Person:Walter Martin (11)

1925 - Newspaper article in The Register, Adelaide, on 3 July: THE ADELAIDE SOVEREIGN. Reference has occasionally been made in The Register to the now historical Adelaide sovereign, and it may be of interest, therefore, if some particulars, as handed down to me, be given as I understand them (writes Mr. Walter G. Martin). My maternal grandfather, the late Mr. William Hill James, with his family, arrived in South Australia from England in 1849, under engagement by the Burra Burra Copper Mining Company, as an assayer, and in 1852 he was appointed by the Government as assayer at the Adelaide Mint when it was decided that the gold from the discoveries elsewhere should be minted into tokens or sovereigns to facilitate exchange. It was at this time that the exodus of the male population of South Australia to the gold rushes in Victoria almost depleted the State of menfolk, and inconvenience was caused generally, to those left at home because of the limited means of barter. The gold won by the men was sent to their respective homes by the gold escort under Inspector Tolmer, but when it arrived it was of no use as a medium of exchange for the necessaries of life. Responsible government was not instituted in this State until 1857, and Governor Young decided to relieve the situation of 1852 by minting the gold into sovereigns. There were no cables to England, nor fast mail steamers, in those days, and many months must have elapsed before a reply to any communication could be received from the British Government. Therefore, our Governor, anticipating Imperial assent, decided to mint. After preliminary arrangements had been completed, the minting of sovereigns was begun; but after several thousands of sovereigns had been struck, the Government received a reply from London refusing Imperial assent to the minting of gold at Adelaide. Therefore the mint was closed. One of the Adelaide sovereigns has come to me as an heirloom. It bears the inscription, "Government Assay Office, Adelaide, 1852," and on the reverse side, "Weight 5 dwt.15 grs. 22 carats, value one pound."

1938 - Newspaper article in The Advertiser, Adelaide, on 9 November: Adelaide Minted Sovereign. I SEE from time to time all sorts of valuable souvenirs. None was more interesting than the treasured heirloom that Mr. W. G. Martin, of Seacliff, has. It is one of the historic 22-carat sovereigns issued by the Government Assay Office, Adelaide, in 1852. The Assayer who minted it was Mr. Martin's maternal grandfather, William Hill James, descendant of one of Cornwall's oldest families, the Bassetts of Tehidy Estate. William Hill James and his son subsequently went to Melbourne, and installed the telegraph line to Geelong, to which town the ex-Government Assayer sent the first message over that line. It was received by his son (Thomas Reynolds James), who be came Superintendent of Telegraphs in Melbourne. Mr. W. G. Martin's first job was in the Telegraph Department at Riverton, a busy repeating station, in 1873. He spent 50 years in the public service. His parents came out here from Lincolnshire in the ship Ramillies in 1849, and settled at McLaren Vale. The old property is still held by the third generation of the family.