1. Image: a herd of sheep graze under gum and pine trees

    East Parklands

    Despite an inauspicious start as a dumping ground for waste, the East Parklands gradually developed as an attractive centre for recreation in the city. 

    Historical Place | By Margaret Anderson, History Trust of South Australia | East Terrace, Rundle Street east, Southeast corner | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s

  2. Image: A long two-storey brick terrace building with three large double height arches and decorative gables. Along the street at the front a number of horse drawn carts are parked.

    East Terrace

    A street in an area of contrasts - the rich, the poor, society figures, outcasts, business, leisure, health and education are associated with East Terrace

    Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | East Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Aboriginal Country pre-contact, early twenty–first century

  3. Image: portrait of a man in black and white

    Wright, Edmund

    Some of Adelaide’s finest nineteenth-century buildings were designed by this architect.

    Historical Person | By Robyn Taylor | North Terrace | 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s

  4. Image: ornate facade of a bank building

    Edmund Wright House

    Edmund Wright House was built in 1878 as the headquarters of the Bank of South Australia. 

    Historical Place | By Alexander Parsons, History Trust of South Australia | 1870s, 1970s

  5. Image: Black and white 1826 engraving of Edward Gibbon Wakefield

    Wakefield, Edward

    Edward Gibbon Wakefield was born into a family of English Quaker reformers.

    Historical Person | By Carol Fort | 1830s, 1850s

  6. Image: a man sits cross legged on a chair, holding a newspaper

    Elder Family

    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. 

    Historical Subject | By Carol Fort | North Terrace | 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s

  7. Image: The interior of a large hall with a hammerbeam roof and tiered seating on two levels.

    Elder Hall

    The simple exterior of Elder Hall belies the richness of its interior and the resonance of its organ

    Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 2000-2010

  8. Image: A large group of British migrants of various ages arrive at hostel entrance. A sign above the door reads SPF Hostel.

    Elder Park migrant hostel

    Right in the centre of the city, Elder Park was a first stopping point for many new migrants arriving in South Australia.

    Historical Place | By Dr Karen Agutter, the University of Adelaide, & Catherine Manning, Migration Museum | Parklands | 1940s, 1950s, 1960s

  9. Elder Park rotunda, 2008

    Elder Park Rotunda

    Celebrated at its opening in 1882, and again a century later, the rotunda remains a focus point for events in Elder Park.

    Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Parklands | 1880s, 1980s

  10. Image: A crowd of people in early twentieth century attire sit on the grass around a rotunda where a band plays

    Elder Park.

    From dumping ground to pleasure gardens

    Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Parklands | 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2020s

  11. Image: A 1950s vintage racing car drives around a corner and through the streets of a small rural town. A handful of small historic stone buildings are visible on either side of the road

    Norman, Mr. Eldred

    A racing car designer and driver, Eldred Norman was interested in all things mechanical. 

    Historical Person | By Jon G Chittleborough | Southeast corner | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s

  12. Image: seated woman with man and boy

    Woolcock, Mrs. Elizabeth

    Hanged at Adelaide Gaol on 30 December 1873, the 26-year-old Elizabeth Woolcock is the only woman to have been legally executed in South Australia

    Historical Person | By Peter Bell | 1870s

  13. Image: view of Adelaide in 1860

    Emigration Square

    Care for migrants, the unemployed and the destitute was evident from South Australia’s foundation days.

    Historical Place | By Kate Walsh | Northwest corner | 1830s, 1840s

  14. Image: A large building with a domed roof is lit up by hundreds of small globes running along its key architectural features, such as around windows and along roof lines.

    Exhibition Building and Grounds

    Now lost, the Exhibition Building once dominated North Terrace

    Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s

  15. Image: A group of Caucasian men with film equipment observe a conversation between two other men, one of whom is elderly and dressed in Afghan attire

    Film

    In October 1896, within one year of the Lumière brothers’ first public screening of film in Paris, the first public film screening in South Australia occurred at the Theatre Royal in Hindley Street

    Historical Subject | By Dylan Walker | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s

  16. Image: Hot air balloon

    First aerial ascent

    American aeronaut Thomas Gale made South Australia’s first successful aerial ascent in June 1871

    Historical Event | By Corinne Ball, Migration Museum | North Terrace | 1870s

  17. Image: Building front view

    First Church of Christ, Scientist, Adelaide

    Opened in 1957 for 360 people with a Sunday school for 300, the church has a marble porch and a 21.3m impressive entrance foyer

    Historical Place | By Open House Adelaide | North Terrace | 1950s

  18. Image: World War One recruitment tour

    First World War

    The tragedy of war was compounded by disturbance on the homefront in wartime and post-war reconstruction activities.

    Historical Event | By Wilfrid Prest, Kerrie Round & Carol Fort | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s

  19. Image: Close up photograph of Fish for the Slate Pool Walkway

    Fish for the Slate Pool Walkway

    Within Catherine Truman’s work, Fish for the Slate Pool Walkway, the tentative nature of life is captured brilliantly from the depths of Truman’s imagination.

    Historical Thing | By Cindy Crook, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1990s

  20. Hudson, Flexmore

    Flexmore Hudson was a poet and teacher who produced Poetry, the second largest poetry magazine circulating in the English speaking world. 

    Historical Person | By Anthony Laube | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s

  21. Image: a round bordered illustration of a church with a single spire on it's right hand side

    Flinders Street

    From ‘City of Churches’ to the ‘City of Cars’, Flinders Street reflects changes in Adelaide

    Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | 1830s, 1840s, 1860s, 1870s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, early twenty–first century

  22. Image: A tall gum tree stands near the bank of a river, which is visible in the distant background. The trunk of the tree is adorned with several small signs showing the year in which a major flood occurred and its water level height

    Floods

    Paradoxically, the only parts of South Australia to experience occasional serious disruption of by flooding are the far distant sparsely populated deserts around Lake Eyre

    Historical Subject | By CR Twidale, University of Adelaide | River Torrens | 1840s, 1860s, 1870s, 1890s, 1920s, 1930s, 1950s, 1970s, 2010s

  23. Women arranging flowers on the ground with buildings in the background

    Flower Day

    Every year between 1938 and 1975 Adelaidians showed pride in their city by beautifying it with mass displays of flowers on National Flower Day.

    Historical Event | By John Davis | North Terrace | 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s

  24. Image: The body of a tug boat upside down in the process of being constructed, numerous people, ropes and ladders surround the boat

    Perry, Mr. Frank

    Frank Tennyson Perry (1887–1965) was born in Gawler and educated at Prince Alfred College before joining his uncle’s engineering business in 1903. 

    Historical Person | By Carol Fort | 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s

  25. Image: Photograph of farmers and horses pulling a harvester

    May, Mr. John

    Frederick May was an engineer and manufacturer, and the archetypal 'quiet achiever' who missed out on major fame and success.

    Historical Person | By Mark Boon | 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s

  26. Image: man in formal regalia

    Freemasonry

    The first South Australian Freemasons lodge formed in England, before the colony of South Australia was settled. 

    Historical Subject | By David Hilliard | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  27. Image: two brown canvas bags with references to Bob Marley, Aboriginal communities, AC DC, and peace signs

    Frome Road and Rundle Street Mural

    Originally painted by Carol Ruff and Barbary O'Brien in 1984 and modified by Driller Jet Armstrong in 1998.

    Historical Thing | By Hannah Stewart, History Trust of South Australia | Rundle Street east | 1980s, 1990s

  28. Image: A photographic head-and-shoulders portrait of a balding, middle-aged man in profile. He is wearing a mid-twentieth century suit and reading a document

    Mayo, Mr. George

    George Elton Mayo was an extraordinarily versatile pioneer in human relations, management studies and psychoanalysis.

    Historical Person | By Dr Oliver Mayo | North Terrace | 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s

  29. Image: A lithograph of a middle-aged man in Victorian attire seated at a table and holding a book

    Angas , George

    This merchant, banker, landowner and philanthropist was generous but shrewd, and often tagged with the phrase ‘philanthropy plus ten per cent’.

    Historical Person | By John Healey | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s

  30. Image: black and white photo of man

    Giordano Collection

    A collection held by the Migration Museum documenting the life of Antonio Giordano. 

    Collection Level Description | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s

Pages