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| Henry Capper's book was part of the Puffery |
How could they attract attention when there was so much competition? The answer lay in Puffery, the 19C equivalent of spin. The name was different but the technique was probably as sophisticated and effective as today. The South Australian Company’s puffs were seen by some at the time as “the most enormous and iniquitous system of trickery and misrepresentation that ever existed.”
The speculators told the truth when it was convenient, half-truths when it was not, and lies when they felt it necessary. Assertions about the weather and climate played a big role in the promotion. It makes for a fascinating tale.
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| George Fife Angas |
One of the key promoters keen to start the new colony was George Fife Angus. He had nearly gone bankrupt as a result of a previous speculation, but had been bailed out of his financial difficulties by his father. He hoped South Australia would become a haven for dissenting Christians. He could be benevolent to those he thought deserved help, but could be hostile to those with whom he disagreed. He financed papers and other promotional material in which much of the puffery was published. Some felt that his avowed christian beliefs were somewhat at odds with the blatant puff. He did not actually move to the colony until 1851 when its future seemed assured. When he died in 1879 he left a fortune of £400,000, a huge sum at that time.
