Alexander Tolmer was a Police Commissioner, initiator of the gold escorts, and by all accounts a colourful character with a thirst for action and adventure.
Despite an inauspicious start as a dumping ground for waste, the East Parklands gradually developed as an attractive centre for recreation in the city.
Elder Family of Scots merchants and ship owners saw the infant South Australia as an opportunity to expand their business interests. Alexander Lang Elder (1815–1885), the pioneer, arrived in 1839 and established a trading business.
Located in the south-east of Adelaide on the Kaurna peoples land of Tandayangga (place of the Red Kangaroo Dreaming), Hurtle Square was one of the six squares designed by Colonel William Light in his 1837 plan of Adelaide.