The path to selecting the site for Adelaide was not an easy one. In fact, South Australia's first governor, John Hindmarsh, firmly disagreed with surveyor-general William Light's choice. Hindmarsh preferred a site on Encounter Bay, close to the Murray Mouth.

This facsimile of a sketch of Encounter Bay, South Australia, by William Light has notes to disprove Captain Lipson's assertion that it was the finest harbour in the world which led Hindmarsh to prefer it. Light indicates hazards and points out that there is only room for three to four ships at a time. He comments also on the surrounding land, precipitous banks and lack of fresh water, making it unsuitable as a site for a capital city. The map shows the location of the South Australian Company's fishery, another fishery and Captain Blenkinsop's establishment, also where the Solway, Pirie and South Australian ships were grounded. The sketch includes Granite and Seal Islands.

Strangways, TB. 'Encounter Bay and Lake Alexandrina', South Australian gazette and colonial register, 20 January 1838, p. 4, col. b

'Victoria Harbour - Encounter Bay', South Australian gazette and colonial register, 20 January 1838, p. 2, col. a-b

Whitelock, Derek. Adelaide from colony to jubilee: a sense of difference, Adelaide: Savvas Publishing, c1985