1. Adelaide 1875

    This engraving of Adelaide created by South Australian artist Thomas Peirce is the earliest known ‘bird’s eye’ view of the city. 

    Maps and Panoramas | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | 1870s

  2. Adelaide 1876

    Zoom in to this aerial view of the City of Adelaide in 1876 for a wonderfully detailed, three dimensional picture of its buildings and surrounds. 

    Maps and Panoramas | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | 1870s

  3. Adelaide Festival of the Arts

    This festival is widely recognised as one of the great international arts festivals, while its accompanying Writers’ Week is the largest literary event of its kind.

     

    Historical Event | By Lance Campbell | 1960s, 1970s, 1990s, 2000-2010

  4. Image: Inside Adelaide Hospital in 1890

    Adelaide Hospital Row

    A long-running dispute over a senior nursing appointment culminated with a medical officers’ strike and the temporary loss of medical teaching at the Adelaide Hospital

    Historical Subject | By Donald Simpson | 1890s, 1900-1910

  5. Conversion of police ordnance building to Archives Department

    Archives

    Archives in South Australia have grown and changed in the years since Professor Henderson's 1915 report to the South Australian government.

    Historical Subject | By Peter J Crush | North Terrace | early twentieth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

  6. Image: crowds in front of Parliament House

    Armistice Day 1918

    Huge crowds gathered on the streets of Adelaide on 11 November 1918 to celebrate the armistice of the First World War.

    Historical Event | By Corinne Ball, Migration Museum | North Terrace | 1910s

  7. Image: crowds on jetty

    Beaches

    With their carnivals and regattas, bathing-beauty competitions, amusements, sea and sand, beaches were one of the key gathering places for South Australians from the 1870s to the 1950s. 

    Historical Subject | By Marie Boland | 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s

  8. Image: Crowd of people holding signs marching along street

    Beef Riot

    In January 1931, during the Great Depression, more than 1000 unemployed men clashed with police in protest at the replacement of beef with mutton on their ration tickets

    Historical Event | By Corinne Ball, Migration Museum | North Terrace, Southwest corner | 1930s

  9. Hand drawn map of South Adelaide

    Book Plan of South Adelaide

    Book Plan of South Adelaide. Courtesy of the State Library of South Australia, SLSA: B1578746 

    Prior to the development of the suburbs of Adelaide, ‘South Adelaide’ was the name given to the city area bordered by North, South, East and West Terraces. ‘South Adelaide’ was distinguished from ‘North Adelaide’, located across the River Torrens. 

    Maps and Panoramas | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | 1880s

  10. Image: parade of floats watched by crowds lining street

    Centenary Celebrations 1936

    From sporting events to flower festivals and patriotic displays presented by thousands of children, South Australia's Centenary Celebrations emphasised the positive.

    Historical Event | By Margaret Anderson, History Trust of South Australia | 1930s

  11. Christmas Pageant

    One of the largest pageants in the world, come one, come all to Adelaide’s famous Christmas Pageant!

    Historical Event | By Anne Burrows | North Terrace | 1930s, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

  12. 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

  13. 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

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. 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

  19. 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

  20. Image: row boat decorated with flowers

    Henley-on-Torrens Regatta

    In 1910 thousands of people lined the Torrens to see the carnival of lavishly decorated boats in the first Henley-on-Torrens Regatta

    Historical Event | By Corinne Ball, Migration Museum | Parklands, River Torrens | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s

  21. Image: Four men and a woman in university graduation attire sit on chairs and pose for a photograph

    Higher education

    Higher education has expanded to provide a range of benefits to all.

    Historical Subject | By Alison Mackinnon AM | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

  22. Image: drawing of the Exchange Hotel

    Hindley Street riot

    Violence and election irregularities marred the process when, in 1855, South Australians got their first chance to elect politicians drawn from, and responsible to, the people.

    Historical Event | By Corinne Ball, Migration Museum | Hindley Street | 1850s

  23. Image: view from above of man amongst large pipes

    Improved sewerage system for Adelaide

    In 1881 Adelaide became the first Australian capital city to be connected to a water-borne sewerage system. 

    Historical Subject | By Corinne Ball, Migration Museum | 1870s, 1880s, 1890s

  24. Image: Man removing his shoes for prayer

    Islamic Festivals in 1890s Adelaide

    The Adelaide Mosque, the oldest in Australia, has been the centre of Islamic festivals since the 1890s

    Historical Event | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Southwest corner | 1890s

  25. Kaurna language team 2013

    Kaurna language (Kaurna warra)

    Kaurna, the original language of Adelaide and the Adelaide Plains, is once again being heard.

    Historical Subject | By Rob Amery | Aboriginal Country pre-contact, early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century

  26. Ivarityi

    Kaurna People

    The original people of the Adelaide Plains are still here - and once again speaking the Kaurna language.

    Historical Subject | By Lewis Yerloburka O'Brien & Mandy Paul | Aboriginal Country pre-contact, early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  27. Image: several caucasian children sit around a wooden table playing with plasticine

    Kindergartens

    Based on the philosophy and understanding of child development of the German educator and philosopher Friedrich Froebel, kindergartens in South Australia began for both educational and humanitarian reasons.

    Historical Subject | By Dr Helen Jones | early twentieth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

  28. Kingston Map

    The Kingston Map of Adelaide of shows building development and the variety of construction just six years after colonial occupation of the site.

    Maps and Panoramas | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | 1840s

  29. Image: sepia city map

    Light’s Plan of Adelaide, 1840

    Light’s Plan of Adelaide as printed in 1840 gives the names of people who first bought land in the city and the title numbers of the town acres that they purchased.

    Maps and Panoramas | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | 1830s, 1840s

  30. Magazines

    The first South Australian magazine to focus on local content was the South Australian Magazine, first published in 1841. Other magazines published during the nineteenth century include: Illustrated Adelaide Post, Pictorial Australian, Observer Miscellany, Adelaide Punch, Lantern, and Quiz.South Australian magazines published in the twentieth century include: Pheonix, Chapbook, and Angry Penguins. ‘Street press’, free newsprint magazines, began appearing in the last decades of the twentieth century with such titles as dB and Rip It Up . 

    Historical Subject | By Anthony Laube | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century

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