mid nineteenth century

August Wilhelm Pelzer Plaque

A plaque to the 'City Gardener' is now obscured in a city garden

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 2000-2010

Image: Sepia photograph of bald man standing in front of a chair and table

Short, Augustus

The energetic Augustus Short, South Australia’s first Anglican bishop, laid firm foundations for the growth of the Anglican Church in the new colony.

Historical Person | By David Hilliard | 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s

Australian Rules Football

The structure of local Aussie Rules football competitions has changed over time, just as the game itself has continued to evolve

Historical Subject | By Bernard Whimpress | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Blue background with yellow green and blue blow and dashed lines spiraling across the blue.

Austrians in South Australia

The first Austrians to arrive in South Australia were two Jesuit priests, Fathers Aloysius Kranewitter and Maximilian Klinkowstroem on December 8, 1848.

Historical Subject | By Migration Museum | mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Ayers House

Acquired and extended on the back of copper mining from the mid 1840s, Ayers House has had three main occupancies since the early twentieth century

Historical Place | By Peter Bell | North Terrace | 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 middle-aged man wearing a suit and wire-rimmed spectacles

Robert Barr Smith (1824–1915), the son of a Scottish clergyman and his wife Marjory, née Barr, migrated to Melbourne in 1854. Moving to Adelaide just as Thomas Elder’s brothers were leaving South Australia, he threw in his lot with Elder.

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

Babbage, Benjamin

Benjamin Herschel Babbage (1815–1878), an English engineer who superintended construction of the first Port Adelaide railway line, was employed by the South Australian Government in 1851 to search for gold. He led two official expeditions (1856 and 1858) that found no gold but surveyed the Flinders Ranges and Far North and established the extent of Lakes Eyre and Torrens.

Historical Person | By Carol Fort | early nineteenth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

Image: man in a top hat and suit riding a velocipede with wooden wheels

Bicycles

From 'boneshakers' to penny-farthings to mountain bikes, bicycles have certainly changed since the 1860s.

Historical Subject | By Dieuwke Jessop | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Bill's Fountain- State Library of South Australia

This fountain is a memorial to William Faulding Scammell, AO, CBE who was Chancellor of Adelaide University from 1991 to 1998.

Historical Thing | North Terrace | 2000-2010

Boarding Out Society

The origins of foster care for disadvantaged children

Historical Organisation | By Mary-Louise Geyer | 1860s, 1870s, 1880s

Bonython Family

Bonython Family is distinguished by a capacity for hard work, a leaning towards public service and significant benefaction to the institutions and people of Adelaide.

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

Image: A black and white aerial photograph shows two large stone halls surrounded by gardens

Bonython Hall

Since 1936 this hall in Gothic style has served the University of Adelaide and the community

Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1920s, 1930s, 2000-2010

Image: woman driving horse and buggy in park

Botanic Park

Botanic Park has blossomed as a place for informal family gatherings and a venue for public events

Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Parklands | 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s, 2020s, Aboriginal Country pre-contact

Image: bearded man poses for portrait photograph

Finniss, Boyle

South Australia’s first premier was born at sea off the Cape of Good Hope and educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Historical Person | By Carol Fort | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1880s

West End Brewery fronting the south side of Hindley Street, Adelaide, 1925

Breweries and beer

How did Lion and Coopers come to be South Australia’s only major brewers of beer today?

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

Image: a two storey corner hotel with 1960s era cars parked on the street outside.

Brown Street

Brown Street, running from South Terrace to Grote Street, morphed into Morphett Street in 1967 but the area retains its out-of-the-way feel

Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Southwest corner | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, early twenty–first century

Image: A painted portrait of a middle-aged Caucasian man in mid-nineteenth century attire. He is clean-shaven and wearing a dark neck cravat

Sturt, Captain Charles

A soldier and explorer, Captain Charles Sturt was first to chart the River Murray.

Historical Person | By Valerie Sitters | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s

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

Image: A large, two-storey stone mansion with a cylindrical turret comprising one corner of the structure

Carclew

The youth arts centre Carclew was the starting point of McDouall Stuart’s expedition across Australia in 1861

Historical Place | By Peter Bell | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s

Spence, Catherine Helen

Writer and social reformer Catherine Helen Spence was also the first woman to write a novel about Australia.

Historical Person | By Susan Magarey | 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910

Image: A large brick building with archway windows and a square turret at one end. Cars drive by on a busy street in the foreground

Central Market

The Central Market is a distinctively Adelaide institution, renowned for fine food and produce and a bustling cosmopolitan atmosphere

Historical Place | By Peter Bell | Central Market | 1860s, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Image: three cars parked outside stone church

Chalmers Church Free Church of Scotland

The second oldest remaining church in Adelaide, Scots Church is still in use today.

Historical Place | By Hannah Stewart, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, early twentieth century

Cawthorne, Charles

Cawthorne was a dynamic music seller and concert manager, and is remembered as a genial raconteur.

Historical Person | By Joyce Gibberd | Rundle Street east | 1860s, 1880s, 1890s, 1910s, 1920s

Image: View of Victoria Square showing motorcars, a motorbike rider and the electric trams navigating the flooded streets through Victoria Square in 1925

Climate

Climate was and still is an important factor in how and where South Australia first settled.

Historical Subject | By Peter Schwerdtfeger | 1800-1810, 1830s

Closer Settlement

Settlers believed that using land intensively maximised its value and civilised its occupants, and that holdings should be small to allow people to hold land

Historical Subject | By Bill Gammage | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century