mid nineteenth century

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

Rhythms of Construction

‘Construction’, ‘Thought’ and ‘Optimism’ make up the three elements of this bronze sculpture by Victor Meertens.

Historical Thing | By Catherine Barron, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1990s, late twentieth century

Image: An elderly man with a cane sits in a chair within a garden

Smith, Robert

Robert Barr Smith had a genius for business. He was also a generous philanthropist, though his modesty dictated that much of the funding was dispensed anonymously.

Historical Person | By Pamela Oborn | North Terrace | early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

Sharpe, Mr. Ronald

An outstanding baseballer and baseball writer, Ron Sharpe was also no slouch as a cricketer.

Historical Person | By Prof John Daly | North Terrace | 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s

Image: Man in white makeup and black beard smiles widely

Rene, Roy

Roy Rene, known most prominently for his character of Mo McCackie, has been generally hailed as one of Australia’s best comic performers.

Historical Person | By Alexander Parsons, History Trust of South Australia | Hindley Street | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s

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

Bonython, Sir John

Sir Langdon Bonython was a progressive liberal whose long life encompassed being a parliamentarian, newspaper proprietor and philanthropist.

Historical Person | By Warren Bonython | North Terrace | 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s

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

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

Chapman, Sir Robert

Sir Robert Chapman was an engineer with a gift for recognising the fundamentals of any problem.

Historical Person | By Philip Fargher | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s

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: 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: top storey of red brick three-storey building, with three flags flying

Tandanya

Originally built in 1921 as a power station and office for the Adelaide Electric Supply Company, today this beautiful building houses Tandanya, Adelaide’s Aboriginal Cultural Institution

Historical Place | By James Hunter, History Trust of South Australia | East Terrace | 1920s

Image: A photographic head-and-shoulders portrait of a young Caucasian man wearing a light-coloured, late-Victorian era suit and sporting a very large handlebar moustache

Smith, Mr. Tom

A proverbial chip off the old block, Tom Elder Barr Smith was an astute businessman and generous philanthropist.

Historical Person | By Pamela Oborn | North Terrace | 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s

Adelaidia