a new colony in the area of South Australia. The SALC sought a Royal Charter for the purchase of land for colonisation, which would raise funding for the transport of immigrants, and for the governance of the new colony to be administered by the SALC. The company anticipated that the centre of government would be on Kangaroo Island or at Port Lincoln on the western side of Spencer Gulf, based on reports from Matthew Flinders. However, the scheme, which included free trade, self-government and the power to select the Governor, was not approved as these ideas were considered too radical and republican. 1833–1835 South Australian Association (1833) In 1833 the South Australian Association was established and began to lobby the government for the establishment of a colony in South Australia, with Crown-appointed governance. Robert Gouger started setting up the South Australian Association from November 1833. Between that time and August 1834, he corresponded with George Grote, Sir Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby, William Wolryche-Whitmore, Joseph Hume, Liberal MP Sir William Clay, and Charles Shaw-Lefevre. The aim of the association was to bring to fruition the idea of "systematic colonisation", as proposed by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, in the creation of a new colony in South Australia by the British government. The proposal was for a colony that belonged to the Crown but with its administration run by trustees. The aim of the Association and details of the planned administration of the proposed colony were published on 11 January 1834 in The Spectator: The members of the South Australian Association were men of varied backgrounds, from philanthropists to merchants, including Wakefield, Robert Gouger, Robert Torrens Sr and George Fife Angas. The association organised a huge public meeting at Exeter Hall in London on the 30 June 1834, to spread awareness about the proposal for the new province and emigration scheme, chaired by Wolryche-Whitmore. The meeting was attended by more than 2,500 people, including well-known philosophers and social reformers, and the speeches and discussions continued for seven hours. Afterwards the association received hundreds of enquiries from people interested in emigration. South Australia Act 1834 The Association lobbied the British government for years, taking part in numerous negotiations and submitting plans that underwent many modifications. Finally, after intervention by the Duke of Wellington, the bill drafted by the Association and presented by Wolryche-Whitmore was presented to Parliament, which passed the South Australia (Foundation) Act