Flying the flag on South Australia's past

By JIM EAGLES

I have just had a very pleasant dinner on the ship which brought my great-great-grandfather to New Zealand. Not the actual ship you understand - that was wrecked at Mercury Bay in 1840 - but a full-sized replica in Adelaide's historic suburb of Glenelg.

HMS Buffalo is regarded as the founding ship of South Australia because it brought several of the first settlers, including its commander, Captain John Hindmarsh, who became the first governor.

Twenty years ago Australian winemaker Wolf Blass built a copy of the Buffalo which is now permanently moored near the mouth of the Sturt River as a museum and restaurant.

It is said to be an accurate replica except that the ceiling is a bit higher and the food is rather better than rotten salt pork and weevily ship's biscuit.

You can even - though I didn't - order a confectionary three-masted sailing ship to eat as dessert.

Afterwards, if you stroll back to the Glenelg village centre, along a pathway commemorating the names of local families, you will find a lofty monument topped by a bronze version of the same ship to mark the point where its passengers came ashore.

Nearby, in the old town hall, is the Bay Discovery Centre, staffed by enthusiastic local volunteers, which tells the history of Glenelg, from Hindmarsh's arrival to the present day, in exhibitions, videos, paintings and photos.

And a short distance inland they have even preserved the huge old gum tree under whose shade Hindmarsh read the official proclamation of the establishment of the colony.

All of which seems to me to confirm that Australians are better at celebrating their history than we are.

For instance, does anyone know where the proclamation founding the new city of Auckland was read by Governor William Hobson?

It was apparently on what was then called Point Britomart, at the end of the ridge along which Princes St runs today, but you'd never know it.

I had a wander round there the other day and all I could find by way of a memorial was an obelisk jointly commemorating the laying of the foundation stone for the old St Paul's Church in 1841 and the death of its early chaplain Rev John Churton in 1853.

But back to Adelaide.

The history of South Australia has more than you might think in common with New Zealand.

Like New Zealand, it was founded by free citizens rather than convicts - in Adelaide they maintain the expression "pom" originated from the designation "people of means" on the passenger lists.

In common with several of our early settlements, South Australia was established according to the theories of Edward Gibbon Wakefield - there's a statue of him in the heart of Adelaide.

The two settlements adopted a rather more principled approach to dealing with the native inhabitants than hitherto - though in neither case was the outcome particularly satisfactory to the natives.

And in South Australia and New Zealand the old Buffalo played quite a significant early role - it could, for example, be considered the founding ship of Devonport, having provided, among others, the first signalman on Mt Victoria, Thomas Duder, the first householder, my great-great-grandfather William Oliver, and the first convicted murder, Joseph Burns.

To explore South Australia's history, the best starting point is to take one of the marvellous old trams - something else that has been preserved in Adelaide and discarded in Auckland - from Queen Victoria Square to Glenelg.

Even if it isn't dinner time it's worth looking over the Buffalo, which visited various parts of New Zealand in 1833, 1837, 1838 and 1840, and enjoy its small museum.

There is some malicious glee to be drawn from the contrast between the official ship's log, which portrays Hindmarsh as a caring and considerate captain, and the private diary of the ship's secretary, George Stevenson, describing him as an ignorant and foul-mouthed tyrant.

Glenelg is a charming seaside village, with plenty of places to enjoy a meal or a coffee, and the discovery centre is well worth a visit.

The displays include a life-sized replica of a painting of what the proclamation under the gum tree might have looked like.

Photography is forbidden but, on hearing that one of the Buffalo sailors in the picture could be my great-great-grandfather, the volunteer assistant said, "You take a photo dearie. None of the powers-that-be are here today and it can't do any harm."

Later, I found the original of the painting on display in the Art Gallery of South Australia so I bought a postcard copy and deleted the evidence of wrongdoing from my camera's memory.

From the centre you can follow a Proclamation Trail around several historic sites, including the old gum tree.

Back in Adelaide, there's plenty more history, with statues of early explorers peering hopefully over the traffic in Victoria Square, a statue of the dumpy Queen Adelaide, after whom the city was named, in the foyer of the marvellous old town hall - a great place to hear classical music - and, on North Terrace, a whole parade of statues, busts and plaques celebrating men and women who contributed to the state.

My favourite is the plaque to Dervish Bejah, one of the Afghan camel drivers who helped to open up the desert routes, and whose exploits are commemorated in the name of the Ghan train.

North Terrace is also home to the South Australian Museum, where the highlight is its magnificent Aboriginal gallery, the State Art Gallery, with its fascinating pictures of early settlement, and the marvellous Migration Museum, situated in buildings once used for the Destitute Asylum, with a courtyard paved with bricks carrying the names of hundreds of the state's migrant families.

They have these tributes to those who built the country in just about every community, but we don't seem to care.

For instance, I had a peripheral involvement with a project to do something similar to acknowledge the people who built Devonport by putting commemorative plaques in Mt Cambria Reserve, but it seems to have been sunk by a neighbour who thought that would spoil the park.

It's the pride Adelaide takes in its past that makes it such a delightful city to stroll around. The best way to discover that past is to take a walking tour with Tourabout Adelaide, whose guides have a real passion for preserving Adelaide's lovely old buildings - and, at the risk of harping on - they have safeguarded a lot more of them than we have, are wonderfully enthusiastic about its history and know all sorts of fascinating historical, architectural and artistic gems which you would never find on your own.

The Santos tower, for instance, cunningly incorporates a couple of historic buildings and has in its foyer a giant tapestry depicting a satellite view of the Murray River catchment plus a wooden carving of Hindmarsh reading his proclamation.

The delightful art nouveau Tempo Cafe, home to the state's symphony orchestra, is like a step back in time to the days before World War I.

Or charming Leigh St, actually in private ownership, with its olde worlde atmosphere and quaint artwork.

Or the old Treasury building, beautifully converted into the Medino Hotel, with a peaceful courtyard where you can have a quiet drink or a meal.

When you have had enough of walking round, the ideal place to rest is Queen Victoria Square, apparently once the place where the Kaurna people held their adulthood rituals and now a green oasis with the beautiful three rivers fountain at its centre.

If you sit at the right spot you can see the statue of Queen Victoria with a huge Aboriginal flag flying over the top and, further back, a big construction crane at the top of a new tower block.

It seems to symbolise a country which acknowledges its past, is proud of its achievements and, on that firm foundation, is building confidently for the future.

Further information

The Buffalo Restaurant or ring 0061 8 8294 7000.

You can ring the Bay Discovery centre on 0061 8 8296 7500, email baydiscovery@holdfast.sa.gov.au or find it on the web at www.baydiscovery.com.au

City of Holdfast Bay

Glenelg Visitor Information Centre's phone is 0061 8 8294 5833.

The History Trust of South Australia runs both the migration and maritime museums.

The South Australian Museum

Tourabout Adelaide can be contacted by email at info@touraboutadelaide.com.au or by phone at 0061 8 8333 1000.

For general tourist information the best contact point is the South Australian Tourism Commission, (09) 914 9848, or info@satc.co.nz

Getting there

From December, Qantas will be flying directly from Auckland to Adelaide three times a week. Contact Qantas on 0800 767 400.