Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/615

 Mr. T.worsnop ADELAIDE AND VICINITY 589 the City of Adelaide, in succession to Mr. W. A. Hughes. His efficiency in his office has been recognised far beyond the confines of South Australia. As controller of the complex and often involved office work of the Corporation, Mr. Worsnop was, from the first, accounted able, willing, and reliable. His long and varied experience was always at the service of members of the City Council, and his place in the council-room has resembled oftimes a regency rather than a clerkship. Mr. Worsnop was one of the best-known municipal officers in Australasia. Though the City Clerk takes no share in the legislative discussions of the Council, his role being more of an adviser, Mr. Worsnop gained high praise for his share in the establishment of the Municipal Association. In 1879 a full syllabus of its aims and provisions was drawn up, in the designing of which Mr. Worsnop was one of the architects, and on this plan the organisation was founded and set in motion, he being appointed secretary of the Association. Mr. W^)rsnop achieved some distinction as a histographer and compiler. As a pioneer he had to collect his material from many sources of information, and to trace their broken and scattered connection with due regard to historical sequence. The process was as laborious as it was hazardous. The written collections of predecessors were few, incomplete, and faulty, and the faithful and truth-seeking historian had to wander wearily through records with a persistence that would undermine the courage of any save the diligent and enthusiastic historian. After infinite exertion and trouble, the " History of Adelaide" was completed by him, and published in 1878. Its pages, replete with valuable and interesting information, clearly expressed, form a distinct contribution to the literature and historical knowledge of the Province. This work was followed in 1880 with the publication of " Adelaide and its Environs," a series of chapters devoted to the growth of the municipality. As in the former work, no pains were spared in amassing the material dealt with. The origin of the principal institutions and associations of the city, their subsequent expansion and development, and the various governing bodies of the municipility, were described in a clear and interesting fashion. At other times during his busy career Mr. Worsnop contributed to the Press able articles dealinir with the Government and Constitution of the Province. A keen student of Egyptology, Mr. Worsnop spent much time and money in acquiring information about the ancient country of the Rameses and Pharaohs ; and his library on this and many other subjects was a valuable one. In 1890 the Council, as a mark of appreciation for his long and useful services in its midst, presented him with a life-size portrait of himself There were few officials in South Australia who could lay claim to so worthy and lengthy a career as a public servant. Time did not dull the vigor of his intellect, age did not lessen his endeavors to discharge his duties as ably and satisfactorily as in the heyday of his manhood. In December, 1897, Mr. Worsnop's useful career terminated with his death. The expressions of esteem, and the panegyrics of newspapers, abundantly testified to his worthiness.