UNCLAIMED LETTERS

Throughout July 1841, the General Post Office, Adelaide placed advertisements in the Southern Australian newspaper for its list of unclaimed letters. George Mawbey's name was on this list.
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In January 1843, another Adelaide Post Office list of unclaimed letters was published in the South Australian Gazette.
A Duncan Mawbey was on this list.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA A PLANNED COLONY

Last night during a clean-up at home I found my old social studies textbook from when I was in 6th class at primary school.
Yep! That's right. I've been hanging on to it since 1959!
It's title is Social Studies for Sixth Grade by G T Spaull, MA, William Brooks & Co Limited, The Educational Publishers of Australia, Waterloo [Sydney] and Brisbane.
Oddly enough, it bears no date of publication, but the preface says it had been written in conjunction with the 1952 curriculum of the Education Department of New South Wales.
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Why I am mentioning it here is that it has a piece on George Fife Angas, claiming him to be the 'Founder of South Australia'.
I don't recall ever hearing of him before, but according to my old school textbook, he was a Scottish merchant and philanthropist, based in London, who wanted to establish a colony in Australia for the British poor and unemployed.
He wanted to do this in South Australia, but in 1834, the British Government beat him to it.
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The colony it set up was run by a Governor assisted by a group of Commissioners who were expected to find the money to make the venture a success.
According to my textbook, they failed to do this, and that through bad government, the colony became bankrupt.
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In 1836, Fife Angas formed his South Australian Company which became the real founder of the new colony.
In 1839, he sent out his agent, Flaxman, to buy property on his behalf, but as a result, he found himself in debt.
He eventually sold all his properties in England and Scotland and in 1851 moved to South Australia where he lived until his death at 90.

In the three years of its [South Australia's] colonial existence, only 16 individuals have incurred the sentence of transportation.
                                                                                        Royal South Australian Almanac 1840

Four of them, a quarter of the total, were on the ship George and Ann Mawbey sailed back to Sydney in August that year..

On 1 December 1839, the population of the province [of South Australia] was 10,200.
                                                                                  Royal South Australian Almanack 1840

THE CITY OF CHURCHES

Adelaide is known as 'the city of churches' today.
According to the Royal South Australian Almanack 1840, many Christian denominations were already well established with large congregations.
By far the biggest was the Episcopalians with 600 worshippers.
Their Trinity Church had cost 1,000 pounds to build and a further 1,300 pounds spent to enlarge it.
In 1840 they were erecting another church, St John's, in Gilles Street.
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Next in number were the Wesleyan Methodists, 550, and the Catholics, 300.
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Neither the Catholics, the Baptists nor the Scotch Presbyterians had their own churches.
The former met in a private home, and the latter on the Park Land, opposite the Trinity Church.
However, the Presbyterians, with their minister from the Secession Church in Scotland, were erecting a church in Victoria Square.
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The Congregational Independents formed 'a large and respectable body' worshipping at North Terrace and erecting a new chaple at Gawler Place.
They had raised 600 pounds by subscription for the new chapel which was estimated to cost 2,600 pounds.
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The Society of Friends (Quakers) still had no place of worship.

NOT IN 1840 ALAMACK EITHER

Geo. Mawbey would have already known he was planning to leave Adelaide at the time information was being gathered for the 1840 Royal South Australian Almanack. This is probably why his Refreshment Rooms are not listed in the 'General Directory' at the back.
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New entries for Rundle Street:
Cornwall Hotel
W. Pearce - Tailor, Draper, Habit, Robe, and Cap Maker, Adelaide Clothing Establishment, corner King William and Rundle Streets
Adelaide Market - meat, poultry, new cheese, fresh butter, eggs, vegetables and fruits of all kinds ... exhibited for sale daily.
C. Robinson - Oil, Color (sic) and Glass Store, plumber, painter and glazier, Rundle-street, near the Market.
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There was a large advertisement in the General Directory for The Brewery which supplied families with genuine XX Ale for 2s.6d. per gallon.
Also a smaller one placed by the organist from the Trinity Church about his pianoforte and singing lessons.
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George Mawbey appears to have been involved in the theatre in Sydney, so he might have visited the Victoria Theatre on North Terrace that was open Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights.
The proprietor was C. Cameron.

The Royal South Australian Almanack 1839 does not list George Mawbey in its business directory, but does the following:
John Stuckey, baker
J Pitman, joiner and pianoforte tuner
John Reynell, landholder, 'Surreyville', 81, Rundle Street
Archibald Macdougal, printer
George Alston, accountant, 41, Rundle Street
Dingham and Harvey, merchants
Flaxman and Rowlands, merchants
John Forrester, victualer
Miss Nihill, ladies school
___ Williams, builder
E Baker, Adelaide Bazaar
John Crawford, builder
Clement Crispe, butcher
At the beginning of 1839 when this alamanack was compiled, it was not two years since the founding of the new colony, and there were already 620 houses and 5,000 inhabitants.
[Source: Royal South Australian Almanack 1839]

UPDATE 19-12-11
According the Royal South Australian Almanack 1840, John Reynell, was a director of the Joint Stock Cattle Company. It was established to 'supply colonists with the purest and most approved breeds of cattle, as well as butter and cheese at a moderate price'.
Mr John Stuckey, baker in Rundell Street, had been appointed one of their agents for butter.
Archibald Macdougall published the Southern Australian every Wednesday morning, price 1s.