Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/121

 The Husbandmen ADELAIDE AND VICINITY 95 agriculturists and pastoralists, but jirincipally by the latter. On June 2, 1842, the Governiucnt Gazette proclaimed the Counties of Adelaide, Hindmarsh, Flinders, Light, Gawler, Sturt, Eyre, Stanley, and Russell — (the origin of the names is obvious) — and in 1846 two new counties were added — Grey and Robe. Settlement — mosUy pastoral — extended into these remote districts, and by February, 1847, upwards of 12 isolated sections were selected in Grey and Robe. In this pioneer work the pastoralists' life was hard and rough, with a spice of danger in it. "In those days," writes Harcus, "the natives were enemies not to be despised ; and before they learnt to fear or trust the white man they were not slow to resent his intrusion upon their hunting grounds. They plundered his huts, killed his sheep and cattle, and sometimes attacked himself or his shepherds. He had, therefore, to be always on the watch to protect himself, and his Kapunda property." In 1844 there were in the Province 450,000 sheep, 30,000 cattle, and 2,150 horses. One unexpected condition that helped Governor Grey in establishing prosperity was the discovery of minerals. The rewards from farming on such limited areas as those already brought under the plough were not sufficient to immediately attract a large population. As the principle of applying all the proceeds of land sales to immigration had been abolished. South Australia had to principally depend on its internal attractions for its increase of people, and rich deposits of copper formed one of these attractions. As early as 1836, a German geologist and mineralogist, Mr. Menge, arrived at Kangaroo Island, and eventually moved with the other settlers to the mainland. He earned for himself the name of "The Father of Mineralogy," for within a short period he had prospected the ranges stretching from Cape Jervis to Barossa, and discovered indications of gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, and precious stones. In 1838, silver-lead ore was found on the property of Mr. Osmond Gilles, at the foot of the hills east of Adelaide. Mr. Gilles, the