Colonel William Light: Founder of a City

The story of Colonel William Light, the founder of Adelaide, is full of colour, change, adventure, tragedy -- and great achievement. Light's life encompasses that dramatic period of history when the expanding frontiers of the Western world reached the furthest corners of the globe. He was born in Kedah on the Malay Peninsula, and at three months he was in the party under his father, Francis Light, when he founded the British colony of Penang. At six he was sent to England to be educated; he became first a sailor, then a soldier. While still in his teens he escaped from a French internment camp and took part in forestalling a mutiny in India before joining the British cavalry and distinguishing himself in the Peninsular War. He lived on the fringe of the British aristocracy, travelled widely in Europe, for three years cruising the Mediterranean in his own yacht, then served as a captain in Mohammed Ali's navy. Although suggested as the first Governor of South Australia, it was as Surveyor-General that he succeeded in conceiving and laying out what is perhaps the most gracious city in Australia, despite his having been caught up in an almost unbelievable mesh of intrigue. He gave Adelaide its belt of parklands, a feature of town planning far ahead of the times. In this vivid biography the authors, with a rare lucidity and elegance of writing, throw a beam of understanding on a complex man and his time. The book, when it originally appeared, was the fruit of many years research. This new edition includes a great deal of material which has been discovered since then. The first edition was received with wide critical acclaim: "It is notoriously easier to find good subjects for biography than good biographers. Here is one of those rare and happy coincidences where we have both." - "Times Literary Supplement" "With no illusions, this well-produced volume is a decided contribution to Australian history. It is also a fascinating book. A rare combination." - "Age", Melbourne Reviews of the new edition: "...based on wide research, attractively presented in a well-designed format with an enticingly fresh dustcover...(this book) adds further authority and interest to a biography of distinction." - "Adelaide Review" "Geoffrey Dutton, a graduate of the University of Adelaide and Oxford, is an Australian writer, poet and broadcaster of great distinction. David Elder has been involved in publishing all his life and was, on his retirement, Deputy Manager in Australia of Oxford University Press.".

Table of Contents:
A taste of spices; The making of a wanderer; "Alert and handsome"; "Never was wounded"; Artist on half pay; A duke's daughter; The Gulnare ; Serving the Pasha; "The happiest empire"; "Pre-eminently qualified"; Claims of sea and land; Foundation of the city; Governor and Secretary; A vision of the future; "Dreadful dissension"; "Sick of serving"; "Entirely broken"; "I leave it to posterity"