Light's Memorial, Obelisk and memorial in Adelaide, Australia
Light's Memorial is a polished granite obelisk standing in Light Square in central Adelaide. A bronze plaque at its base honors Colonel William Light, who designed the layout of the city.
Colonel William Light arrived in South Australia in the early years of the colony and set out Adelaide's grid plan in 1838, with wide streets and surrounding parklands. He died in 1839, and the first memorial stone was laid in 1843, before the current granite structure was unveiled in 1905.
The memorial stands in Light Square, also known as Wauwi, one of the five public squares that Light himself planned for Adelaide. Each April, people gather here to mark the founder's birthday with a toast and a small celebration.
The memorial sits in Light Square, a small green space that is easy to reach on foot from the city center. A visit pairs well with a walk along the surrounding streets, which still follow the original grid that Light designed.
Colonel Light's ashes are buried beneath the monument in Light Square, making the site an actual resting place as well as a memorial. The current granite structure, topped with a model of a theodolite, replaced an earlier sandstone version in 1905 after weather had worn it down.
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