1950s

Image: bronze sculpture of man and woman in uniform

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial

Australia’s first memorial to recognise the service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was unveiled in Adelaide on 10 November 2013.

Historical Thing | By Mandy Paul, History Trust of South Australia | River Torrens | early twenty–first century

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

Adelaide City Council plaques

Adelaide City Council plaques promote the city’s heritage and some South Australian identities.

Historical Thing | By Bernard O'Neil, History Trust of South Australia | Hindley Street, North Terrace | 1980s, early twenty–first century

Alice

Who, or what, is following Alice in Rymill Park?

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Parklands | 1950s, 1960s

Bronze sculpture, Catherine Helen Spence by Ieva Porcius, 1986

Catherine Helen Spence statue

The powerful sculpture of Catherine Helen Spence in Light Square, Adelaide celebrates the life and work of a formidable South Australian.

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Northwest corner | 1850s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1980s

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

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

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

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

Magarey Medal

An award for the ‘fairest and most brilliant player’ in South Australia’s major Australian Rules football competition

Historical Thing | By Bernard Whimpress | 1890s, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Mary Lee bust

‘My aim is to leave the world better for women’ – Mary Lee was an activist, suffragist and unionist

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1990s

Image: Narisha Cash's Ngadlu Padninthi Kamanka mural (2017)

Ngadlu Padninthi Kamangka (We Walk Together) mural

Narisha Cash's mural acknowledges and celebrates the Kaurna people as the traditional owners and custodians of Adelaide and the Adelaide plains.

Historical Thing | By Catherine Barron, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 2010s, Aboriginal Country pre-contact, early twenty–first century

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

Crumpled bronze bag on plinth with grass and plants nearby

Paper Bag

Michelle Nikou's bronze sculpture stands in almost comic contrast with the plinths that populate North Terrace further west.

Historical Thing | By Catherine Barron, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 2010s, early twenty–first century

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

Image: statue of standing queen in royal robes and crown

Queen Victoria Monument

Since 1894 Queen Victoria has looked imperiously over the bustle of Victoria Square

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1950s, 1960s

Image: close-up of inside surfaces of the touchstone.

Reconciliation Touchstone

The red granite sculpture captures the plaster imprints of 64 handshakes made at a Reconciliation Week ceremony in 2006.

Historical Thing | By Catherine Barron, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 2000-2010, Aboriginal Country pre-contact, early twenty–first century

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: crowd of people around large bronze statue of seated man

Sir Walter Watson Hughes statue

The bronze figure of Sir Walter Watson Hughes by Francis Williamson stands on a massive block of red granite.

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

Image: view of a street corner with telephone box and poles

Stobie Poles

Unique to and ubiquitous throughout South Australia, the ugliness of stobie poles is periodically denounced, as also the mortal damage which they can and do inflict on the occupants of any vehicle unlucky enough to strike one at speed.

Historical Thing | By Patricia Sumerling and Wilfrid Prest | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Image: bronze statue of a young naked boy in running pose

The Athlete

Once dubbed 'Adelaide's most active statue' the Athlete is now safely installed in the Lord Mayor's Courtyard.

Historical Thing | By Pat Stretton | Central Market, River Torrens, Southwest corner | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Adelaidia

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