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Proclamation Day
This year marks the 188th Proclamation Day commemorations at the OId Gum Tree Reserve, Glenelg North.
We invite you to join us at the Old Gum Tree Reserve on Saturday 28 December 2024 at 9am to reflect on our shared history and what this important state ceremony means for all South Australians.
In preparation for this year's ceremony, the Council has worked with the Kaurna Nation to determine the most appropriate way to commemorate the shared history and truth-telling narrative of the Proclamation and the Letters Patent that strengthens our community’s understanding of the cultural importance of the state event.
This year, custodians of country, Kaurna Nation, will host a small overnight camp at Patha Yakuna (Old Gum Tree) Reserve, along with a ceremonial fire on Friday 27 December 2024. Kaurna has extended an invitation to residents to meet and have a yarn with them from 6pm on Friday 27 December 2024.
Pathawilyangga (Glenelg) was a significant place for cultural celebrations, ceremonies and trade and would be used as a camp by traditional owners, the Kaurna People, during the summer months. When the cold south-westerly winds and Warripari (Sturt River) flooding that fed into the Pathawilyangga estuary made life difficult during the winter, the Kaurna often moved further inland to the foothills. This seasonal movement allowed essential food sources to regenerate and was part of the careful management of their lands.
The arrival of colonists in South Australia from 1836 signalled a new chapter for the Kaurna people, and Pathawilyangga became the official ‘meeting place’ of cultures. In 1834, the British House of Commons passed ‘A Bill to erect South Australia into a British Province’ and, consequently, on 19 February 1836, the Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia were signed by King William IV.
When the Letters Patent were issued, it was the first time Aboriginal rights were legislatively acknowledged and granted in Australia’s colonial history.
The first official settlers left London for South Australia in February 1836. In all, nine ships carrying over 500 colonists had arrived on the shores of Holdfast Bay by December 1836. The last of these ships to arrive was the Buffalo, captained by John Hindmarsh, who was to be the new province’s first governor. The Buffalo anchored off Holdfast Bay early in the morning of 28 December.
On the same sweltering summer day, the new settlers gathered under the shade of a ‘huge gum tree’. The Proclamation Document was read, and a moral tone was set for the new province. Marines from the Buffalo fired a ‘royal salute to the British flag’ followed by a ‘feu-de-joie’, after which the ‘Buffalo saluted the Governor with 15 guns’.
History has shown us that the intention of the Letters Patent and iteration in the Proclamation were not followed in the decades since 1836, but this year at the 188th Proclamation Day ceremony, we endeavour to acknowledge and reflect on what this significant ceremony means to all South Australians.
Please come and join us for this year's ceremony.
Letter Patent
Have you heard of the Letters Patent? Do you know how important this document is for all South Australians?
Our founding document, the Letters Patent, was presented to King William IV in 1836 to formally seek approval to establish the Provence of South Australia and legally set its boundaries.
Beyond this, the Letters Patent acknowledge Aboriginal land rights. They reflect the sentiment of those who wished to settle South Australia – that Aboriginal people inhabited these lands and, therefore, held proprietary rights to these lands. It is the only state in Australia to make such an acknowledgment.
Learn more about the settlement of South Australia and the Letters Patent at Glenelg’s Bay Discovery Centre museum in the award-winning exhibition, Tiati Wanganthi Kumangka (Truth-Telling Together).
