Governor Hindmarsh's Book of Common Prayer

Papers of Sir John Hindmarsh, governor of South Australia, comprising memorandum of services, extracts from Admiralty papers, registration of death and photographs of grave and residence at Hove. Also included is an official passport issued to Sir John and Lady Hindmarsh in 1853, official proclamation documents to announce the accession of King William IV and Queen Victoria on the Island of Heligoland in 1830 and 1837, and fragments from official documents with signatures of members of the British Government and Colonial Office. Also included is a book of Common Prayer owned by Governor Hindmarsh.

After leaving South Australia, the colony's first governor, Sir John Hindmarsh, applied for a similar position in the North Sea island colony of Heligoland. His personal prayer book bears this address on its flyleaf and was handed down through his family. A visiting descendant from New Zealand gave the book to the Library in 2012, as an addition to family papers already held.

Hindmarsh, his wife and four children, found themselves under distinctly tight financial constraints following his retirement from the British navy, despite his impressive career. So he was keen to follow his friend William Light to South Australia, in the renumerative position of governor of the colony. Following his recall to England, Hindmarsh took up the position of governor of the once German-held archipelago, where he spent several years.

In the nineteenth century most members of the Anglican Church owned their own copy of the Book of Common Prayer. These were sometimes quite elaborate-this example has an embossed cover depicting Westminster Abbey.

Permission to use this item for any purpose, including publishing, is not required from the State Library under these conditions of use.

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