In December 1837 an expedition led Colonel William Light and was surveyed in 1839 by his assistant surveyor, William Jacob (1814–1902), as part of a wider survey of the Barossa region. Light chose the name in memory of the British victory over the French in the "Battle of "Barrosa"", in which he fought in 1811. The name "Barossa" was registered in error, due to a clerical error in transcribing the name "Barrosa".