State Library of South Australia

Men, women and children at the Tanunda Real Property Act Festival [B 77783] • Photograph

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Summary

An albumen paper carte de visite photograph showing part of the Tanunda Real Property Act Festival, held on 30 October 1862.

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Physical description

1 photograph : black and white ; 10.9 x 6.3 cm

Dates / Publication details

1862

Photographer

Muller, Theodor

Collection

Part of Tanunda Collection

Subject

Torrens, Robert, Sir, 1814-1884
Torrens system -- Australia
Festivals -- South Australia -- Barossa Valley

Catalogue record

Return to catalogue

General notes

Contemporary newspaper accounts paint this event as an extraordinarily lavish affair. Processing from Gawler through the Barossa Valley with an escort of around a hundred flag-bedecked wagons, Torrens was feted with banquets, bands, choirs, speeches and toasts in English and German, illuminations, and triumphal arches. This image shows a rudimentary A-frame wreathed in flowers surrounded by a crowd which appears to consist of local farmers, their families, and the official party, most of whom are seated on a raised platform (perhaps a wagon). 'Every mile or two on the line of road the same kind of decorations prevailed, and we really could not pretend to say how many triumphal arches of flowers and laurels it became necessary to pass under' (from the report in the 'South Australian Weekly Chronicle' of 1 November 1862). Sir Robert Richard Torrens is best known for these land title reforms. It was 'his dedication, bordering on zealotry, for "the Cause" that initiated the Real Property Act in South Australia and the spread of the Torrens system to other Australasian colonies.

Historical information

The Festival, also referred to at the time as The Torrens Demonstration or Das Torrens-Fest, was given by the German residents of the Barossa Valley to celebrate Robert Richard Torrens and his introduction of the Real Property Act of 1858, shortly before he left the colony for England. This Act laid the foundations for the Torrens Title system of land registration. It is possible that the German support for the Festival may have been due to the fact that German born lawyer Ulrich Hubbe had played a role in the introduction of the Torrens System.

Digitisation information

Date

31/10/2019

Format

image/tiff

Resolution

5,580 x 3,462 pixels (19.3 MP)

Size

57.98 MB

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