Sanitary Reform: its general aspect and local importance, considered in a Lecture delivered at the New Queen's Theatre, Adelaide.. by STEPHENS, John - 1849

Rare printed lecture on "sanitary reform" which includes a detailed discussion of the streets and houses of Adelaide.

The writer John Stephens was a South Australian identity, and regularly packed the lecture halls to deliver speeches on any manner of subjects. Never averse to controversy, this lecture is a prime example of his style, with extensive notes on the latest news from the "mother-country", interspersed with personal attacks on local landholders and builders who continue to knock up sub-standard houses: Mr. Peacock's buildings on Hindley Street are singled out, for example, Clarke's brewery is an "abominable nuisance", as is the butcher in Currie Street with his noisome piggery, and he can barely fathom the horrors of the Port Lincoln Hotel. Stephens comments in his preface that the lecture lasted some three hours, and was listened to throughout with rapt attention; one suspects that some in his audience were concerned that they were about to be publicly shamed.

As with his earlier lecture on comets, this is also very rare. It was given gratis to subscribers to Stephens' paper in an overt attempt to drum up support for his schemes.