The bay was named by Colonel William Light, South Australian surveyor general, in mid-1836.
In his journal he expressed his pleasure at the quality of the
anchorage after riding out a storm. Holdfast Bay was the site of the landings in 1836 and 1837 by pioneers who were to set up the colony of South Australia.
On 8 November 1836 Robert Gouger, Colonial Secretary and Chief Magistrate, arrived there aboard the Africaine and set up
camp near The
Old Gum Tree. With the arrival of Governor Hindmarsh on 28 December and the proclamation of the new colony, the Holdfast Bay settlement became the first
seat of government of South Australia. (It remained the
seat of government until mid-March 1837.) On 31 December 1836 the Holdfast Bay settlement was renamed
Glenelg.