1910s

Image: leather bench seats sit behind desks facing inwards and arranged along the walls of a large room which is decorated with large portraits. At the far end of the room is a more ornate desk with three individual seats.

Old Parliament House

The site of countless debates, Old Parliament House dates from 1855

Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s

Image: caucasian man sitting in an armchair tells a story

Oral History

There’s a lot to talk about with history – while history doesn’t stop being made it, record it while you can

Historical Subject | By Beth M Robertson | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, Great Depression, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century, Second World War

Image: tropical plants in a glasshouse, with stone grotto ornamentation

Built in 1877 as a greenhouse for tropical plants, the Palm House was immediately hailed as the pride of the Adelaide Botanic Garden, and even of the city of Adelaide itself. It was the prized achievement of Dr Richard Schomburgk, the second and most renowned Director of the Botanic Garden. While it no longer houses tropical plants as originally intended, its restoration in the 1990s has meant that the Palm House is still a prominent part of the Botanic Garden experience. It remains as the only known extant German-built glasshouse of the period anywhere in the world.

Historical Place | By Alexander Parsons, History Trust of South Australia | Parklands | 1870s

Image: A photographic head-and-shoulders portrait of a young man wearing a late-Victorian era suit and sporting a dark, handlebar moustache

Nesbit, Mr. Edward

Barrister, intellectual and proud hedonist, Paris Nesbit was an early starter who allegedly read Milton at three and translated Goethe at ten.

Historical Person | By Peter Moore | North Terrace | 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s

Parliament House

The scene of pomp and ceremony, debates and demonstrations

Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1930s, 1950s

Penfolds

From medicinal benefits to international stature, some of Dr Penfold’s wines have acquired legendary status.

Historical Organisation | By Anne Burrows | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: A photographic head-and-shoulders portrait of an elderly Caucasian man wearing an early twentieth-century suit and wire-rimmed spectacles. He is balding, but has a full beard and bushy moustache

Waite, Mr. Peter

A pastoralist who built an empire on sheep and cattle runs, Peter Waite was also a major philanthropist.

Historical Person | By Yvonne Routledge | North Terrace | 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s

Philanthropy

‘South Australia’, wrote the early twentieth-century author of The Cyclopedia of South Australia, ‘owes its existence to a movement which had its origins in philanthropy’.

Historical Subject | By Rob Linn | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: Black and white portrait photograph of the upper body of a man dressed in formal attire

Playford Family

A Baptist minister and Waterloo veteran with a dragoon’s pension, South Australia’s first Thomas Playford arrived in 1844 to claim an inherited original town acre. Thomas’s eldest son, Thomas Playford (1837–1915), was a successful orchardist at Drysdale, Norton Summit, in the Adelaide Hills. Thomas’s grandson, Tom Playford (1896–1981), also went into parliament, becoming Australia’s longest-serving premier.

Historical Subject | By Carol Fort | early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: wooden post inscribed 'South Australia'

Poeppel's Corner Post

Wooden post used to mark the point where the boundaries of South Australia the Northern Territory and Queensland meet.

Collection Item | 1870s, 1880s

Image: group of people standing together on steps

Population

South Australia’s demography is in many ways the most distinctive of all Australia’s states, but the wealth of historical population data available for both the colony and state remains under-analysed.

Historical Subject | By Graeme Hugo | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Presbyterian Church

The Presbyterian Church has a long history in South Australia, owing much to the early Scotish community.

Historical Organisation | By John Love | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s

Image: A two-storey octagonal stone tower set within a high wall with a crenellated parapet.

Prisons

Although South Australia was proclaimed a free settlement, colonial officials soon found they needed a gaol to house lawbreakers.

Historical Subject | By Patricia Sumerling | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Auniformed policeman sitting sits on teh He is wearing a shako style cap and spurs.

Probation

In South Australia probation encapsulated several kinds of opportunity, not only for those prosecuted but also for the criminal justice system and society

Historical Subject | By Jon Telfer | early twentieth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Image: Head and shoulder shot of bald man wearing suit

Bragg, Prof. William

Professor William Bragg had an extraordinarily active scientific career in Adelaide.

Historical Person | By John Patterson | 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s

Image: two smiling caucasian women writing at a main desk in library

Public Libraries

South Australia was unique among the Australian colonies in that the South Australian Literary and Scientific Association assembled a subscription library before the settlers left Britain.

Historical Place | By Carl Bridge and Michael Talbot | North Terrace | early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: men standing in front of building

Pubs

JM Freeland characterises Australian pubs as among ‘the most socially significant, historically valuable, architecturally interesting and colourful features of Australian society’ (Freeland 1977, p. 1). South Australia’s pubs are no exception.

Historical Subject | By Patricia Sumerling | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

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: Black and white photograph of the outside of a 19th century villa style building

Queen's College

Designed in 1892, Queen’s School became one of South Australia’s leading private schools.

Historical Place | By Cindy Crook, History Trust of South Australia | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s

Reclining Connected Forms

This 1969 bronze sculpture is one of the few pieces by the renowned British artist to be found in Australia.

Historical Thing | By Catherine Barron, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1960s, late twentieth century

Image: crowds of people, dressed fairly formally, in front of shop awnings

Retail Trade

In the early years of European settlement the distinction between retail trade, wholesale trade and importing in South Australia was unclear, with many businesses combining all three functions.

Historical Subject | By Martin P Shanahan | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Rex Theatre

Opening in 1933, inheriting the place of a cinema which had existed on the spot since 1910, the Rex Theatre was a popular cinema on Rundle Street that was demolished in 1961.

Historical Place | By Alexander Parsons, History Trust of South Australia | Rundle Mall | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s