The first surveyor-general of
Adelaide,
South Australia, Colonel
William Light designed a layout and development programme for the city. This project is now known as 'Light's Vision'. Legend has it that William Light stood on
Montefiore Hill (in
North Adelaide) in
1837, pointed at what would one day become the
central business district of Adelaide, and immediately began planning the city. This moment is commemorated by a statue by Glaswegian sculpture Birnie Rhind on Montefiore Hill (moved from its original
Victoria Square position in 1938), pointing at the City of Adelaide below. One noticeable aspect of Light's plan was that the city was laid out in squares, creating a grid-like pattern that has been an asset to the city in recent times; reducing the possibility of congestion, or grid-lock.
Light's decision on Adelaide's location was initially unpopular among the settlers, including with
South Australia's first governor,
John Hindmarsh, but Light persisted and eventually managed to convince Hindmarsh.
External links
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South Australia Central
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South Australian Tourism Commission
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City of Adelaide