Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/147

 The Legislators ADELAIDE AND VICINITY 12 I A reservoir capable of holding 180,000,000 gallons was to be formed, and a weir was constructed, but " proved on trial to be so defective as to be useless." Alterations and additions were eventually effected, and a sufficient supply was obtained. The "railway mania" in England in the forties was reflected to some extent in South Australia, and from 1846 to 1851 several attempts were made to form companies to build a line from Adelaide to Port Adelaide. As mentioned on a preceding page, a Bill providing for its construction was passed by the representative Legislative Council in 1 85 1, and on April 21, 1856, the railway was formally opened to traffic. The Governor presided at a banquet at Port Adelaide, and the day was characterised as one of unique importance. By this means the old difficulty raised by Governor Hindmarsh — that the capital should be on the seaboaid — was largely overcome, and Adelaide gained incalculable Thorndon Park Reservoir advantages. In 1854, before the retirement of Governor Young, a Bill was passed providir.g for the construction of a line to Gawler, which, it was proposed, would eventually be carried on to Kapunda and the Burra ; and the first section — to Salisbury — was opened to traffic on October 5, 1857. The electric telegraph was also introduced during this period. In November, 1855, a private line erected by Mr. James Macgeorge, from the city to Port Adelaide, was put in operation ; and in July of the following year a line to Melbourne was opened. The system was gradually extended to suburban towns and more distant parts of the Province. While all these advances were being made in Adelaide, its neighborhood was not at a standstill. The population, as it increased, spread over the vicinity, and especially