Shelf-Employed:
The Indie Publishing Podcast – Transcript: Episode 11: South Australia’s
History Festival 2026
[Transcript Begins]
It's time for the History Festival in South Australia, and Lee said we should do a podcast
about who was the first published author in South Australia, our home
state….so…I went down a research rabbit hole.
For
those that don’t know, the South Australia History Festival is an annual statewide celebration in
May that explores the state’s history through tours, talks, exhibitions, walks, and workshops for all ages.
The 2026 History Festival runs throughout May and invites
participants to explore South Australia’s rich history,
from family stories and local communities to broader social movements
and cultural milestones. The festival emphasises connections across time, place, and people, highlighting how past events continue to shape the state’s identity.
The
first publication in South Australia is widely regarded to be Colonel William Light's A Brief Journal of the Proceedings of William Light, late
Surveyor-General of the Province of South Australia, with a few remarks on some
of the objections that have been made to them. This was published by
A. Macdougall in 1839. In the context of the era, most literature in South
Australia prior to the formal settlement of the state was imported books from
England. The majority of publications in the time period were published in
London, Australia, and indeed, South Australia did have newspapers,
almanacs, pamphlets and gazettes printed here in the state, but Light’s
journal publication is generally recognised as the first local publication.
I guess we should add some historical context
for those listening from outside South Australia. If you think of early
Australia as a place built by convicts, South Australia breaks that pattern
completely.
The
colony of South Australia was founded in a very different way. In the early
1800s, a British thinker named Edward Gibbon Wakefield came up with a bold
idea: instead of sending prisoners, why not create a carefully planned colony
of free settlers? Land would be sold to fund the journey, attracting workers,
families, and investors.
That
idea became reality in 1836. The first official group of settlers arrived, and
the colony was proclaimed at Glenelg by Governor John Hindmarsh. Today, that
moment is remembered every year as Proclamation Day. Turning that vision into a
real, working colony depended heavily on one man: Colonel William Light.
Light
was tasked with choosing the site of the capital and designing it from scratch.
After exploring the region, he selected the location for Adelaide—a decision
that wasn’t without controversy at the time. Some officials disagreed with his
choice, but Light stood by it. From the very beginning, this place was designed
to be different. The capital, Adelaide, wasn’t just built—it was planned. His design was ambitious: a grid of wide
streets, open public squares, and parklands encircling the city. It wasn’t just
practical—it reflected the ideal of a well-ordered, livable society. Today,
Adelaide still follows that original plan, a lasting legacy of Light’s vision.
Importantly, this wasn’t empty land. The
region was already home to Aboriginal peoples, including the Kaurna people, who
had lived on and cared for the land for thousands of years. European settlement
brought major disruption to their lives and culture—something that’s now a
crucial part of how this history is understood.
But the
story of settlement didn’t stop in Adelaide.
Just to
the north, the town of Gawler became one of the colony’s earliest rural
centres. Established in 1839, it’s often called the “first country town” of
South Australia. Gawler grew quickly thanks to its location near fertile land
and the meeting of the Gawler and North Para Rivers.
In those
early years, it became a hub for farming communities. Mills, blacksmiths, and
traders set up shop, supporting settlers moving beyond Adelaide. As agriculture
expanded—especially wheat and sheep farming—Gawler played an important role in
feeding and supplying the young colony.
Like
Adelaide, the land around Gawler was not empty. It was traditionally cared for
by Aboriginal groups connected to the region, and European settlement brought
significant disruption to their way of life.
By the
mid-1800s, places like Gawler showed how the colony was spreading outward, transforming from a planned city into a network of towns and farming districts.
While Light is best known for designing Adelaide, his surveying work helped open
surrounding regions, laying the groundwork for towns like Gawler to develop.
These early settlements became vital links between the city and the expanding
farming districts.
As the
years went on, South Australia grew through farming, mining, and migration. It
became known as a “free colony,” attracting people looking for opportunity
rather than serving a sentence.
So,
while much of Australia’s early story is tied to convict beginnings, South
Australia stands out as an experiment in planned settlement—and one that left a
lasting mark on the country.
The
first printing press in South Australia was brought by Robert Thomas. He
arrived with the early settlers in 1836 and played a key role in the colony’s
development by producing its first printed materials. Notably, he printed the
first government orders and notices, helping establish communication in the new
settlement.
Robert
Thomas is also closely linked to South Australia’s first newspaper, the South
Australian Gazette and Colonial Register, which began publication shortly after
the colony was founded.
So while
figures like William Light were shaping the physical layout of the colony,
Thomas was helping shape how information spread—an essential part of building a
functioning society. That first printing press was the Stanhope press, which
was brought ashore from the Africaine in 1836. It was put inside a tent
at Glenelg and used to print the first 100 copies of the Proclamation of South
Australia. The press was later moved to Adelaide and played a crucial role in the early newspaper publishing industry, printing the first edition of the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register in 1837.
{DEB}
According
to the State Library of South Australia, the first person to publish a novel in
South Australia is generally recognised to be Catherine Helen Spence with her
novel, Clara Morison: A Tale of South Australia During the Gold Fever, which
was published anonymously in 1854. It is
significant because It is considered the first novel written by a woman of
European descent about, and in, not just South Australia, but Australia wide.
Catherine Helen Spence was one of Australia’s
most influential early social reformers, writers, and political thinkers. She
was born in 1825 in Scotland and moved to South Australia as a child, where she
spent most of her life shaping public debate and social policy.
Although Spence was a pioneering novelist in Australia, she was also known for
her writing and journalism, where she explored social issues like class
inequality, women’s independence, and life in colonial Australia. She was
deeply involved in improving society, especially in areas like: Education, Welfare
for children and the poor and Electoral reform.
Spence was also a pioneer of women’s rights. She was a leading figure in the
women’s suffrage movement in Australia. In fact, she made history in 1897 by
becoming the first female political candidate in Australia and one of the
first women in the world to run for political office. Although she didn’t win a
seat at the federal conventions, her candidacy was groundbreaking. Spence also
devoted her life to working with organisations that supported disadvantaged
children, helping develop systems closer to modern foster care. And in later
life, she became a public speaker, from which she gained international
recognition for her reform work.
Catherine Helen Spence is sometimes called the “Grand Old Woman of Australia.”
Her impact is still visible today in Australia’s democratic systems and social
services. She’s also featured on the Australian $5 note (1995–2001 issue),
reflecting her national importance.
{ALLEN}
The
first Indigenous person from South Australia to publish a book is widely
regarded to be David Unaipon, a Ngarrindjeri man from the Lower Murray
region of South Australia. His work, Native Legends (published in 1929),
along with later posthumously attributed works such as Legendary Tales of
the Australian Aborigines, made him the earliest Indigenous Australian
writer to be published in book form
David
Unaipon was born in 1872 at the Point McLeay Mission in South Australia, now
known as Raukkan. He was a Ngarrindjeri man, and from a young age, people
noticed he was incredibly bright — especially in science, music, and language. But his life wasn’t simple. Even though he
had talent that could have taken him far, Aboriginal people at the time faced
major discrimination and limited opportunities. Still, he found ways to share
his knowledge.
He worked as a preacher and travelled widely across South Australia, speaking
in churches and towns. But he didn’t just preach — he told stories. Stories
about Aboriginal culture, law, and knowledge systems that had been passed down
for generations.
And then
something important happened. In the late 1920s, Unaipon began publishing
written works. He wrote articles, pamphlets, and stories based on Aboriginal
oral traditions. One of his best-known early booklets was “Native Legends” , That made him the first Aboriginal
Australian author to publish written works in English — and one of the
first to have Indigenous stories presented in book form.
But there’s a twist — and it’s not a happy one.
One of
his major manuscripts, a collection of Aboriginal stories, was taken and later
published under someone else’s name in 1930, without crediting him. It wasn’t
until decades later that his authorship was properly recognised.
David Unaipon was also an inventor — he
patented ideas for mechanical tools, including an improved sheep-shearing
device. He even explored ideas like helicopters inspired by the boomerang.
Because
of his brilliance, people sometimes called him “Australia’s Leonardo da
Vinci.” David Unaipon helped show that Aboriginal knowledge systems are
deeply intellectual, scientific, and artistic — even when Australia wasn’t
ready to listen.
He
passed away in 1967, but today he is honoured on the Australian $50 note, and
the David Unaipon Award supports Indigenous writers continuing his
legacy. So when we talk about David Unaipon, we’re not just talking about
history.
We’re
talking about a man who preserved stories, challenged ideas about knowledge,
and made space for future Indigenous authors.
{ALLEN}
So, way
back in our first live episode, I spoke about notable authors from Gawler, but I
am going to widen that scope a little more and speak about some earlier
publications that came from Gawler residents who weren’t necessarily born in
this town. The first is a Catholic priest named James Farrell. He published
religious pamphlets and sermons in Adelaide while he lived in Gawler in the
1840s. There were also publications from the Gawler Institute, and obviously, The Bunyip newspaper went to print in 1863.
The
first book, widely regarded as the first published by a Gawler-born resident, is
A History of Gawler, 1837 to 1908, in 1910, by Ephraim Henry Coombe. Coombe
was a journalist, newspaper editor and member of parliament. He advocated for
proportional voting, women’s suffrage and railways to country towns. Coombe was
adamantly against conscription during World War I and was painted as a coward
and traitor. He was prosecuted under the War Precautions Act in 1917 for using
words that were ‘likely to prejudice recruiting.’ Coombe had three sons and a son-in-law on the frontlines who volunteered to go, reinforcing his argument
that volunteers over conscription was the right way to reinforce the frontlines
of the war. Coombe died not long after the trial in 1917 and is buried in the
Williston cemetery….and if you want to know more about his story – segway to
another Gawler author - local Councillor and historian Helen Hennessey and
Patricia Booth, and their publication The Defiant anti-conscriptionist: the
curious life of E.H. Coombe, which was published by Wakefield Press in 2022.
This biography details the life of E H Coombe. A hero of the working class and many others in the
community, the curious life of E.H. Coombe places Gawler and its region firmly
on the map.
Despite
Coombes ' efforts, one could argue that George Isaacs, who wrote under the
non-de-plume A. Pendragon, was the first person published in Gawler.
Isaacs was a colonial South Australian writer, journalist, and cultural figure
who spent part of his active career in Gawler. His novel The Queen of the
South (1858) was printed in Gawler, and this is also where he first used
the pseudonym A. Pendragon. He was associated with the Gawler Institute,
which was a major hub for literary and intellectual activity in the town…
[End Transcript]
Episode 11 of Shelf-Employed: South Australia’s History Festival 2026 can be heard via this link:
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