david coombe | history
SUMMARY: There's long been confusion around pictures of Eliezer Levi Montefiore (1820-1894) and S.T. Gill, particularly over the authorship of some small mid-1840s artworks. In this article I largely resolve that confusion, revealing a sketchbook doodle and a hidden signature and begin a focus on the connection between the two men. December 2020
In an update to this article, I identify two more Gill works previously attributed to Montefiore. One of particular interest is the earliest of Gill's The Avengers showing colonists about to fire on a group of Aboriginal people. March 2025
Article type: CATALOGUE & ANALYSIS
December 2020: original article
June 2023: more on Montefiore, including his possible representation of Conrad Martens' works as his own (see "Conclusion")
March 2025: two more Gills previously attributed to Montefiore: The Avengers and Aborigines making fire.
In this article ...
Whose names would you doodle in a sketchbook on a five day sail, in cashed up cabin class, from Port Adelaide to gold rush Melbourne, in October 1852?
Businessman and amateur artist Eliezer Levi Montefiore (1820-1894) in his sketchbook played word games. He scrambled the name of British parliamentarian William Ewart Gladstone to get "a wild man will go at trees". And he made four-letter word squares with the names of family members.
DORA
OPAL
RARE
ALES
He made no progress with "LILY" and "GILL". GILL? Yes, the artist Samuel Thomas Gill (1818-1880).
The doodles kick off this sketchbook which marks Montefiore's move from South Australia and a fresh beginning in Victoria.
The sketchbook, previously attributed to another artist, was identified as Montefiore's by Nicholas Draffin in a 2014 article on Montefiore.1
The word square (see file 114/125) is the sole reference in the sketchbook to Gill, who too had made a similar voyage earlier that year. A Montefiore-Gill connection has been recognised for a long time, but its nature was unknown. This article goes some way to clarifying that connection.
The Montefiore-Gill confusion has been caused by several pictures, particularly on account of the signature.
Draffin's article identified three SLNSW pictures as Montefiore's "careful copies" of Gill works:
Only the first of these was digitised when I wrote in December 2020 that Race Course, Adelaide work was a Gill and that I intended to examine the other two. I did so in February 2025 and it's clear to me that these aren't copies either but are indeed Gill originals.
The confusion over Race Course, Adelaide arises because the subject matter and style are the same as Gill's well-known wash drawing NLA R118 (see blow).
This is signed ELM (lower left). On the reverse (also digitised) is an inked note: "Drawn by E.L. Montefiore, brother of Sir Moses Montefiore / Given to ACC Liardet by Mr L.P. Montefiore (nephew of Sir Moses Montefiore) / London 1902".
The ELM signature is heavily inked, in the spot Gill would typically sign, and the digitised image hinted at something obscured. In September 2020 I viewed this picture and under good magnification I made out STG beneath ELM. The false signature and reverse inscriptions would have led to the attribution to Montefiore, but they are all later additions. It is clear from the inscription that this picture was in the Montefiore family and in London in 1902.
Aborigines making fire (SLNSW-M SSV/106) carries an "ELMo" (over-)signature very similar to Race Course, Adelaide. And on the reverse are games of noughts and crosses – probably played by Montefiore's children!
At time of writing this was catalogued as Bushmen preparing to fire on Aborigines camp (SLNSW SSV*/Bush L/4) by Montefiore. It has an obscured "STG" signature. Knowing this is a Gill we could use his self-title for this subject: The Avengers.
This reidentified wash drawing is the earliest known of this subject by Gill – around 1844/1845. It predates other examples cited in Lawson's 1996 paper on The Avengers.4 As an aside, Lawson reproduces another Avengers from Dr Doyle's Sketch Book, however SLNSW now notes that Doyle picture is missing from the album.5
Gill may have tackled this subject in response to an attack by colonists on 23 February 1842 at Port Fairy in which three Aboriginal women and a boy were killed. And there were nighly attacks on the Aboriginal people by those colonists. (See detail below The Avengers | SLNSW SSV*/Bush L/4.)
Lawson in her article discusses Gill's possible intent and sympathies, but this chronology removes confusion, and it's clear his sympathies here are with the Aboriginal people.
The Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW) has a set of three watercolours (SLNSW SSV*/Sp Coll/Gill/1-3) attributed, at time of writing, as "possibly by S.T. Gill or E.L. Montefiore". They are: Frome Bridge, Adelaide; King William Street, Adelaide and Port Adelaide, S.A.. All are signed STG. Montefiore pencilled notes on two of them, initialling one. The street picture was of particular interest to Montefiore as the featured buildings are his, he pencilling below: "My Store" and "My Dwelling".
Sturt's Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, August 10th, 1844 | Art Gallery of South Australia 0.1128 (links below) for Montefiore. For more on this see my article: S.T. Gill - Subject - Sturt's Departure 1844.
I've previously dealt with the third picture in my article: S.T. Gill's Port Adelaide. That Gill's characteristic street dogs are absent from King William Street further suggests a study rather than a well finished picture. The three are clearly a group; they are possibly studies or gifts from art master to student.
Frome Bridge was a popular subject for Gill. A view of it appears in Francis Dutton's book, "South Australia and its Mines", published in London early in 1846. (Dutton sailed from Adelaide in February 1845.) On page 119 Frome Bridge, Adelaide is credited on the plate to E. L. Montefiore. But it is so like Gill's several bridge pictures that it is probably either a copy or a misattribution – perhaps even Gill himself agreeing to credit Montefiore. (Incidentally, the book's frontispiece – The Adelaide Plains: Taken from Wheal Watkins Lead Mine – is by Gill and is attributed in the book to "E. Gill".)
Yet another picture adds to the Montefiore-Gill confusion. It has been titled E.L. Montefiore's house, Adelaide, 1840s probably since its accession into the National Library of Australia (NLA NK2038/32) as part of the Nan Kivell collection. A catalogue note reads: "Drawing of E.L. Montefiore's house, after S.T. Gill; attributed to Gill by Rex Nan Kivell." A succeeding note adds: "Artist possibly E.L. Montefiore."
Two aspects of the rough little watercolour help clarify its identity:
The inscription brings to mind Gill's The Youngs' cottage, old one, Pulteney Street | NLA NK2038/03 (see below). The obvious connection between the two pictures is the Youngs' Pulteney Street residence. The portrayals are not identical but they are very much alike. The brick chimney stack (which is commercial, not domestic) is in the same relative position in both views. The striped verandah awning is the same (though these were not uncommon). The houses are almost certainly the same. The Aboriginal man standing with spear – a typical Gill artistic device – is present in both.
The evidence supports the conclusion that Montefiore painted NK2038/32 and "S.G" is his acknowledgement of Gill's original source or assistance.
The house's identity is uncertain but it's possible it's the home of James Young of the Royal Sappers and Miners.3
In June 2023, I wrote further about Montefiore, including his possible representation of Conrad Martens' works as his own, see S.T. Gill 1848.
The confusion between the pictures of Montefiore and Gill has mainly been caused by SLNSW's Race Course, Adelaide and Aborigines making fire (both signed "ELMo") and NLA's E.L. Montefiore's house. This article clears up that confusion and provides evidence, albeit indirectly, that Montefiore was, for a time, S.T. Gill's art student.
The evidence also suggests Montefiore represented the work of other artists as his own.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to State Library of New South Wales and National Library of Australia for making works physically available for my study and to SLNSW, NLA, SLV, NGV for making available online resources.
1. Nicholas Draffin, 2014, An enthusiastic amateur of the arts: Eliezer Levi Montefiore in Melbourne 1853-71 (NGV "Art Journal" 28), accessed dd mmm yyyy, https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/essay/an-enthusiastic-amateur-of-the-arts-eliezer-levi-montefiore-in-melbourne-1853-71/
2. The signature looks somewhat like "ELMontefiore/55", however the dot between the 5's disallows this reading, and Montefiore's 1855 absence from South Australia mitigates against it.
3. James Young was formerly of the Royal Sappers and Miners and later a draftsman in the Survey Office. The reference to the house of "Mrs Young", instead of "Mr Young", could be explained by Young being frequently absent from Adelaide for long periods on survey. On the back of Lieutenant Magill's Flinders Street military barracks, the amateur artist writes: From the S.E. ... from the side next Mrs Young's house while I stood in a field adjoining the premises outside the wall. This barracks location would be consistent with a Sapper and Miner. A similar location (near acre 274) is supported by a 1842 report of a near fall into a well. These all suggest a location near the intersection of Pulteney and Flinders Streets.
4. Elizabeth Lawson, S. T. Gill's 'Avengers' - the Gill-Clarke-Mason-Atkinson connection, La Trobe Library Journal, No 57 Autumn 1996 <https://latrobejournal.slv.vic.gov.au/latrobejournal/issue/latrobe-57/t1-g-t1.html>
5. Dr Doyle's sketch book, ca. 1862-1863 / John Thomas Doyle & Samuel Thomas Gill. SLNSW-M PXA 1983. <https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/nQR2plX1/xQ5w6Eb04XLJ3> "45. The Avengers [missing since 1975]."
You can scroll down to see all pictures along with detailed notes or click a link to jump to a specific work from the list.
Detailed notes each include a link to the map location for the view (where available).
[Mountain waterfall] | Dixson Library, State Library of New South Wales DL PXX 60 f.21
Artist: Gill, S.T. (attr.) | Date: 1844~/1845~
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
Waterfall Gully - also now known as First Falls - on First Creek near Adelaide. The gum tree (left foreground) is prominent in later photographs but began to die after being flooded by waters of the weir built 1881-82.
This sketch in E.L. Montefiore's album is unsigned but is likely by S.T. Gill being in his style with characteristic grass tree and Aboriginal man with spear.
For comparison of scene see photograph SLSA B 6576 https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+6576 shows Gill's prominent gum left foreground and even grass trees. (SLSA's collection https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/collection/Waterfall+Gully+Collection shows the gum died after being flooded by the weir.)
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide District
382
Aborigines making fire | Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales SSV/106
Artist: Gill, S.T. (attr.) | Date: 1844~/1845~ | 16.7(H) x 26.7(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
In front of his wurley an Aboriginal man lights a fire by the friction method. Another person is behind him and two others are in the background. The subject is similar to NLA NK6897/C | Lighting a fire with the shaft of the grass tree | S.T. Gill and George Hamilton's Breeches.
Signed "ELMo" and previously attributed to E L Montefiore. On the reverse are games of noughts and crosses – probably played by Montefiore's children.
Not yet digitised by SLNSW. Temporary author photograph.
This subject is not treated in Bennett (1843).
775
E.L. Montefiore's house, Adelaide, 1840s | National Library of Australia NK2038/32
Artist: Montefiore, E.L. | Date: 1844/1846 | 9.5(H) x 14.8(W) cm
Main listing: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
This small watercolour is likely by E.L. Montefiore after S.T. Gill as suggested by the signature "E.L. Montefiore/S.G". It is in Gill's style and includes his frequent motif of an Aboriginal man standing with spear.
On the reverse is written: "Mrs Ch(as?) (James?) || Mrs James Young | Ivy Cottage | Pulteney St" suggesting this is Mrs Young's cottage in Pulteney Street. The house is likely, though not certainly, the same as pictured in NLA NK2038/03 "The Youngs' cottage, old one, Pulteney Street" by Gill.
The painting's subject is uncertain, but is probably the house of James Young of the Royal Sappers and Miners - later draughtsman in the Survey Office.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide
78
The Youngs' cottage, old one, Pulteney Street | National Library of Australia NK2038/03
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1841~/1844~ | Appleyard cat. n/a | 10.8(H) x 13.6(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill's Series of Adelaide Views
The painting's subject is uncertain, but is likely the house of James Young of the Royal Sappers and Miners - later draughtsman in the Survey Office. E.L. Montefiore painted (probably) the same house in NLA NK2038/32.
Series of Adelaide Views 38 (from reverse inscription).
For more detail see the catalogue / main entry.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide
49
Bushmen preparing to fire on Aborigines camp | State Library of New South Wales SSV*/Bush L/4
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1844~/1845~ | Appleyard cat. n/a | 19.9(H) x 27.4(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
Two armed colonists stealthily approach a group of Aboriginal people - possibly in a corroboree - with intention to shoot. "The Avengers" was a subject revisited by Gill. At time of writing this was catalogued as "Bushmen preparing to fire on Aborigines camp" by E L Montefiore. The signature appears to be "STG" albeit obscured.
The kneeling gunman is similar to Aborigines and white men hunting kangaroos (NLA NK1196) | George French Angas in London and S.T. Gill
Also compare 1855 "The Avengers" <https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2823323289/view>.
Not yet digitised by SLNSW. Temporary author photograph.
Gill may have tackled this subject in response to an attack by colonists on 23 February 1842 at Port Fairy in which three Aboriginal women and a boy were killed. La Trobe offered a £50 reward for information regarding these murders. (Port Phillip Gazette, 25 May 1842: 2. <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225011894>) In response to a settler petition, La Trobe replied that their vengeance negated sympathy and he had evidence of "nightly attack upon a small number of natives, by a party of white inhabitants in your district." Southern Australian (Adelaide), 10 June 1842: 4. <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71621494>.
774
Race Course, Adelaide | State Library of New South Wales SSV3/Rac/Vic P/1
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845 | Appleyard cat. n/a | 20(H) x 28(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
The scene is the annual New Year races held on 1-3 January 1845. The view is down the straight with the hills in the background and the Grand Stand at right. The races were run on the Park Lands near the southeast corner of the city. The Grand Stand was funded and erected by Henry Robinson of the Freemasons' Tavern in Pirie Street. Robinson also raced his horse "Cobbler" who, with "Matilda", was the focus of the races. Prominent in the left foreground is a horse with a striped blanket - probably Robinson's "Cobbler" (see NLA R118). The open four-wheel carriage and pair likely belongs to the Governor.
The signature ELM appears at lower left. However close examination reveals the signature "STG" underneath. The false signature and reverse inscriptions would have led to the attribution to Montefiore, but they are all later additions. It is clear from the inscription that this picture was in the Montefiore family and in London in 1902.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide District
350
Adelaide race course, '45 | National Library of Australia R118
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-01~/1845-11 | Appleyard cat. n/a | 11.7(H) x 20.1(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and James Allen, 1845
The scene is the annual New Year races held on 1-3 January 1845. The view is down the straight with the hills in the background and the Grand Stand at right. The races were run on the Park Lands near the southeast corner of the city. The Grand Stand was funded and erected by Henry Robinson of the Freemasons' Tavern in Pirie Street. Robinson also raced his horse "Cobbler" who, with "Matilda", was the focus of the races. Prominent in the centre foreground is a horse with a striped blanket and the letter "R" which is probably Robinson's "Cobbler".
For more detail see the catalogue / main entry.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide District
12
Sturt's Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, August 10th, 1844 | Art Gallery of South Australia 0.1522
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-02~/1845-04~ | Appleyard cat. 80.1 | 21.3(H) x 33.9(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
The scene is the departure from Adelaide of Charles Sturt's Great Northern Expedition on 10 August 1844 ("side-on" view).
The cavalcade is proceeding from Grenfell Street at the right of picture and turning into and continuing north along King William Street. The view is northeast, looking from a vacant block (acre 140) diagonally across the intersection to Montefiore's store (acre 108), behind and to the right of which are the South Australian Company buldings on Rundle Street (acre 44).The building at right is Montefiore's house.
Building signs in this picture are Day & Son and (W.H.) George.
Compared with AGSA 0.1128, this picture has the same colouring, but omits Governor Grey and is half the size. It may be a study for the panorama (AGSA 0.1128) as was thought the case by gallery director Louis McCubbin in 1940.
Previous authors list it with signature "STG Adelaide / 44" (Bowden 141, Appleyard 84). However the image in Appleyard's signature appendix shows "STG Adelaide / 45" (Appleyard 110).
See also S.T. Gill - Subject - Sturt's Departure 1844.
250
Sturt's Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, August 10th, 1844 | Art Gallery of South Australia 0.1128
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-02~/1845-04~ | Appleyard cat. 80 | 41.3(H) x 72(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
The scene is the departure from Adelaide of Charles Sturt's Great Northern Expedition on 10 August 1844 ("side-on" view).
The cavalcade is proceeding from Grenfell Street at the right of picture and turning into and continuing north along King William Street. The view is northeast, looking from a vacant block (acre 140) diagonally across the intersection to Montefiore's store and dwelling (acre 108), behind and to the right of which are the South Australian Company buldings on Rundle Street (acre 44). Montefiore's buildings were completed in January 1844.
There are several versions of this view by Gill. This is the most panoramic and further includes at far right the (back of) the Wesleyan Chapel in Gawler Place (acre 106).
There are two top-hatted gentlemen in a two wheeled vehicle, with the near man in the grey coat probably being Governor George Grey. That being the case, the other man could be Captain O'Halloran, Grey's Private Secretary. These gentlemen also appear in NGA 2012.1307.
Unlike AGSA 0.644, this scene predates the King William Street premises (acre 79) of surgeon dentist Robert Norman built between April and July 1845. This work is dated in relation to NGA 2012.1307.
Gill misspelled when he signed this "STG ADELADE".
Provenance: bought by AGSA from V.K. Burmeister, 1939. Further provenance unknown. The content emphasises Governor Grey and, of course, Montefiore's store and Sturt is out of picture. This is a grand work for a client with deep pockets. Could it have been for Montefiore who perhaps sold it when he became insolvent in 1852? V.K. Burmeister's grandfather H.W. Burmeister arrived in 1848. V.K. Burmeister's uncle Frederick Francis "Fred" Burmeister had his grand art studio described (Observer, 11 June 1927: 17. <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168269883>).
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide
19
King William street, Adelaide, ca. 1845 / possibly by S.T Gill or E.L. Montefiore | Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales SSV*/Sp Coll/Gill/2
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-07~/1846-03~ | Appleyard cat. n/a | 10.2(H) x 17.6(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
This is a northeast view from Adelaide Acre 140 across to Acre 108 and Montefiore's buildings which were built between October 1843 and January 1844. Further along is Acre 79 and at far left W.H. George plumber and glazier (white stone front); Rundle Street frontage is only just glimpsed.
Below the picture are pencil notes on the buildings and the initials ELM (twice) - E L Montefiore. The featured buildings are Montefiore's, he pencilling below: "My Store" (centre pair) and "My Dwelling" (right).
This scene is a little later than the similar ones for Sturt's Departure. It includes Norman's premises (completed July 1845) and an extra Montefiore building right on the very corner. Also changed is the two storey building to the left of Montefiore's which is George Dehane the printer, whose second story was being erected in April 1845. Acre 140 is still vacant, being bought by Bank of Australasia in April 1846 with excavations beginning in June. The absence of the Waterhouse building which opened March 1846 (Acre 79) suggests that it may not yet have been built.
Thus a date is suggested between July 1845 and March 1846.
Gill's characteristic street dogs are missing from this street scene and the detail is not Gill's highest standard.
This is one of a set of three Gill watercolours in the hands of his student E.L. Montefiore. They are: 1. Frome Bridge, 2. King William Street and 3. Port Adelaide. All are signed "STG" lower left. This group is dated to 1845-07~/1846-03~ on the basis of the buildings in the King William Street sketch.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide
217
Port Adelaide, S.A | Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales SSV*/Sp Coll/Gill/3
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-07~/1847-01~ | Appleyard cat. 50 | 11.7(H) x 17.6(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
A view generally south-east across Gawler Reach / Hindmarsh Reach to Port Adelaide. The Mount Lofty Ranges are in the background. Prominent are the South Australian Company stores (McLaren warehouse, red building, left) and the Customs House (white building, centre). Between them are the flagstaff and the "canal" beside Queen's Wharf. On the river side of the Customs House are the Queen's wharf warehouses. At right is the confiscated French ship "Ville de Bordeaux". In picture between this ship and the Customs House is the Port Tavern (before it was destroyed by fire on 29 January 1847). This is Gill's more favoured angle across the Reach showing the north and west sides of the Company store.
The scene is no later than November 1846 when "the Ville de Bordeaux was moved from the position which she has occupied for so many years, and was moored about half-a-mile below the McLaren wharf." South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register, 21 November 1846: 3. <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195934342>.
This is almost identical to AGSA 0.655 (dated 1847 by the artist). The view, construction, colour scheme, beached boat and even the tide are the same. The smoke emanating from the foredeck of the "Ville de Bordeaux" is the same blue. What differs is the Port Tavern. This SLNSW work has the original tavern before it burnt down on 29 January 1847. The AGSA work shows the replacement hotel under construction and surrounded by scaffolding; it was well underway in March 1847. This smaller SLNSW work just predates the larger AGSA one.
A plausible theory is that Gill started with the smaller work but the Port Adelaide fire intervened and to be contemporary Gill's final larger picture had to incorporate a replacement Port Tavern under construction. This smaller work was later given by Gill to his student E.L. Montefiore.
The painting is by S.T. Gill and the pencil notes below are by E.L. Montefiore.
This is one of a set of three Gill watercolours in the hands of his student E.L. Montefiore. They are: 1. Frome Bridge, 2. King William Street and 3. Port Adelaide. All are signed "STG" lower left. This group is dated to 1845-07~/1846-03~ on the basis of the buildings in the King William Street sketch.
The paper carries an 1845 watermark.
Dimensions (cm): 17.6 x 11.7 (image), 26 x 19.7 (paper), 18.1 x 12.3 (pencil border around the image). (SLNSW correspondence 2023-11-14.)
Map | S. T. Gill - Port Adelaide
211
Frome Bridge, Adelaide | Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales SSV*/Sp Coll/Gill/1
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1845-07~/1846-03~ | Appleyard cat. n/a | 10.2(H) x 17.6(W) cm
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
Frome Bridge on the Torrens River opened on 18 August 1842. It was located on a bend opposite Pulteney Street. In the foreground is the rocky ford below the bridge, near which is a distinctive log from flood debris.
This was Adelaide's main watering place - prominent at left is an Aboriginal man sitting at the fording place. (Gill's other versions of this scene show a colonist here as the focal figure.) At right a water cart is arriving from the city to refill and at left a bullock dray departs.
This is one of a set of three Gill watercolours in the hands of his student E.L. Montefiore. They are: 1. Frome Bridge, 2. King William Street and 3. Port Adelaide. All are signed "STG" lower left. This group is dated to 1845-07~/1846-03~ on the basis of the buildings in the King William Street sketch.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide
216
Frome Bridge, Adelaide | State Library of South Australia B 6745
Artist: Gill, S.T. | Date: 1846-04 | Appleyard cat. n/a
Catalogue: S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore
Frome Bridge on the Torrens River opened on 18 August 1842. It was located on a bend opposite Pulteney Street. In the foreground is the rocky ford below the bridge, near which is a distinctive log from flood debris. This was Adelaide's main watering place and prominent is a colonist filling a bucket. At right a water cart is arriving from the city to refill.
This plate appears facing page 119 in Francis Dutton's "South Australia and its Mines" (1846) which was published in London by at least April 1846 when it was advertised for sale in London's "Morning Post". Dutton had departed South Australia on the barque "John Heyes" in February 1845.
The plate is credited to E. L. Montefiore, but it is so like Gill's several Frome bridge pictures that it would seem to be a misattribution - perhaps even Gill himself agreeing to credit Montefiore. It is unknown which Gill original was used for this plate. It is similar to many of Gill's Frome Bridge works including NLA R111 for James Allen.
Francis Dutton sailed from Adelaide aboard John Heyes in February 1845. His "South Australia and its Mines" was published in London by June 1846.
Map | S. T. Gill - Adelaide
344
David Coombe, original December 2020, updated 2 October 2025. | text copyright (except where indicated)
CITE THIS: David Coombe, 2020-2025, S.T. Gill and E.L. Montefiore, accessed dd mmm yyyy, <https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_and_E_L_Montefiore.htm>