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4 unusual facts about George Gawler


Gawler, South Australia

Gawler is the first country town in the state of South Australia, and is named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler.

John Cox Gawler

John Cox Gawler was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel George Gawler.

Mount Bryan, South Australia

The town was named after a nearby peak, Mount Bryan, which was discovered in December 1839 by Governor George Gawler and who named it in honour of Henry Bryan, a young man who became lost and perished of thirst during Gawler's expedition.

Mount Compass, South Australia

The name is said to have come from the 1840s, when Governor Gawler supposedly lost his compass near the site.


Capital punishment in Australia

Two Ngarrindjeri men were controversially executed by hanging along the Coorong on 22 August 1840, after a drumhead court-martial conducted by Police Commissioner O'Halloran on the orders of Governor George Gawler.


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