628 



Houses of Parliament. Your memoralists pray that Your 

 Excellency will be pleased to direct, that the building for 

 the S.A. Institute may be erected upon the site last men- 

 tioned, or upon some other site better suited to the present 

 requirements and ultimate importance of the Institute than 

 that now in contemplation." 



Once again the faith of the Society in memorials was 

 justified. Parliament meekly bowed its head before the storm 

 of public protest, and the proposed site was changed to that 

 occupied by the Institute to-day. 



In this, as in all public matters which touched its objects 

 or its principles, the Society was ever ready to fi^ht for the 

 common interests of itself and its friends. Impecunious as it 

 was, it possessed in great measure the brains of the small 

 community, an endowment of greater importance and influence 

 than mere material wealth. It was instinctively alert to 

 recognize the value of powerful friendships, such as that of 

 the Governor of the colony, and, above all, it fully realized 

 and appreciated the power of the Press. 



Under the Act, the subscribers to the Institute exercised 

 the privileges of an incorporated Society, and at the first 

 annual meeting in October, 1857, they rewarded the services 

 of J. H. Clark by electing him as their representa- 

 tive on the Board of Governors, an undoubted honour for so 

 young a man. 



The Society's tenacity of purpose was one of its most 

 valuable assets. In its early infancy it had desired a Museum, 

 a desire constantly foiled by almost insuperable difficulties 

 and only realized when passing into middle age. But until 

 realized its purpose v/as always in evidence. Persistent 

 flagellation of the public interest, as well as that of the 

 Governing Board, kept the matter alive, or at least in a state 

 of suspended animation. 



In its first report, the-Board speaks hopefully of the early 

 accomplishment of this object. "As regards a Museum, the 

 prospects of the Institute are most satisfactory. Extensive 

 collections of great and varied interest await only a room 

 for their reception. The proprietors of mines in this colony 

 have in all instances complied with the request of the 

 Governors to be furnished with specimens characteristic of 

 their various properties, so that at its opening the Museum 

 will exhibit an epitome of the mineral riches of South Aus- 

 tralia. To the Directors of the Burra Mine, the Governors 

 are indebted for a very extensive and interesting collection 

 just lately come to hand. Many valuable presents are also 

 promised by private individuals. His Excellency Sir George 

 Gray writes from Cape Town, in reply to an application made 



