Subjects

Emigration Square

Care for migrants, the unemployed and the destitute was evident from South Australia’s foundation days.

Historical Place | By Kate Walsh | Northwest corner | 1830s, 1840s

The South Australian government involved itself in the labour market from the outset. Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s plan aimed to secure an optimal balance of capital and labour, while assisted migrants who could not find private sector jobs were promised public employment.

Historical Subject | By Tom Sheridan

Image: Black and white photograph of two paddlesteamers on a river. Each paddlesteamer has three levels and people are visible standing and sitting on each one. The foremost paddlesteamer is flying the Union Jack flag.

Engineers

To convert the vision of Colonel William Light into the infrastructure of today has taken the expertise and ingenuity of many engineers whose names are often not well-known and whose only monument is their work.

Historical Subject | By Gwenyth Moxham

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

English in South Australia

Since 1836 the majority of immigrants to South Australia have come from England.

Historical Subject | By Migration Museum

Image: A large building with a domed roof is lit up by hundreds of small globes running along its key architectural features, such as around windows and along roof lines.

Exhibition Building and Grounds

Now lost, the Exhibition Building once dominated North Terrace

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

Image: Front view of a historic building with a small garden and trees at the front

Exhibitions

Exhibitions have been major occasions in the lives of many South Australians.

Historical Subject | By Stephanie Schrapel | early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Image: R.T. Maurice’s expedition party. Three Aboriginal men standing, two white men sitting, one dog on the floor. All the men wear suits.

Exploration

The early heroic phase of South Australia’s exploration by Europeans was plagued by difficulties.

Historical Subject | By Philip Jones | early nineteenth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

Image: Group of elderly women sitting in a room wearing hats

Feminism

Feminism is a politics concerned with advocating rights and opportunities for women; especially any extension of women’s social, economic and geographical spheres of activity, and with celebrating women’s achievements, humour and creativity. As a social and political movement in Australia, feminism emerged in the late nineteenth century in what was termed the ‘Woman Movement.’ Its central concern was the achievement of votes for women.

Historical Subject | By Susan Magarey | early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Fijians in South Australia

A Fijian presence in Australia has been evident since the late nineteenth century.

Historical Subject | By Migration Museum

Filipinos in South Australia

Small numbers of Filipinos began arriving in South Australia after the Second World War but during the 1970s the number of Filipino arrivals increased substantially.

Historical Subject | By Migration Museum

Film

In October 1896, within one year of the Lumière brothers’ first public screening of film in Paris, the first public film screening in South Australia occurred at the Theatre Royal in Hindley Street

Historical Subject | By Dylan Walker | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s

Image: a round bordered illustration of a church with a single spire on it's right hand side

Flinders Street

From ‘City of Churches’ to the ‘City of Cars’, Flinders Street reflects changes in Adelaide

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

Image: A tall gum tree stands near the bank of a river, which is visible in the distant background. The trunk of the tree is adorned with several small signs showing the year in which a major flood occurred and its water level height

Floods

Paradoxically, the only parts of South Australia to experience occasional serious disruption of by flooding are the far distant sparsely populated deserts around Lake Eyre

Historical Subject | By CR Twidale, University of Adelaide | River Torrens | 1840s, 1860s, 1870s, 1890s, 1920s, 1930s, 1950s, 1970s, 2010s

Image: man stands next to building made of logs

Forestry

With few areas of high rainfall, South Australia lacks abundant native forests.

Historical Subject | By Rob Robinson and Peter Johnston | early twentieth century, Great Depression, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Franchise

The franchise has proved a lively issue in South Australia’s political history. Before representative government, wealthy men of property claimed that parliament should represent only those with a stake in the country, whereas many colonists sought popular representation.

Historical Subject | By Dr Helen Jones | early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Freemasonry

The first South Australian Freemasons lodge formed in England, before the colony of South Australia was settled.

Historical Subject | By David Hilliard | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

French in South Australia

The first French people came to Australia as convicts or as free settlers who had fled France in the wake of the 1789 Revolution.

Historical Subject | By Migration Museum

Image: A woman holding a book sits in a garden with several flowering and other plants

Gardens

Even if one does not have a ‘green thumb’, gardening has the benefits of growing one’s own produce or contributing to a healthy environment

Historical Subject | By David S Jones

Image: A lithograph of a middle-aged man in Victorian attire seated at a table and holding a book

Angas , George

This merchant, banker, landowner and philanthropist was generous but shrewd, and often tagged with the phrase ‘philanthropy plus ten per cent’.

Historical Person | By John Healey | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s

Image: The German consul sitting surrounded by his welcoming party at the front of a house in Hahndorf

Germans

The German born community have left a strong cultural legacy in South Australia, evident in many areas today.

Historical Subject | By Ian Harmstorf | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century

Germans in South Australia

Germans have been arriving in South Australia since the beginnings of the new colony in 1836

Historical Subject | By Migration Museum | 1860s, late nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Ghanaian in South Australia

African and Asian Ghanaians have immigrated to Australia since 1973, when the White Australia policy was abolished.

Historical Subject | By Migration Museum | late twentieth century

Image: a large crowd swarms the pavement in front of a twin curved staircase which leads up to a stone building with columns.

Government

‘Government’ in its modern sense denotes legitimate authority constitutionally exercised through permanent public institutions. Government in this sense arrived physically in South Australia with Governor John Hindmarsh in December 1836 though it was clearly shaped by prior decisions made in London.

Historical Subject | By Andrew Parkin