Light Colonel William
| Type of person | Individual |
|---|---|
| Principal occupation | Surveyor of Gawler |
William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839) was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of the colony's capital, Adelaide, and for designing the layout of its streets, six city squares, gardens and the figure-eight Adelaide Park Lands, in a plan later sometimes referred to as Light's Vision. On December 12, 1837 Light visited the region of Gawler at the Mette Watta River ,an early name for the Gawler and Para Rivers In July 1838, he formed a private company, Light, Finniss & Co., with assistant surveyors B. T. Finniss (arr. Cygnet), Henry Nixon (arr. Navarino) and William Jacob (among those who came out on the Rapid), and draughtsman Robert G. Thomas (being among those who came out on the Cygnet), offering a range of services to prospective purchasers of city and country properties, and to local government bodies. By agreement with the new Governor George Gawler, In 1839 his company Light,Finniss & Co surveyed Gawler
After Gawler was surveyed in 1839, Col. William Light died on 6th October 1839 at the age of 54, from his contracting tuberculosis. Robert Haysom research says that Light left debts of 620 pounds. Light was buried in Light Square in a lead coffin. Gov. Gawler allocated 100 pounds towards a memorial for Light and closed all government offices on 10th October, the day of Light's funeral.
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