[1] In 1882 Gill was appointed master of the School of Design at Adelaide, selected by the Board of Governors of the South Australian Institute,[1] and held this position until 1909, when it was taken over by the Education Department and became the Adelaide School of Art, with Gill as Principal and Examiner.
[2] Gill brought with him the South Kensington system of art education, which entailed copying with great exactitude.
[3] He founded the Adelaide Art Circle in early 1890 as an exclusive club, limited to 12 members and restricted to professional artists.
He was also responsible for purchasing works of young Australian artists such as Tom Roberts, Hans Heysen and Frederick McCubbin.
[3] Harry Pelling Gill married Annie Waring Wright, a granddaughter of T. S. O'Halloran,[8] on 29 April 1886.