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Kind-hearted and single-minded, 'Padre' Arthur Strange was the founder of the Helping Hand Centre.
Historical Person | By Rev. Keith Smith | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Alf Traeger was friendly but self-effacing, and is perhaps best known as the inventor of the pedal wireless.
Historical Person | By John Healey | North Terrace | 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
An austere but tolerant Lutheran migrant leader, August Kavel contributed significantly to South Australia’s rich legacy of German culture.
Historical Person | By David Schubert | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s
South Australia’s first premier was born at sea off the Cape of Good Hope and educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
Historical Person | By Carol Fort | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1880s
A soldier and explorer, Captain Charles Sturt was first to chart the River Murray.
Historical Person | By Valerie Sitters | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s
Remembered as the founder of the City of Adelaide, Light was South Australia’s first surveyor-general.
Historical Person | By Dr Robert Nicol | North Terrace | 1830s
A trailblazing jurist, Dame Roma Mitchell pushed for numerous law reforms and became South Australia’s first female governor.
Historical Person | By Nic Klaassen | North Terrace | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010
Daniel Moriarty has been acclaimed as the greatest footballer between the two World Wars.
Historical Person | By Prof John Daly | East Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
As premier, Dunstan’s agenda of social and political reform transformed South Australia.
Historical Person | By The Hon Dr John Bannon, AO | North Terrace | 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, late twentieth century
A physician by training, Charles Everard became a landholder, a farmer and a prominent colonist.
Historical Person | By Jude Elton and Mandy Paul, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1830s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s
Works by the renowned and unpretentious artist John Dowie enhance many public places
Historical Person | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace, Parklands, Rundle Mall | 1910s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010
Edward Gibbon Wakefield was born into a family of English Quaker reformers.
Historical Person | By Carol Fort | 1830s, 1850s
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
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
Known to all as ‘Aunty Glad’, Elphick was a tireless worker for Aboriginal welfare.
Historical Person | By Lewis O'Brien & Professor Paul Hughes | North Terrace | 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Ivor Henry Thomas Hele was an official war artist in North Africa, New Guinea and Korea; possibly Australia’s most important war artist.
Historical Person | By Carol Fort | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s
The founder of soil science in Australia, James Prescott was active at every level of education.
Historical Person | By Prof Emeritus John Prescott | North Terrace | 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Fisher became the first Mayor of Adelaide in 1840 and the first resident South Australian to be knighted in 1860
Historical Person | By Allison Russell, History Trust of South Australia | Central Market | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s
Jennifer Cashmore was a trailblazer in South Australian politics.
Historical Person | By Amy Morrison & Larrie Strautmanis | 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s, 2020s
Jessie Mary Cooper was the first woman elected to South Australia’s parliament.
Historical Person | By Dr Helen Jones | 1850s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s
A masterly Aboriginal police tracker, James saved lives, gathered evidence and attained legendary status.
Historical Person | By Robert Holmes | North Terrace | 1970s, 1980s, mid twentieth century
The father of Mount Barker, John Dunn lived a long and successful life as a miller, merchant and philanthropist in South Australia.
Historical Person | By Corinne Ball, Migration Museum | 1800-1810, 1820s, 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s
John Morphett, namesake of the Adelaide suburb Morphettville, contributed widely to the cultural and economic support of early south Australia.
Historical Person | By Carol Fort | 1830s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s
‘If worth doing, do it well’ was the motto of John Bagshaw, pioneering designer and manufacturer of agricultural machinery.
Historical Person | By Ros Paterson | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s
A quiet unassuming immigrant to Australia, Jonas Vanagas gave his free time to collect the history of Lobethal and the Lithuanian community.
Historical Person | By Daina Pocius, Lithuanians in South Australia | 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Second World War
Lyell Alexander McEwin (1897–1988) received a frugal Mid North upbringing which taught him the motto, ‘waste not, want not’, that characterised his 40 years in the Legislative Council, 1934–75.
Historical Person | By Carol Fort | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
A phenomenally successful athlete, Marjorie Jackson Nelson went on to become a governor of South Australia
Historical Person | By Prof John Daly | North Terrace | 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s
Educationist and sports administrator May Mills believed 'the wholesome development of a nation' depended on sport.
Historical Person | By Dr Helen Jones | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
A very industrious and conservative businessman, Murdoch McLeod was generous but modest and never flamboyant.
Historical Person | By Knoyle Cross | Central Market | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Literally born in a tent, Percy Begg became a pioneer orthodontist whose innovations benefit patients to this day.
Historical Person | By Dr John Jenner | North Terrace | 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Discover the people who have shaped Adelaide
Explore the city's built environment and famous Parklands
Find the stories behind the city's public artworks, monuments and memorials
Browse some of the themes that contextualise the city's history
Learn about the organisations that have made the city tick
Find out what's drawn people into the city's streets
Explore some of the early maps, plans and panoramas that trace the development of the city
Discover the city's history through a rich collection of museum objects
Explore Adelaide by following a themed tour
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