The Park in Danger 
QN two occasions the National Park has narrowly escaped 
alienation from the Crown. The first time was in 1841, just 
after Captain (later Sir George) Grey had taken office as 
Governor. Pie wrote a dispatch to Lord John Russel! on the 
financial state of the Province. “The revenue is decreasing,” 
he said. “The balance at present in the Colonial Treasury is 
£713 9/10. . . . The estimated revenue for the present quarter 
is something more than £6,000 and the anticipated deficiency in 
the revenue for the present quarter is between £16,000 and 
£18,000.” In order to meet the emergency he proposed the “sale 
of Government Farm, of Government horses, and other property 
of this description,” but he acknowledges the difficulty there 
would be in getting a fair value for them in view of the “present 
depressed state of the money market.” Fortunately, these 
drastic proposals were not carried into effect. 
Another Crisis 
THE second crisis in the destinies of the Park came in 1881. 
The surrounding land had long ago been sold in small hold- 
ings — some of the earliest settlers were Tasmanians, who began 
their career in South Australia as wood-cutters in the “Tiers” - — 
and there was a keen demand for more fruit gardens and vine- 
yards in the Mount Lofty Ranges. The Ministry of the day 
proposed to cut up the Government Farm, but were, fortunately, 
met by a storm of public indignation. Sir Edwin Smith and 
Mr. A. McDonald, members for the district, also Mr. Walter 
Gooch, a resident of Belair, warmly advocated the preservation 
of the Park, and the daily press supported their efforts. Tn 1883 
an Act was passed prohibiting the sale of the Government Farm, 
but the fight was not over for several years yet. The Field 
Naturalists’ Section of the Royal Society — the section was 
founded in 1883 — now took up the running. Its object was 
to secure the Park as a national possession for all time by having 
it placed under the control of a board of trustees. This was 
necessary because there appeared to be still a danger that the 
Government might yield to the demands for a sale of the land 
to private purchasers. The principal movers in this praise- 
worthy effort to preserve the Park were Messrs. Samuel Dixon, 
A. P. Robin, and W. Ed. Selway. A deputation, representing 
several important societies, waited on the Government and in 
1891 Parliament passed a measure vesting the National Park 
in twelve Commissioners — five appointed by the Government, 
while the rest were heads of various organizations and as such 
were Commissioners ex officio. 
Facie Fourteen 
