The following newspaper extract gives details of the early ownership of sections forming the township of Littlehampton.

Some More Early History

The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser - 10 December 1936

During the smoke social at the Centenary celebrations, Mr. Rowland Hill, of the Department of Agriculture, agricultural instructor for the hills areas, mentioned some interesting facts about the early history of Littlehampton.

Mention of many of the names in his paper will stir a response chord in the memory of people in the district.

Mr. Hill said that according to Rodney Cockburn's "Nomenclature of South Australia (1908)", Littlehampton was laid out by Benjamin Grey in 1849 and named after his native town in Sussex. In 1857, a plan of the township was deposited in the General Registry Office. On this plan the town was shown in three divisions, namely, the portion owned by Benjamin Grey, a portion owned by Thomas Biddies, and another by John Foster.

The sections which were in the Hundred of Macclesfield on which the town now stands were surveyed and granted as follows:—

  • Section 4428 - surveyed by Mr. Nixon in 1839, and granted to Henry Seymour, Esq., of Kingston, Dublin, in the same year.

  • Section 5008 - surveyed by Corporal William Dawson in 1849, and granted to John Smith, surgeon, of Blakiston, in the same year.

  • Section 5010 - surveyed by Corporal Dawson in 1849, and granted to Messrs. Thomas Biddies, farmer; Benjamin Grey, brewer; and Robert Francis, brewer, in 1851.

  • Section 5011 - surveyed by Corporal Dawson in 1849, and granted to Messrs. Robert Francis and Benjamin Grey in 1849.

  • Section 4428 - was conveyed by Henry Seymour, Lavinia A. Fowler, A. L. and William Elder (mortgagees) to Thomas Biddies in 1849. Portion of Section 4428 on which stands the Great Eastern Hotel, was leased by Biddies to Richard Cornelius, of Paringa, in 1853. Several allotments, being portions of this section, were conveyed by Biddies to Levi Ward, carpenter, of Mount Barker, and Alfred Bridge, bricklayer, of Mount Barker, in 1854.

Some of the allotments in the "Village of Littlehampton", being portions of Section 5008, were conveyed by John Smith to the following:—

  • Samuel Illingworth, carpenter of Mount Barker, in 1851

  • William Millhouse, yeoman of Littlehampton, in 1852

  • George Shepherdson, carpenter of Littlehampton, in 1852

  • William Wood, yeoman of Littlehampton, in 1852

  • Moses Wraight, brickmaker of Littlehampton, in 1852

  • George Rattens, brewer of Littlehampton, in 1852

  • John Morris, yeoman of Littlehampton, in 1852

  • John Forsyth, teacher of Nairne, in 1852

  • In 1854, all the unsold allotments in this section were conveyed by John Smith to John Forster, surgeon of Littlehampton.

Some of the allotments of Littlehampton in Section 5001 were conveyed by B. Gray and R. Francis to Corporal William Dawson and Edward Teague, of Littlehampton, in 1851. From 1852, these allotments were conveyed by Benjamin Grey only, some of them going to Messrs. James Greenfield, butcher of Mount Barker; George Milway, brickmaker of Littlehampton; Moses Wraight, brickmaker of Littlehampton; Henry Hickmott, bricklayer of Littlehampton, and James Cloack, yeoman of Littlehampton.

Section 5001, excepting six allotments in the village of Littlehampton, was conveyed by Thomas Biddies and B. Gray to Henry Hooper, saddler of Mount Barker, in 1853. Hooper re-conveyed the same land to Thomas Biddies the day after the first transaction.

Several allotments in this section were conveyed by Biddies to Alexander Lyon, stone quarryer of Mount Barker, and John Millar, yeoman of Blakiston, in 1863.

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