George Gawler doesn't reinstate William Light as surveyor general; Light, Finniss & Co. lay out the town of Gawler

South Australia's second governor George Gawler declined to reinstate William Light as surveyor general. Meanwhile, the town, north of Adelaide, that took Gawler's name was laid out by Boyle Travers Finniss, on the Light pattern, as the last big job for their private firm Light, Finniss and Co.

George Gawler, who replaced John Hindmarsh (departed June 1838) as second governor of South Australia, also took on the role of resident commissioner – directly in charge of the survey department.

Installed in office from October 1838, Gawler dealt with the chaotic survey situation by, firstly, rejecting George Strickland Kingston’s bid to take over Light’s former role as surveyor general. Gawler knew of Kingston’s unpopularity among surveyors: “His differences with several young men, who left the department on Col. Light's resignation, I tried to heal, but found it to be irreconcilable.”

Kingston then resigned, and Gawler offered the position of surveyor general to Charles Sturt. This denied Light, dying of tuberculosis, the final salve to his wounded honour. Weighing against the mercurial Light were social factors such as living outside marriage with Maria Gandy at Theberton.

Finniss passionately believed that Light was being martyred by the hierarchy and he staunchly supported the man who had shown him so much kindness. He  wrote to the South Australian: "I am proud in the friendship of such a man as Col. Light – and when his judgement is attacked, and his talents impeached, I will rouse myself to do him justice."

Light was able to recover enough to join Finniss in taking on more assignments through their private firm, Early in January 1839, they began a special survey of the Lyndoch valley for the South Australian Company. Work proceeded for only a fortnight before Light became too ill to continue. Finniss immediately abandoned the lucrative contract and returned to Adelaide with his dispirited partner.

From February until Light's death in October 1839, the firm of Light, Finniss and Company accepted only small jobs around Adelaide. They declined a request to survey Port Lincoln because Light was incapable of strenuous work. Finniss was unwilling to desert his friend at this critical period.

Finniss did accept one piece of work: the survey of Gawler. Light and Fnniss had visited the area on their way to Lyndoch and recommended it to David McLaren, the manager of the South Australian Company. The South Australian Company didn’t take that advice and two recent arrivals from England, John Reid and Henry D. Murray, paid £4,000 for the land at the junction of the North and South Para rivers, including Willaston and Clonlea.

Having acquired the land, Reid and Murray approached Light, Finniss and Company to conduct a special survey. Finniss meticulously designed the layout of the town along the banks of the river, in much the same pattern as adopted by Light in Adelaide except that the main portion of the town was north, not south, of the river.

When the plans were completed, Finniss, still unwilling to leave Light, passed most of the practical work across to William Jacob.

• Information from “The life of Boyle Travers Finniss (1807-1893)”  by Cleve Charles Manhood BA (Hons) Dip Ed, presented as thesis for degree of master of arts, history department, University of Adelaide, 1966.