Latest find of Kato, pre-dates South Australian settlement.

[Greenhornet_au]

Well....

Ladies and Gentlemen, Kato has just spent 3 solid days swinging her CTX3030.

Amongst her finds were 2x bucket list items....

1x King George III 1807 in great condition for its age

and nearby.....

1x Gold Gilted Naval button, suspected officers uniform button - late 1700's to early 1800's.

The HUGE thing is that these may be linked to a British expedition slightly pre-dating settlement in SA (1836).
We suspect Col. William Light had landed here weeks immediately before selecting the site of Adelaide,
left half of his crew on shore (to gather supplies?) and later returned to pick them up.
He may have been checking the suitability of sites along the SA coastline for a settlement.

More to come as she finds it.

Her hands were shaking as she showed me the coin, she knew what the coin was, but had not registered the possible significance.

 

[Manpa]

what a great find, congratulations to Kato.

 

[silver]

Historical importance Kato :trophy:
ower: :Y:

 

[Dave law]

Photo please or you know! . Well done Kato. Cheers

 

[MegsyB007]

Terrific finds Kato! Congratulations! :clap:

Cheers,
Megsy

 

[user 4386]

Very interesting.

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Very exciting stuff...

After some research, we are pretty confident the coin was from Lights "pocket" or more likely his ships surgeons "pocket".

Light had been to the site twice, once on the way up the coast going North after leaving Napean Bay on Kangaroo Island, and once on the way back to KI.
The first time, Light spent a week or so on shore, and the return was the Dr that stayed on shore for a similar time.

In the days between, there was a camp and vege garden that was tended by Aboriginals, who received some old uniforms that included red coats,
but we still think that the button came from an officers uniform because of the close proximity of the coin, musket ball and button to each other.
The Dr. was an avid hunter, he did a lot of shooting to replenish food stocks and for 'fresh' meals.

These two visits by Col William Light, were 183 yrs ago, almost exactly to the month, Kato has her birthday 10 of Sept, and found the items on 29 Sept.
Lights first visit in Sept 1836 and return being around early Oct 1836.

Strangely they experienced the same weather that we did while we were away, gave us a chuckle because the Dr was fretting that the tent was going to blow away
in the high windy conditions at night...... just like we did on one night, 183 years later !

The coin being 1807, 212yrs old - she is still on a high a week later.. layful:

I will post extracts over the next week or so.

Also over the 3 days Kato gathered about $10 in spendables and a number of pre-decs with a good haul of silver thrips, six pence, shillings
as well as pennies and half pennies.
Not as much junk as she expected.

She has permission to search where and when she wants at any time - another bonus. :Y:

 

[ctxkid]

left seated's are awesome cause you know they're old

 

[golddiggerart]

Congratulations Kato, as Nd thanks for the pictures... :Y:

 

[Goldpick]

Any KG3 coin is a good one, and yours still has some good detail on it (most are very worn). The button does appear to be from a Royal Navy Commander/Lieutenant, and is a great find in relation to the backstory. Well done on the research and resultant finds, something Kato should be very excited about. :Y:

 

[RM Outback]

Fantastic story Kato and GH :Y: well done, looking forward to the updates :beer:

 

[Wally69]

.......and you got close to where he lost the spare set of keys for the ship.

Is the sailing boat pendant from the same spot and is it silver or pewter ?

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Wally69

The sailing boat pendant (well spotted) seems to be pewter, but it is from a more modern period we think by the boat style.
It was found in the area about 80m away, and down hill from the other site.

We have not checked if it is silver, how to test ?

But it's general condition says pewter to me, where it hung from seems to have a bit of rust in there, so may have been a steel chain.

Kato is now trying to clean it better to id the metal.

Looking at it now and thinking about your comment, it seems like it is a keyring tag, she did find a key about 5" away.
Not magnetic, crusty but rings when tapped with a steel blade, now we think it could be brass.

Funny thing is that the Bow is not correct, and opposite end, in relation to the position of the sails.
Looks like the pointy Bow is at the Stern end. :8

Do you recognise it ?

This bay is a popular stop for Sail boats before KI
But not a spot for motor boats, no ramp facility nearby even.

 

[Wishfull]

I would not be cleaning up that coin or button.
The South Australian Museum should be your next port of call. No pun.

 

[Wally69]

The boat certainly is an interesting design, pewter was a material for casting keepsakes back in the yesterday which is why I asked.

Maybe there is a makers mark under the guff. Could be modern but I would clean with caution, for justins Case.

nice site and history time to build a special display box

I can see this image as a backdrop, this uniform was used from 1795 and I believe your button was from early in the period of this uniform, possibly 1795 as I found the same design but different construction referenced as a 1795 Commissioned Officers button.

:inlove: love your work Kato :inlove:

 

[Greenhornet_au]

I would not be cleaning up that coin or button.
The South Australian Museum should be your next port of call. No pun.

Wishful, we have a list of all the interested parties that have any information on Light and his work.

Adelaide City Council, State Library, and the State Records - it was compiled for Heritage Listing, and all items are listed.
The SA Museum may have some artifacts but there is almost nothing as all was lost in a fire, and he passed so soon after
even his cottage was 'pressed' to be saved in recognition, but in those days he was already a has been only 3 years after
the founding of the Colony.
There is almost nothing at all, even original documents.

We will check with the Museum in due course, still putting it together, the reading of the history is amasing,
Adelaide went from 600 people in 1836 to 6000 people in 1839/40 - terrifying pace
and almost broke when the goldrush years were in Victoria, SA buying gold at the highest price to stay afloat !

That is why this find is so special. She had presence of mind to GPS mark it on her CTX

She will never clean the coin or the button further, was just some soapy warm water and a soft tooth brush she uses on her pet turtle's shell
to take off the loose dirt.

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Wally69

Could you send me a link to that picture please ?

You may have the same site that she found for that button, but we have also seen another design
on a repro coat in a UK museum, I sense that sometimes the buttons may be slightly different when a repro item
is put together as they are representative and minor detail is over looked.

I will post all that in the next few weeks, to show her path of discovery, pretty good for a teen.

I did hand over to Kato a pewter rhino from a Zoo Animal set that was assessed as being from the 1870's,
I found it about 3 feet under the sand on a beach where the light house, at the Nth Western end of KI, would have boats land
and supplies would be carried up the waiting cart to then go about 1km to the light house.

The little sail boat thing has more corrosion on it, and it rings so I'm thinking brass now, it is likely to end up in my stainless steel tumbler
after a small scrap in a hidden spot to check. pretty sure it is modern-ish key tag now.
Even if silver it will come out pretty smick from the tumbler.

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Some history of Col. William Light and how he came to found Adelaide on its site, in a few 'parts'.

I am not a historian, or writer like MegsyB007, but I will do my best to make it interesting, Kato is busy with her studies.

As before at the start of this thread, Kato (Miss 15yrs) has found some items in the last School Holidays we are confident link to Col.William Light.
We have not found anything to contradict the theory, but actually hope that we do, because if we dont it only strengthens our link.

First up, Kato discovered that there are three main resources for information about Col. William Light, these bodies all hold different material
about the man and had to combine them into a list that was then submitted for Heritage Listing recognition.
The items she found would likely be Heritage Listed in the future if recognised as coming from the man or directly connected to him.

The resource holders are the Adelaide City Council, SA State Library and the SA State Archives.
She has a full list of all materials held by all of these parties.

We have found a few books and papers written about him and some pictures even self portraits and hand drawn maps,
but the most fascinating thing has been reading his log books.

There is very little information about him of his personal journals between 1818 and 1836, unfortunately it was all lost in a fire of the wooden hut
he lived in near the corner of North Terrace and West Terrace of the City of Adelaide.
Surveying maps, Documents and all of his personal possessions were lost in 1837.

Approx 1820 Self Portrait by Col.William Light

Col. William Light and the man he was....

With permission of Alison Oborn, Adelaide Author and award winning tour operator, is also a history & heritage enthusiast.
If you come to Adelaide, please consider taking one of her tours.
Full article - http://adelaidehauntedfaces.com.au/colonel-light-thebarton-cottage/

"Colonel William Light was definitely one of the worlds larger than life heroes. He was an illegitimate child born in 1786 to an East Indian free-trader and what was rumoured to be a Malayan Princess. Due to this union Lights father gained Penang for the Empire and became ruling governor over it, whilst much pleasing the authorities back in England.

At the age of 6, Light was sent to England by his father for education and there he stayed with family friends by the name of Doughty in a grand place called Theberton Hall in Suffolk. No doubt the name would sound familiar by now and so it should as it is also the name that Col. Light gave his final abode, although the spelling was changed approximately 1840 after Col. Lights death (Possibly through a spelling mistake that was never corrected). The Hall had obviously made an impression on his life and it reminded of happy childhood days.

It was whilst in England and at the age of 14 that he joined the Royal Navy and served on The Clyde. for 2 to 3 years before buying a commission in the 4th Dragoons and so changing to the army. It was in this position that he was to see service in the Peninsular War against Napoleons Army and very quickly gained recognition and respect due to his bravery. He had already been detained by Napoleons troops but had escaped before joining the war.

Sir Charles Napier tells one story of how Wellington had been disadvantaged as he could not ascertain how many French troops he was up against due to a bad visual position. It was Colonel William Light that jumped onto his horse and galloped out towards the enemy troops in the woods. As the first shot rang out, Col. Light fell backwards, laying on his horse and pretending to have been mortally wounded whilst still maintaining his blistering speed. Thinking their target was beyond help, the French ceased shooting and the enemy troops watched as what they thought was a fatally injured rider pass by, giving Light more than enough time to count the troops. Once clear he sat back up, picked up his reins once more and galloped back to give Wellington the information that was needed.

.

Napiers recollections of Col. Lights bravery

He quickly went on to become the confidant of not only the Duke of Wellington but also the Prince Regent and by 1811 had been appointed intelligence officer. He managed to fight in over 40 campaigns without injury until his 45th where he was shot in the thigh.

Being a talented artist, Colonel William Light also went on to mix with other literary and artistic leaders of France and Continental countries. In fact after marrying his second wife in 1824 (his first presumably having died), who was the daughter of the Duke of Richmond, he purchased a 43 ton yacht, the Gulnare and sailed the Mediterranean painting and sketching for books. Sadly his marriage failed and in 1830 Mary Light (nee Bennett) left for another man.

He even helped to establish an Egyptian Navy and sailed on The Nile which is where he became acquainted with Capt. John Hindmarsh who was serving on the same ship.

The Beginning of the End.....

Meanwhile back in England a plan for a new and free colony was being put together for South Australia. A new Governor would naturally be needed for this new proposed Province. Sir Charles Napier who had fought alongside Colonel William Light immediately thought to put forward his good friends name for the new Governorship position after having turned it down himself. However, this is where it all started to go wrong for Col. Light. Even before leaving for the shores of South Australia, politics raised its ugly head and Sir Charles Napier unwittingly made a mistake which cost Col. Light the position.

It was at this time that Napier came to meet Capt. John Hindmarsh through a letter of introduction from Colonel William Light. Napier made the grave mistake of telling Hindmarsh of his plans to recommend Colonel William Light for the Governorship position. Capt. Hindmarsh spared no time at all in quickly recommending himself for the position to the Board of Commissioners instead. Being as most of the board were Naval Officers, as was Hindmarsh himself, and by using yet again the letter of introduction from Col. Light he managed to secure the role of Governor to the new Colony.
Many would say this was a blessing, as if we had not had Col. Light as surveyor and his wise decision on where Adelaide was to be set out, then the colony would possibly have been doomed to failure and a different history would be told. Whether it was through guilt at having stolen the position from Col. Light we will never know, but it was Capt. Hindmarsh that put forward Col. Lights name as Surveyor-General, a position which Light accepted and shortly after, in 1836, set sail for South Australia aboard the Rapid.

Even as Surveyor General, things did not go well for Light and he was persecuted and opposed at every turn, often by his now superior, Governor Hindmarsh. Colonel William Light had to fight all the way for his choice of Adelaides position, chosen for the fertile soils and good water supply. He was understaffed and under-equipped and to start with had to survey with a wheelbarrow as at this time there were no horses in existence in colony. He was condemned for it all taking too long despite the harsh setbacks he had to face. He stood up for what he knew to be right and in return failed to be appreciated in his times. In fact his final years in South Australia soon turned his happy gallant nature and broke his spirit.

The final straw to his stress levels no doubt came when his first hut, which sat on the corner of West Terrace and North Terrace, caught alight and was quickly engulfed in flames. He lost a great part of his life in the form of his journals and paintings as well as plans etc. Historians today curse that fire and can only imagine the things his journal would have told not only about his life but our own history."

Next instalment soon.