art

Image: black words on a white surface as part of a poetry/art mural on a wall

'Street Art Poetry Project' Location 3

Mark Niehus' four-part series cemented his status as a prominent poet and artist in Adelaide.

Historical Thing | By Hannah Stewart, History Trust of South Australia | 2010s

Image: bronze sculpture of pad in an apron pocket

'The Apron' by Karen Genoff

The Minister for Housing & Urban Development commissionned this work by Karen Genoff, an Adelaide local.

Historical Thing | East Terrace | 1990s

Image: flag with black top, red bottom and large yellow circle in the middle

Aboriginal flag

The Aboriginal flag flies high over its birthplace, Tarntanyangga/Victoria Square, a symbol of Aboriginal pride, rights and identity.

Historical Thing | By Mandy Paul, History Trust of South Australia | 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s

Image: stone statue of man with hand up to shade his eyes while gazing out

Captain Charles Sturt Memorial

Leaning forward and shielding his eyes from the sun, this bronze figure of Sturt looks over Victoria Square, not the land he explored

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | 1830s, 1840s, 1900-1910, 1910s

Charles Cameron Kingston Memorial

A remarkable and feisty South Australian attorney-general and premier, a father of federation and the first Australian Minster for Trade and Customs is commemorated by this statue

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | 1850s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s

Colonel Light statue

Colonel William Light’s statue on Montefiore Hill pointing towards the centre of Adelaide has come to symbolise the city that Light laid out.

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | 1830s, 1840s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1930s, early twenty–first century

Image: The memorial to Colonel Light without its spire

Colonel William Light Grave and Monument

Colonel William Light’s grave remains in Light Square, while Light's Monument there has been replaced and embellished over time

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Northwest corner | 1830s, 1840s, 1870s, 1890s, 1900-1910

Dardanelles Memorial

The first Anzac memorial was once an obelisk in a grove of wattles

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Parklands | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1960s, 2000-2010, 2010s, First World War

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

John Jefferson Bray Memorial Fountain

The John Jefferson Bray Memorial Fountain commemorates the life of a senior judge, scholar and poet

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Southeast corner | 1910s, 1930s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1990s

Statue of John McDouall Stuart, unveiled 4 June 1904

John McDouall Stuart statue

The statue of inland explorer John McDouall Stuart at the corner of Victoria Square and Flinders Street, Adelaide, commemorates his place in Australian history

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton and Mandy Paul, History Trust of South Australia | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1960s

Knot

The shining steel and simple form of Knot typifies the work of sculptor Herbert (Bert) Flugelman.

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s

Image: stone fountain shaped like bathtub in front of stone buildings

Lavington Bonython fountain

Affectionately known as the ‘Bonython bath’, this fountain stood outside the South Australian Museum from 1965 to 2005

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1870s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s, 1960s

Light Horse Memorial

Remembering South Australian Light Horsemen who served in Egypt and Palestine and at Gallipoli

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton & Bernard O'Neil, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, Boer War, early twenty–first century

Image: sculpture of standing man in nineteenth century costume

Matthew Flinders Memorial

A statue to honour Matthew Flinders, the first explorer to circumnavigate Australia, was a long time coming in Adelaide

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1790s, 1800-1810, 1840s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s

Image: zoom on blue and purple mural of rhinoceros' face, positioned on a brick wall

Mike Maka Mural

Mike Maka’s mural features a tired rhinocerous carrying the city of Adelaide on its back.

Historical Thing | By Hannah Stewart, History Trust of South Australia | Rundle Street east | 2010s

Image: steel quadrangle-shaped sculpture with rounded edges and a geometric hole in the middle

Owen Broughton Sculpture

This Owen Broughton work won the 1976 Rundle Mall sculpture contest alongside Bert Flugelman's Mall's Balls and John Dowie's Girl on a Slide.

Historical Thing | By Hannah Stewart, History Trust of South Australia | 1970s, 1980s, 2000-2010

Image: a long, narrow tourist boat with a canvas roof is moored at a concrete dock with a metal railing.

Popeye

'Popeye the Sailor' was a popular cartoon at the cinema in the 1930s when Gordon Watts introduced a tourist pleasure craft on the River Torrens

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | River Torrens | 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010

Robert Burns Memorial

One of many around the world, this statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns was unveiled in 1894

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1880s, 1890s, 1930s, 1940s, 1990s

Image: The multimedia screen emits a rainbow of colors over nighttime pedestrians

Rundle Lantern

The Rundle Lantern is 100% green-powered and the light show is carbon neutral.

Historical Thing | By Hannah Stewart, History Trust of South Australia | Rundle Street east | 2000-2010

Bronze bust of Douglas Mawson by Adelaide sculptor John Dowie, 1981

Sir Douglas Mawson bust

The spirit of Antarctic explorer and professor of geology, Sir Douglas Mawson, is captured in the bust by John Dowie

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1880s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1980s

Sir Lawrence Bragg bust

The bust of Sir Lawrence Bragg commemorates a South Australian Nobel Laureate

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1970s, 2000-2010, 2010s

Sir Mark Oliphant bust

The bust of Sir Mark Oliphant on North Terrace honours an eminent scientist and the state’s first South Australian-born governor.

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1900-1910, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, Second World War

The bronze bust of Sir Mellis Napier, sculpted by eminent South Australian artist John Dowie, commemorates his distinguished community service, including to the law and legal profession in South Australia

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1880s, 1890s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s

Sir Samuel Way Memorial Statue

A statue of Sir Samuel Way reflects his towering presence in legal, political and cultural circles in the last decades of the nineteenth century.

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s

Image: The statue of a horse and rider mounting the crest of a hill

South African War Memorial

The mounted trooper reining in his horse commemorates South Australians who served in the South African War (1899-1902).

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1930s, 2000-2010

Spheres

Balancing and still among the bustle of Rundle Mall, Spheres is among Adelaide's favourite public artworks

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Rundle Mall | 1970s

The Eternal Question

Word artist Richard Tipping prompts us to consider big ideas in his sculpture ‘The Eternal Question’

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Northwest corner | 1940s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010

The Slide

What fun! John Dowie’s work invigorates Rundle Mall