david coombe history
S.T. Gill painted many scenes that can be geographically located. Place and time supply context to a picture. This in turn can allow us to identify additional features – buildings, landmarks or even people – further enhancing context. Clearly it helps to use 1840s maps of South Australia to locate the scenes, but later images, even photographs, can also help.
Click the link to jump to the map of interest or just scroll down.
Digitised maps and map warping. Collecting institutions have digitised many historical maps. To use an image for online mapping, it needs to be obtained at sufficient resolution and then geo-referenced / geo-located / geo-rectified (these terms are used somewhat interchangeably). I've found National Library of Australia (NLA) downloads to be of good resolution for mapping purposes. To get higher resolution maps from the State Library of South Australia (SLSA) collection I use Tim Sherratt's GLAM Workbench – SLSA tile stitching tool. Next I geo-reference any downloaded image using MapWarper. This process results in image "tiles" that can be used as the background in an interactive online map.
This project uses two types of interactive online maps:
In artwork maps, each work's marker has descriptive text and an image where available. Art work images are not stored but are dynamically displayed from the online services of the collecting institution. Links are provided to each artwork in the collecting institution's catalogue system. The viewpoint includes where possible a view bearing (in degrees; 0 being north, 180 being south, etc).
Artwork map markers are generated from my database. The accompanying text should match that in the corresponding web page article but sometimes the map text is not as up-to-date as the catalogue entry.
The interactive online maps are created using OpenStreetMap's uMap platform. Umap Help is available in uMap/Guide. You can't change the map content, but you can change your view by browsing and filtering the data, hiding data layers, and changing the map background. With Browse data | Filter you can find content by subject, title, description or owner. For eaxmple, filtering by "ch" shows chapels, churches and schools. You can filter by holding institution such as AGSA, SLSA, NLA or SLNSW. You can select any of several uMap backgrounds and also revert to the default historical map background (at the end of the list).
These maps rely on the availability of many external services. You can check the availability of external online image and map services used in this project.
There are more than 200 artworks analysed in these maps. To find a specific picture check the index of works referenced in these web pages and associated maps.
I consider some of these maps are effectively complete, but with the others I'm inviting you to look over my shoulder at a work in progress. There will inevitably be flaws in my work despite my best efforts. Feedback is welcome.
Availability: Available online
Status: Complete
The Light/Gliddon map published in 1837. It is the earliest published map of Adelaide and its individual acres and includes the names of the original purchasers. Digitised map image from NLA.
Web page: ..\1840s_South_Australia\1837_Adelaide_Map_Original_Purchasers.htm.
Availability: Available online
Status: Complete
The Kingston map represents colonial Adelaide at the beginning of 1842. This map is useful for identifying contemporary buildings and landmarks. References from this map are used as pins in my map: S.T. Gill - Adelaide. Digitised map image from NLA.
Web page: ..\1840s_South_Australia\1842_Kingston_Map.htm.
Availability: Available online
Status: Complete
This map is somewhat imprecise but is useful for identifying contemporary buildings and landmarks. References from this map are used as pins in my map: S.T. Gill - Adelaide. Digitised map image from SLSA.
Availability: Available online
Status: Under development
This is a single cluster map showing all artworks in the project.
Pins represent the viewpoint of each work.
Availability: Available online
Status: Ongoing
This map of South Australia is a context map with links to zoom in to more detailed maps. It also shows other S.T. Gill paintings not covered by more detailed maps.
Availability: Available online
Status: Ongoing
This map shows S.T. Gill's paintings in south eastern South Australia. By surveyor F.H. Burslem the March 1847 lithograph is "a plan of the settled portion of the colony, shewing the position of all the special surveys".
Availability: Available online
Status: Ongoing
This map of the District of Adelaide contains links to more detailed maps and shows paintings by S.T. Gill and select paintings by other artists that are not covered by those maps. Digitised map image from NLA.
Availability: Available online
Status: Ongoing
This map shows S.T. Gill's paintings of Adelaide along with select contemporary pictures by other artists. It includes pins of features from the 1842 Kingston and 1849 Penman maps of Adelaide. Digitised map image from SLNSW.
Availability: Available online
Status: Complete
This map shows S.T. Gill's paintings of Port Adelaide along with select contemporary pictures by other artists. Digitised map image from SLSA.
Web page: ..\1840s_South_Australia\S_T_Gill_and_Port_Adelaide.htm.
Availability: Available online
Status: Complete
This map and accompanying article adds to our historical understanding of S.T. Gill's pictures of Prospect House of December 1849 and (likely early) 1850.
Web page: S_T_Gill_and_Prospect_House.htm.
Availability: Available online
Status: Complete
This map shows S.T. Gill's paintings of the the 1846 Horrocks expedition, the route taken and diary entries.
Web page: S_T_Gill's_Horrocks_Expedition_Pictures_1846_1847.htm.
Availability: Available online
Status: Under development
This map locates select pictures connected to E.C. Frome's expedition in July and August 1843.
Availability: Available online
Status: Complete
The map locates select pictures connected to S.T. Gill and Sturt's book "Narrative of an Expedition ...". The background map image is also from the book.
Web page: S_T_Gill's_and_Sturt's_Narrative.htm.
Availability: Available online
Status: Complete
This map shows S.T. Gill's paintings of Burra Burra Mine and Township (Kooringa).
Web page: S_T_Gill_and_Burra_Burra_Mine_1847.htm.
David Coombe, May 2021. Updated 7 February 2023. | text copyright (except where indicated)
CITE THIS: David Coombe, 2021-2023, S.T. Gill in Maps, accessed dd mmm yyyy, <https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_in_Maps.htm>