An Adelaide city councillor has questioned the need for a nod to the Surveyor-General who designed the city's gridded, park lands-surrounded layout, considering members already celebrate Colonel Light with a “party” and “fruit cake” every year.

During an hour-and-a-half discussion on the Adelaide City Council’s future governance structure, recently-appointed Deputy Lord Mayor Phillip Martin said the elected body needed to “reflect on some of the content of the agenda” – particularly the acknowledgment of Colonel William Light.

The inaugural South Australian Surveyor-General is acknowledged at the beginning of every council meeting.

“Members may or may not realise that that’s a fairly recent addition to the City of Adelaide council agendas,” Martin said this week at Adelaide Town Hall.

Martin said he was “puzzled” about why the elected body needed to formally recognise Colonel Light — the original architect of the City of Adelaide’s gridded layout and Adelaide Park Lands — at every meeting.

Spearheaded by former councillor and now senator Alex Antic, Adelaide City Council unanimously voted in 2016 to include the nod to Colonel Light in council and committee meetings.

Since 2002, Adelaide City Council meetings have started with the Lord Mayor offering an acknowledgement of Country. The acknowledgment of Colonel Light began in 2017, and in 2019, the council resolved to scrap the Colonel Light homage from committee agendas.

The postcode 5000 and beyond. This picture: Airborne Media

Martin said as much as he admired “the man”, the statutory acknowledgement seemed redundant, especially given Adelaide Town Hall celebrates Colonel Light’s birthday each year with a “party” and “fruit cake”.

“At this party, where we all consume mandated… fruit cake and listen to an oration, again mandated by standing orders, and the custom in this place since it was first open for business,” Martin said.

“I don’t see that we need to acknowledge what Colonel Light has achieved at every meeting.

“That’s a discussion point that others may or may not wish to take up.”

Colonel William Light. This picture: Wikipedia

At the council’s annual Colonel Light birthday celebration, first instituted in 1859, the Lord Mayor and councillors drink Australian wine from an ornamental silver bowl made in England in 1766—1767.

The bowl was presented to the City of Adelaide’s mayor by the four founders of the colony of South Australia: George Palmer, Jacob Montefiore, Raikes Currie and Alexander Elder.

In 1859, Palmer also sent a piece of wedding cake from the Princess of England to the City of Adelaide. The intention was that it be distributed among councillors “and citizens present at the meeting at which the memory of Colonel Light was first honoured,” standing orders state.

Martin’s call follows that of Upper House Greens MP Robert Simms, who said in November he wanted to scrap the saying of the Lord’s Prayer by the House of Assembly Speaker and Legislative Council President before the start of each Parliament sitting day.

Council members will convene next Tuesday to vote on the governance structure.