284 ADELAIDE AND VICINITY sir t. Eider of gold discoveries. It is unnecessary to dwell on the mass of valuable scientific information given to the world through these expeditions promoted by Sir Thomas I-llder. Almost every kind of sport was furthered by Sir Thomas, both on land and sea. He was a former commodore of the old Glenelg Yacht Club, and owned a fine cutter yacht, the Edith. He was a liberal patron of the turf and a sportsman in the true sense of the word. He owned a large stud farm at Morphetville, and several fine racehorses, with which he won many valuable prizes. He first started his racing in May, 1875, and in 1884 he retired, having owned such well known horses as "Gang Forward," " Newstead," " Maddelina," " Dunlop," " Hortense," " Guesswork," " Viceroy," and " Portsea." The public benefactions of Sir Thomas were innumerable. F!very charitable institution was helped by him, and in the encouragement of the highctr education no one was more practical. In 1874 he gave /^20,ooo towards the endowment and building of the Adelaide University, which he supplemented in 1884 with ^10,000, as an endowment of the medical school attached thereto. He largely aided the formation of the Chair of Music in the Adelaide University, and he founded, at the Royal College of Music, London, a scholarship, under which successive pupils have been sent to England to study. He presented the City of Adelaide with the handsome Rotunda which stands on the banks of the Torrens, and was liberal in ensuring the establishment of Zoological Gardens, and was for years President of the Acclimatisation Society. Sir Thomas presented several valuable animals to the Zoo during his lifetime. He gave ^2,000 in the interest of Chalmers Church, Adelaide, and donated large sums in eleemosynary gifts. The National Gallery, the Museum, the various hospitals, colleges, and benevolent asylums received his practical sympathy. Sir Thomas had little liking for public life. He entered the Legislative Council in 1863, and retired by rotation in 1869; re-entering in 1871, and finally resigned in 1878. Except during that period, he was rarely seen in public life. In 1878 he was knighted, and in 1887 the distinguished honor of G.C.M.G. was conferred on him — the late .Sir Henry Ayers being the only other South Australian to attain this distinction. From the time of his arrival in -South Australia in 1854, Sir Thomas Elder paid four visits to I{ngland, and in 1878 he went to Europe as Hon. Commissioner from South Australia to the Paris Exhibition. Ior several years he lived in strict .seclusion either at Glen Osmond or at Mount Lofty, in each of which he had a handsome residence. He died on Saturday, March 6, 1897, at the Pinnacle, Mount Lofty, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. With him there went the most sincere friend the Province has had. A statue is now in course of erection to perpetuate his memory, and has been subscribed to by residents of South Australia. Although in life .Sir Thomas was celebrated for his philanthropy, his benevolence did not end there. Not satisfied with the large gifts he made, he set the coping stone
