1. Image: Woman dressed in graduation gown and mortarboard

    Davy, Dr. Ruby

    Ruby Claudia Emily Davy was one of Australia’s leading music teachers and the first woman in Australia to receive a Doctorate of Music.

    Historical Person | By Owen Hems | early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  2. Duncan Case

    George Ian Ogilvie Duncan, a lecturer in law at the University of Adelaide, drowned on 10 May after being thrown into the River Torrens. Rumours spread that officers from the vice squad engaged in ‘poofter bashing’ had killed Duncan.

    Historical Event | By Tim Reeves | River Torrens | 1970s, 1980s, 1990s

  3. Image: single story stone building

    Dunmoochin

    Dunmoochin, built around 1858, was the home of Irish emigrants John and Honora Griffin and their three children. It is an example of the many workers’ cottages built in the West End. 

    Historical Place | By Vedrana Budimir, History Trust of South Australia | Southwest corner | 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s

  4. Duryea Panorama

    Panorama of Adelaide, 1865. Photographer: Townsend Duryea. Courtesy of the State Library of South Australia, SLSA: B5099

    Maps and Panoramas | By Kate Walsh | 1860s

  5. Image: Street with market entrance

    East End Market

    The East End Market was Adelaide’s first formal fruit and vegetable market. 

    Historical Place | By Alexander Parsons, History Trust of South Australia | East Terrace | 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. Image: Edward John Eyre, seated, looking off to the side, with a notebook

    Eyre, Edward

    Edward John Eyre (1815–1901) was English-born and educated for a military career but decided to travel to Australia instead. Arriving in Sydney in March 1833, Eyre soon displayed his flair for self-reliant leadership and adventure.

    Historical Person | By Carol Fort | early nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. 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

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. Image: A photographic head-and-shoulders portrait of a young Caucasian man wearing an early Edwardian suit. He is clean shaven and has light-coloured hair and eyes

    Lewis, Mr. Essington

    Essington Lewis was a hard-working industrialist who substantially developed and expanded B.H.P., and was Director-General of Munitions during the Second World War.

    Historical Person | By Bob Lewis | North Terrace | early twentieth century, mid twentieth century

  19. 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

  20. Image: Bronze statue of a mans upper body

    Farnese Hercules

    One of three statues given to Adelaide by WA Horn, Hercules was unveiled in October 1892 in Victoria Square. 

    Historical Thing | By Madeleine Ryan and Pat Stretton, History Trust of South Australia | Parklands | 1890s, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

  21. Image: caucasian man with beard holding a cane poses for photograph in chair

    Federation

    Throughout the 1890s South Australia was at the forefront of the Federation movement that created the Commonwealth of Australia from six British colonies.

    Historical Event | By John Bannon | early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

  22. Image: window display with range of chemist products

    FH Faulding & Co.

    From a humble origin to major international status within the pharmaceutical industry

    Historical Organisation | By Peter Donovan | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  23. 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

  24. Find a Furby

    Artist Laura Lamington is responsible for a Furby craze that has been sweeping across Adelaide since around 2017. Paste-ups of the lovable creature can be spotted everywhere around town.

    Historical Thing | By Cindy Crook, History Trust of South Australia | 2010s

  25. Image: Box showing image of rockets with the label 'jet plane'

    Fire Cracker Box

    Packaging and remnats from firecrackers stocked at Gordon Sym Choon's Union Street shop. 

    Collection Item | Rundle Street east | 1960s, 1970s

  26. 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

  27. 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

  28. 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

  29. 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

  30. 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

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