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## Discover stories of everyday South Australians - from the triumphant to the tragic, the society pages to the scandalous underbelly, and the surprising to the strange.

Behind the eminent names immortalised in the history books are the thousands of everyday people who make a society what it is. Collectively their fascinating and long-forgotten stories paint a vivid picture of life and death.

On 28 December 1836 at the Old Gum Tree at Holdfast Bay, the Colony of South Australia was formally proclaimed. Over the subsequent decades, South Australia attracted thousands of migrants: entrepreneurs, idealists, people escaping persecution and those in search of a better life. 

By the time of the first national census in 1901, metropolitan Adelaide was home to more than 160,000 people. Each member of this diverse population contributed in some small way to South Australia’s rich cultural heritage. 

Stories of the Everyday delves into a fascinating mix of real human stories – stories that tug at the heart, lift the spirits and offer an alternative view of the State’s history. 

Most of the people that you will encounter on this trail lived regular lives, a long way from the spotlight. Sometimes tragedy or scandal saw them get brief attention in the local newspapers. Other times, coincidence brought them up close to significant events in Australian history. 

Their names might have been consigned to obscurity but their moving stories remain.

Stories of the Everyday Self-Guided Tour

## Merchant and Chinese community leader

> **Look closer:** Way Lee is one of the few 19th century Chinese migrants that remain buried at West Terrace Cemetery. The remains of many Chinese nationals were repatriated to China during the 1930s.

\-

Chinese-born Way Lee immigrated to Sydney in 1874. By 1878 he had established Way Lee & Co, an importing business in Adelaide, and soon had trading interests across Australia. 

Way Lee was well respected in South Australian business circles, but had to battle constantly against widespread anti-Chinese sentiment and discrimination. 

Many European Australians wanted a ‘White Australia’. They feared large-scale Asian immigration, and resented Chinese labourers toiling in the goldfields for long hours and little pay. Anti-Chinese leagues were common, and Chinese people were denied many rights routinely granted to Europeans. They were also subjected to additional taxes and restrictions on movement. 

Way Lee used his influence to rally against the poor treatment of his countrymen. He campaigned for better education and improved conditions for Chinese migrants, tried to facilitate inter colonial travel for the Chinese and called for restrictions on the importation and use of opium. He also promoted international trade, correctly predicting the strong trading relationship that Australia and China share.

Yet Soo War Way Lee (1852-1909)

## Child’s play ends in tragedy

It started as an innocent game of ‘soldiers’. But for nine-year-old Allan Strang, the outcome would prove fatal. 

On 16 August 1915, Allan was playing ‘soldiers’ with a friend who had taken a revolver from his father’s drawer. A single cartridge had been left in the chamber. As the boys played, pretending to fight ‘a German’, the weapon discharged and Allan was fatally wounded. 

Allan Strang is one of the hidden casualties of World War I. War had permeated all aspects of society, including childhood games, with children mimicking their fathers who were fighting abroad. Allan’s own father died during the Gallipoli landing. 

At the time of the incident, Allan and his mother Rose were living in a boarding house. With no pensions for war widows, Rose had to work to make ends meet and was working on the fateful day that Allan was killed. 

Within just a few months, Rose was both widowed and lost her only son. Her grief is evident in the heartfelt inscription that adorns this memorial. The grave was paid for by Rose’s father, who was haunted by the tragedy.

Allan Strang (1906-1915)

## **As Adelaide’s main public cemetery for almost 100 years, people from all walks of life were buried at West Terrace Cemetery, bringing together the many threads of South Australia’s rich heritage in one place.**

West Terrace Cemetery dates back to the foundation of South Australia. It was established in 1837 on land set aside in Colonel William Light’s original plan for the City of Adelaide. Since then, more than 150,000 burials have taken place.

The cemetery is renowned for its ornate monuments, historic burial sites and some of the last remaining indigenous vegetation of the Adelaide Plain. It is also the site of Australia’s first dedicated military burial ground and for 22 years contained the country’s only crematorium.

In recognition of the cemetery’s historic value, it was listed as a Place of State Heritage Significance in November 1989.

The first recorded interment occurred in 1840 when formal cemetery records commenced. It is estimated that more than 500 burials occurred prior to this.

## The Constant Threat of Closure

For much of its early history, West Terrace Cemetery provoked considerable public and religious debate. There were frequent controversies, accusations of mismanagement and threats of closure.

Many of Adelaide’s early citizens objected on public health grounds to having a cemetery so close to the city. People were quick to blame it for any outbreak of disease or foul odour emanating from the city’s south-west.

As early as the 1880s, West Terrace Cemetery was considered too small to keep up with the demands of a growing population. Several alternative sites for a new cemetery were put forward, but no agreement was reached.

Prior to 1861 there was no systematic approach to burials and record keeping. The cemetery’s burials prior to 1840 were not accurately recorded and remain unknown.

Defending themselves from the backlash, early cemetery sextons complained they were deprived of the resources needed to run the cemetery properly.

## Denominational Division

The distinctive denominational division of West Terrace Cemetery began in 1843, when a separate area was granted to the Jewish community. Over time, exclusive sections for Catholics, Quakers, Mohammedan/Afghan and Syrian Druses have been allocated.

The cemetery’s division reflected the wishes of certain religious groups to manage their own affairs. But it saddled the cemetery with the issue of divided management, and attracted opposition from those religious groups against the introduction of an established Church to the Colony.

## Monumentation & Symbolism

The remarkable diversity of monuments at West Terrace Cemetery reflects heavily the prevailing beliefs, attitudes and traditions of nineteenth century society. They also serve as a document of the social, cultural and demographic changes in South Australia.

As attitudes toward death and burial changed so did monumental design, giving way to larger, more complex monuments. Such grand and imposing headstones were mainly confined to the prominent and wealthy, while those unable to pay for a funeral suffered the anonymity of an unmarked grave.

## Natural Heritage

West Terrace Cemetery has provided a refuge for more than 20 rare and endangered native plant species that have long been cleared from the Parklands and Adelaide Plain. These include:

•         Quandong (Santalum acuminatum)

•         Mallee Box (Eucalyptus porosa)

•         Native Apricot (Pittosporum phylliraeoides)

•         Umbrella Wattle (Acacia ligulata)

·         Black-Anther Flax-Lily (Dianella revoluta)

•         Berry Saltbush (Atriplex semibaccata)

The remnant vegetation is an important part of South Australia’s biodiversity, with seed collection programs conducted by various institutions to re-introduce these species to their original habitat.

There are also many introduced species, reflecting different cemetery planting practices and fashions over time – mainly cypresses, pines, elms, olives and palms.

## A Brief History of West Terrace Cemetery

**1837**

Surveyor-General, Colonel William Light and his survey team planned the City of Adelaide; 32 acres on the south-western fringe are allocated for a cemetery. John Monck was appointed the cemetery’s first sexton by Colonial Chaplin Charles Beaumont Howard (1807-1843).

**1839**

A Board of Trustees is appointed to oversee the cemetery’s management.

**1843**

A Jewish section is established. This is the first of the cemetery’s denominational divisions.

**1845**

A Catholic Cemetery is established on land adjacent to the northern boundary of the main public cemetery. It had its own entrance and was initially fenced off from the original cemetery.

**1854**

Captain Arthur Henry Freeling, Surveyor-General (1849-1861), set out a plan for the cemetery’s main roads and paths, bringing order to the cemetery and forming the layout we see today.

**1871**

Smyth Memorial Chapel is built as a memorial to the Very Reverend Father John Smyth.

**1903**

Australia’s first purpose-built crematorium is opened.

**1904**

The unused northeastern portion of the cemetery is returned to parkland in exchange for 20 acres to the west of the original cemetery site, taking the western border of the cemetery as far as the railway line. This is the most significant change to the size and layout of the cemetery.

**1920**

Australia’s first dedicated military burial ground, the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) Cemetery is established.

**1959**

The Adelaide Crematorium ceases operations

**1976**

The West Terrace Cemetery Act brings the whole cemetery under Government control. Prior to this, sections of the cemetery were administered by the various religious denominations.

**1979**

Plans were approved to convert West Terrace Cemetery back to a memorial park, returning the area to parkland. New plantings commenced as early as 1976. This plan was abandoned and the cemetery continues to operate.

**1996**

The Baby Memorial is unveiled to mark the burial of stillborn and infant babies buried from the 1920s to the 1980s.

**2010**

The Caroline Clark Memorial Garden is created to commemorate the lives of those buried in unmarked graves.

The Wakefield section, the first area of unused land to be developed for burial since 1944, is released.

**2019**

The Smyth Chapel undergoes extensive refurbishment

**2020**

The Promenade, the last remaining area of unused land within the cemetery, was developed and opened. Adjacent the Curators Cottage, this area previously housed a toilet block and chicken shed.

Main Entrance

How to Use This Guide

## Life on society’s fringes

> **Look closer:** Like Johanna, her infant son Alfred is also buried in an unmarked grave at West Terrace Cemetery. Her other son ended his days in Broken Hill, New South Wales and her daughter was adopted and taken out of South Australia without Johanna’s consent.

\-

In the late 19th century, Adelaide had more prostitutes per capita than Sydney. Johanna Brans was one of them. 

Johanna had a hard life. When she was 19 she was disowned by her parents for giving birth out of wedlock and was abandoned by the child’s father. Two months later she married Charles Brockman and had another baby. Her abusive husband soon turned them out onto the streets. 

Women like Johanna had few options. Homeless, with no education or skills and no husband to support her, the only “respectable” work she could obtain was domestic service or taking in laundry. Both were physically demanding, poorly paid, and hard to manage with two children in tow. So, like her two sisters, Johanna turned to prostitution to survive. 

Johanna’s life spiralled into chaos. She collected a string of convictions for drunkenness, loitering and indecent language. The authorities confiscated her children and she never saw them again. They falsely told Johanna that her daughter had died when she had actually been adopted. Johanna bore a third child who, as a newborn, was imprisoned with her. He died in infancy. 

A desperate life on the streets took its toll. She succumbed to tuberculosis, dying on New Year’s Eve 1889.

Johanna Brans (1854-1889)

Tread Lightly

## Venturing across the world into the unknown

Margaret Kelly was widowed in 1837, with six sons and six daughters to care for. She had been left a modest inheritance by her businessman husband but her hometown of Glasgow, Scotland was in the grip of an economic depression. Margaret was encouraged to make a fresh start in South Australia, where her sons would have a better chance of prosperity, and her daughters would find more suitable marriage prospects. 

Before leaving Britain, Margaret purchased a land order and on arrival selected land in the Mt Barker district. The Kellys were among the first settlers of the region. From Adelaide it took two days via bullock wagon to reach their property at Inverbrackie. 

It was a radical transition from city life to the relative isolation of the bush. The Kellys had no experience in agriculture and they had to establish a farm from the ground up, learning the skills they needed along the way. They lived in a tent for nearly two years while building their own house using homemade bricks. 

The Kellys were quick to embrace new mechanical farming methods and eventually became the largest wheat growers in the area. The family is an example of those who prospered in a very different world from that they left behind.

Margaret Maxwell Kelly (1787-1862)

## Connecting Australia with the world

> **Look closer:** The broken column that adorns this memorial is a symbol of a life cut short.

\-

The telegraph was the communications revolution of the mid 19th century. Messages that once took months to travel over land and sea could now be transmitted via telegraph in a matter of hours.

Building the trans-continental telegraph also offered an opportunity to open up Australia’s interior: allowing further settlement, expansion of agriculture, and the exploitation of mineral resources. There was fierce competition between the colonies to secure a route for the telegraph, and reap the benefits that would flow from it.

South Australia secured its position by sponsoring John McDouall Stuart’s 1861 cross-continental expedition and annexing the Northern Territory in 1863.

The chosen route for the telegraph, mapped by explorer John Ross, closely followed Stuart’s path - linking Adelaide to Darwin and from there via a submarine cable to the rest of the world. The construction of the 3,200 km line took a mere 18 months. This epic feat was one of the greatest engineering achievements of the era.

The first official message was transmitted on 22 August 1872.

## Tragedies along the telegraph line

***A turning point in colonist-Indigenous relations***

This monument commemorates the lives of telegraph workers killed and injured during incidents at Barrow Creek in February 1874 and Roper River in June 1875.

The wording of the memorial says a lot about colonists’ attitudes to Indigenous people at the time.

When explorers first passed through Australia’s centre, they reported friendly interactions with Aboriginal groups, but these were only fleeting encounters. Relations became more complex when the telegraph line indicated a more permanent European presence. The two cultures often misunderstood each other, leading to mutual mistrust that sometimes escalated into violent attacks and reprisals.

The Barrow Creek attack was the first such incident at a telegraph station. The ability to transmit events as they unfolded, including the dying James Stapleton tapping out a farewell message to his distraught wife, created a sensation at the time.

Written history only reports the European perspective of these skirmishes, so we cannot know for sure exactly what chain of events culminated in the incidents memorialised by this monument.