A mangled tree: The perfect spot for a ceremony 1857 style!

I'm fortunate to have a large degree of freedom in my working day. Well, let's call it flexibility rather than freedom. My work took me past the Proclamation Tree today and I thought I’d share it with you.

The Proclamation Tree mark’s the spot at which Captain John Hindmarsh, Governor, proclaimed the colony of South Australia to be a Province on behalf of his Majesty King William IV. The ceremony took place on the 28th December 1857. There is still a ceremony there on the site each year to this day to commemorate the moment. The site was chosen, I assume, due to the unique nature of the tree as pictured. In a scrubby location back in 1857 the tree, and the surrounding space around it, would have seemed a logical location for the official gathering and ceremony.

These days the tree is surrounded by a residential area called Glenelg North which is a reasonably well-to-do suburb not far from the beach. The Proclamation Tree is surrounded by a gated park and a playground which attracts families due to its heavily shaded and secure parklands. I’m sure in the past kids played on the tree but these days that’s not allowed. You can also see that the tree is covered in an attempt to protect it from the weather.

This tree, and the site in general, represents an early part of South Australian history and is an important land mark. From the moment of this ceremony South Australia started to grow its own identity and culture independently of the other cities and began its journey to what it has become now. I would imagine that not a lot of people visit this site these days although the annual ceremony attracts a decent attendance.

I believe that to truly understand the place in which you live one needs to look back and find out how it started and what events influenced its development. This site represents one such occasion and I’m pleased to see it’s being preserved and respected.

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@galenkp