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All Australia Glenelg North The Old Gum Tree

The Old Gum Tree

The colony of South Australia was proclaimed on a hot December day under a distinctively arched gum tree.

Glenelg North, Australia

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wmiller1995
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Old Gum Tree   Public Domain
Plaque from 1857 celebrating the 21st anniversary of the Proclamation of the Colony of South Australia on 28 December 1836, located at The Old Gum Tree Reserve at Glenelg North, South Australia.   Bahudhara/CC BY-SA 4.0
Proclamation Day commemorated sometime after 1857.   City of Holdfast Bay
I shilling green postage stamp, Australia, 1936: The Old Gum Tree (formerly the Proclamation Tree) centenary   Public Domain
Depiction of the Proclamation of South Australia 1836.   Public Domain
The Old Gum Tree, c. 1880   MAPCO
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On December 28, 1836, a sweltering day with temperatures reaching above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, a group of about 200 settlers and some of the local Kaurna population gathered near a uniquely arched gum tree to hear the proclamation officially establishing South Australia as a British province.

They chose the site that would mark the birthplace of South Australia due to the prominent landmark, a thick gum tree entirely arched over to form a bend back to the soil. The tree became known as the symbol of the fledgling colony, and was used as the official symbol of Glenelg, the colony's oldest European settlement.

Every year since, on that date, prominent South Australians return to the site and observe Proclamation Day, and the current governor repeats the proclamation made by the inaugural governor, Captain John Hindmarsh, in 1836. The original gum tree has been long dead, but the decayed husk was encased in concrete in 1963 to preserve its shape for future South Australians.

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Trees History Colonialism Plants

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The Old Gum Tree sits in a public park that is open all day and is free to visit. The reserve also includes a playground and public BBQ.

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wmiller1995

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Meg

  • Meg

Published

May 16, 2017

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The Old Gum Tree
43 MacFarlane St
Glenelg North
Australia
-34.970346, 138.520902
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