Paper silhouette portrait of Colonel George Gawler, comprising a light coloured paper on black painted background in an oval frame.
Governor Gawler's administration (1838-1841) was a difficult period in South Australia's development and his recourse to extraordinary expenditure in an attempt to resolve these difficulties, led to his recall. While many colonists approved of his actions, and attested as much in a number of memorials and a testimonial prior to his departure, the weight of official opinion in England was against him.
Paper silhouette portrait of Colonel George Gawler, comprising an outline cut from light coloured paper on a black painted background housed in an oval frame. The artwork is inscribed, "George Gawler, June 14th 1805" just over a month before his 10th birthday.
George Gawler (1795-1869), became the second governor of South Australia in 1838. His administration was during a most difficult period in the colony's development and his recourse to extraordinary expenditure in an attempt to resolve these difficulties, led to the censure of his actions and ultimate recall to England. While many of the colonists approved of Gawler's actions, and attested to their confidence in his administration in a number of memorials and a testimonial prior to his departure from the colony, the weight of official opinion in England was against him, and only many years later was his administration impartially assessed and many of his measures vindicated. Following his departure from South Australia in June 1841, Gawler returned with his family to England where he remained until his death in 1869. He was made a colonel in the British Army in 1846, only to resign from his commission in 1850.
Gawler and his wife were pious evangelical Christians. Both disapproved of dancing and card playing, and held daily morning prayers which all the servants were expected to attend. Mrs Gawler, with her sons, distributed religious tracts amongst the inhabitants of Adelaide.
