegetation. It shows the terrain over which the Europeans had their first encounters with the Aboriginal people and the effect of thousands of years of indigenous management of what became known to the Europeans as the Adelaide Plains. This view of the Adelaide Plains also demonstrates part of the logic behind Light's choice of the site of Adelaide, with the city surrounded by sustaining rural sections and a safe harbour within reasonable proximity.

The 1838 Nixon map is reproduced by the Royal Geographical Society of S.A. under licence from the National Archive Office UK

WORTHY WORTHINGTON GEORGE NICHOLLS

The Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition has a comprehensive article on Worthy Worthington George NICHOLLS, (c.1808-1849)
http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10370b.htm

DONALD MCLEAN

Donald McLEAN [1780-1855] and his wife Christina [1791-1869] brought with them Land Order 454 which cost Ł1,000 in London. This entitled them to 80 acres of land in the place called "Adelaide". On June 6th, 1938, Donald chose Section 50 in what is now called Marleston. The property was named "Dunskie", probably a corruption [variation] of the original 'Douskie", the leased property back in Scotland.

JAMES GREIG

James GREIG 35 and his wife Margaret 40 [formerly BAIRD nee REEDIE] both from Scotland, brought out 7-8 chilfren from Margaret's former marriage [Jane, John, twins James and Thos, Isabella, Marion and Margeret], and their son William 6 (c1831-c1919)