mid nineteenth century

Image: a brick convent building behind a stone wall.

Saint Mary's Dominican Convent and School

Saint Mary's Convent and School is one of several historically significant Catholic church buildings and religious community residences based on Franklin Street and West Terrace.

Historical Place | By Vedrana Budimir, History Trust of South Australia | Southwest corner | early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: crowd of people in front of church

Saint Patrick's Church

Saint Patrick's Church on Grote Street is one of several historically significant Catholic church buildings in the southwest corner of the Adelaide CBD. The original building was the first Catholic church in Adelaide.

Historical Place | By Vedrana Budimir, History Trust of South Australia | Southwest corner | 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 a young, clean-shaven Caucasian man wearing an early-20th century suit and wire-rimmed spectacles

Price, Sir Archibald

Working with this vivacious geographer, historian and educationist was said to be 'like hanging on the tail of a comet'.

Historical Person | By Betty Lewis | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s

Gibb, Sir Claude

Irascible yet open-minded engineer, industrialist, and ideas man Sir Claude Gibb was responsible for the design of the Centurion tank.

Historical Person | By Gwenyth Moxham | North Terrace | early twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Mawson, Sir Douglas

Sir Douglas Mawson became famous as an Antarctic explorer, but the geology of South Australia was his life’s work.

Historical Person | By Dr Simon Cameron | North Terrace | early twentieth century, mid twentieth 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

Image: A group of middle-aged Caucasian men dressed in early twentieth century suits and fedora hats stand in front of a brick building. A late-1920s model car is parked immediately behind the group

Holden, Sir Edward

Motor car manufacturer and industrialist Sir Edward Holden gave his name to a car, albeit posthumously.

Historical Person | By June Donovan | North Terrace, Southeast corner | early twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Image: A photographic head-and-shoulders portrait of a clean-shaven man wearing a turtleneck sweater and tweed jacket

Heysen, Sir Wilhelm

Sir Hans Heysen was a masterly artist, the immortaliser of the gum tree on canvas, and a dedicated conservationist.

Historical Person | By Peter Heysen | North Terrace | 1960s, early twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Image: Pencil sketch of the upper torso of an elderly man wearing a suit and academic robes

Newland, Sir Henry

Sir Henry Newland gained an international reputation as a pioneer plastic surgeon.

Historical Person | By Ian L.D. Forbes | North Terrace | 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s

Cleland, Sir John

Pathologist, naturalist and ardent conservationist, Professor Cleland, as he preferred to be known, contributed across many fields.

Historical Person | By Dr Jane Southcott | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s

Image: A moustachioed middle-aged Caucasian man in an Australian Army officer's uniform. He is wearing a hat and spectacles with oval lenses

Wills, Sir Kenneth

Businessman and soldier Sir Kenneth Wills was Controller of the Allied Intelligence Bureau during the Second World War.

Historical Person | By William Wills | North Terrace | 1890s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s

Dumas, Sir Frederick

At the end of his long life, newspaperman Sir Lloyd Dumas described himself as simply ‘the luckiest man in the world’.

Historical Person | By Jim Loudon | North Terrace | early twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Oliphant, Sir Mark

Best known as a governor of South Australia, Sir Mark Oliphant was also a pioneering nuclear physicist, who became an outspoken anti-nuclear campaigner.

Historical Person | By Dr Simon Cameron | North Terrace | late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

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

Sir Mellis Napier bust

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

Napier, Sir Thomas

Sir Mellis Napier was a Chief Justice of South Australia, and arguably a reactionary one.

Historical Person | By Peter Moore | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s

Image: A man in stage make-up and costume dances on a stage with arms outstretched

Helpmann, Sir Robert

His versatility as actor, dancer, producer and choreographer, coupled with flamboyance and wit, made Sir Robert Helpmann a household name.

Historical Person | By Meg Denton | North Terrace, Parklands | early twentieth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Jacobs, Sir Roland

Jacobs was a businessman, but also a warm and generous philanthropist with no interest in personal wealth.

Historical Person | By The Hon S.J. Jacobs | North Terrace | 1970s, early twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Image: A man with a chin-beard and wearing mid-Victorian era attire poses for a photograph. He stands next to a bannister and is holding a stove-pipe hat

Davenport, Sir Samuel

Davenport was a liberal-minded and literate parliamentarian and a promoter of industry, especially in the fields of horticulture and viniculture

Historical Person | By Dr Geoffrey Bishop | North Terrace | late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

Image: A photographic head-and-shoulders portrait of a young, clean-shaven man in a dark, pinstriped suit

Playford, Sir Thomas

Premier for 26 years, Playford managed the industrialisation of South Australia while maintaining a conservative social agenda.

Historical Person | By Gaye Brown | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s

Image: A photographic head-and-shoulders portrait of a middle-aged bearded man wearing a cravat and overcoat

Hughes, Sir Walter

A pastoralist and mine-owner once accused of fraud, Hughes stated shortly before his death: ‘I have been a sinner all my life’.

Historical Person | By Patricia Sumerling | North Terrace | 1840s, mid nineteenth century

Image: A painted portrait of a middle-aged Caucasian man wearing a mid-twentieth century suit and academic regalia

Mitchell, Sir William

Philosopher, Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, and a teacher of economics, psychology and literature, Sir William Mitchell was nothing if not a polymath.

Historical Person | By Dr W. Martin Davies | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s

Image: facade of a building with cars parked in front of it

South Australian Hotel

This hotel on North Terrace was first licenced as a public house in 1878 and was closed and demolished in 1971. To many, ‘The South’, the city’s three-storey grand hotel, was Adelaide.

Historical Place | By Patricia Sumerling | North Terrace | early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Image: large stone building with group of children in front

Sturt Street School

Sturt Street Primary School, built in 1883, was the local primary school for families living in the South West of the Adelaide CBD.

Historical Place | By Vedrana Budimir, History Trust of South Australia | Southwest corner | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Image: head and shoulders shot of woman looking at camera

Benny, Susan

The first female local government councillor in Australia, Benny was a Justice of the Peace, a businesswoman and a lobbyist for women’s equality.

Historical Person | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1870s, 1890s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s

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

Torrens Lake Fountain

The Torrens Lake Fountain commemorates the first time South Australia was visited by a reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II in 1954.

Historical Thing | By Madeleine Ryan, History Trust of South Australia | Parklands | 1950s

Image: People walking and others fishing with hand rods from a wooden jetty

Tourism

The South Australian Tourism Commission, established in 1993, focuses on marketing South Australia as a tourist destination to interstate and overseas markets.

Historical Subject | By Lyn Leader-Elliot | North Terrace, Parklands | 1880s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010

Image: A simple line drawing of a man in cricket batsman attire swinging a cricket bat

Richardson, Mr. Victor

The term 'all-round sportsman' might have been coined for Victor York Richardson, who excelled at cricket, football, baseball, lacrosse, tennis and basketball.

Historical Person | By Dr Bernard Whimpress | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s

Bagot , Walter

Bagot was an architect whose work, including Bonython Hall and the Barr Smith Library, displays his preference for classical and traditional designs.

Historical Person | By Dr David Jones | North Terrace | 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s

Adelaidia