The Beehive

Samuel Thomas Gill's watercolour The Beehive, Corner of King William and Rundle Streets, Adelaide depicts a landmark Adelaide site, providing a unique view from a period before surroundings were recorded by photography.

In 1840, Gill established a studio in Adelaide and advertised for those "desirous of obtaining correct likenesses of themselves, families or friends", animals, local scenery and residences, to contact him. He captured detailed scenes of colonial life in the streets of Adelaide and Melbourne, in the South Australian countryside and on the Victorian gold fields.

The artwork is signed in the bottom left corner 'S.T.G. 1849'. At that time, the 'Beehive Corner' was owned by Edward Charles Buxton, who purchased it in 1845 from the original owner of Town Acre 46, John Pennyman Nodin. The Gothic Revival style building with gold bee adornment that stands at this intersection today was built in 1895.