Gawler: The Colonial Athens
First shared on ‘Gawler: Colonial Athens’ Blog Monday, 18
January 2021.
 | |
|
“If ever there was
a go-ahead little spot on the globe's surface, Gawler may lay claim to that
distinction.” – Traveller c.1870.[1]
 |
| Allen Tiller Photo Daniel James Down Gawler in Photographs |
I was born in Gawler at the Hutchinson Hospital. I was educated at the Evanston Primary School and Gawler High School. I moved away from Gawler in the 1990s and intermittently lived in Gawler over the decades before moving back to the town in 2016.
You might know me from the television show Haunting: Australia. I have had an extensive career in the media over the past decade. Before that, I worked in Warehousing and Distribution here in South Australia, and in Queensland. After Haunting: Australia filmed in 2013 I suffered a serious injury and could no longer work in warehousing, so I went to TAFE and retrained as a Librarian. At the same time, I studied for a Diploma in Family History at the University of Tasmania. Currently, I am halfway through studying for a degree majoring in history, also with UTAS.
I am also a published poet and a published historical author. I have written tours of local councils and am an Executive Member of the Gawler History Team. As well as a parent and grandparent!
I often write on my
blog The Haunts of Adelaide about crimes, paranormal and odd history around
South Australia. I also have a blog dedicated only to paranormal themes, The
Eidolon Paranormal Blog and one dedicated to Kapunda. I decided this year I
might take some of the copious local history and knowledge of Gawler I have stored
and put it out on the interwebs for others to read.
So, I started this
blog!
Why the name
“Gawler: Colonial Athens”?
During the 1860s, Gawler had established an Institute, a foundation of
knowledge. Within it is a library. The Institute had supported the arts and
education. The township also attracted many university-educated Germans who
settled at nearby Buchfelde.
No one knows exactly who phrased the term, but E.H Coombe stated:
“It is the custom of many writers and speakers to refer to Gawler
as “the Modern Athens”, presuming this was the title bestowed conferred upon it
in the early days by admirers of its literary activities/ The title then
bestowed upon it as a genuine compliment was ‘The Colonial Athens’.
Edinburgh has the distinction of being ‘The Modern Athens’. Gawler secured it’s
flattering cognomen of ‘the colonial Athens’ because of its spirited action of
its Institute in connection with the competitions for a Song of Australia and a
History of South Australia. In referring to this matter the late Mr. E.L.
Grundy remarked; ‘no one of the many sensible minds in Gawler would think of
assuming the title of ‘The Colonial Athens’, yet they are willing to hold it
and adopt the friendly compliment as being calculated to impart to the young
around as a wholesome consciousness that they are in a position in the world’s
eye where mental and moral superiority are looked for…”[2]
So, there you have
it, Gawler was dubbed the ‘Colonial Athens’. Later, Adelaide got in on the act
and dubbed itself “The Athens of the South”. As Oscar Wilde said, ‘Imitation
is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.’
This blog will
probably be posted irregularly, as my time permits. There will be
cross-posts from my other blogs and Gawler-based projects, and links (many links!) to the Gawler History Team Inc. website
gawlerhistory.com.
Hope you enjoy
Gawler’s History.
Allen Tiller
19/01/2021.
UPDATE: Since writing this blog in 2021, I have earned a B.A. in History with First Class Honours at the University of Tasmania. I have also deleted the former Gawler: Colonial Athens' blog and reposted the material here. A.T. - 2023.
[1] "THE
COLONIAL ATHENS."', The Register, (30 July 1910), p. 4.
[2] Gawler,
Derek Whitelock, (1989), p.79.
Photographs:
Gawler History
Team: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gawler_history/7083658135/
Gawler In Photographs, Daniel James Down,
2020: https://www.facebook.com/Gawlerinphotographs
No comments:
Post a Comment