statue

South Terrace

Mansions at one end and cottages at the other, with businesses, welfare, medical and educational institutions in between, all overlooking the parklands

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

Spheres

Balancing and still among the bustle of Rundle Mall, Spheres is among Adelaide's favourite public artworks

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Rundle Mall | 1970s

Image: large truck with back like a shipping crate

Stay at Willard Guest House, Adelaide in 1972

First time in Adelaide and a memorable stay at Willard Guest House.

User Story | 1970s

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: tea pot decorated with Chinese dragon

Sym Choon Collection

A collection of objects related to the Sym Choon family, reflecting their lives as first generation Australians with Chinese heritage.

Collection Level Description | Rundle Street east | 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s

Sym Choon Shops

In 1925/26 Thomas Sym Choon bought his four children a shop each.

Historical Place | By Hannah Stewart, History Trust of South Australia | Rundle Street east | 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s

Image: people standing in front of buildings

Synagogue Place, named after the Synagogue built in 1850, has been the centre of the Jewish community in South Australia for much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It has since grown, becoming increasingly commercialised with numerous businesses making it their home.

Historical Place | By Owen Hems | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Temperance

The temperance movement saw the abolition of alcohol as a cure for society’s ills – and also believed it was an achievable goal.

Historical Subject | By Judith Raftery | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

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

The Eternal Question

Word artist Richard Tipping prompts us to consider big ideas in his sculpture ‘The Eternal Question’

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Northwest corner | 1940s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010

The Second World War

This major international conflict officially began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland on 3 September 1939. It lasted for six years, gradually increasing in scope and intensity as it blazed through Europe into Africa and Asia and on into Pacific Asia and the Americas.

Historical Subject | By Carol Fort | 1930s, 1940s

The Slide

What fun! John Dowie’s work invigorates Rundle Mall

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Rundle Mall | 1970s

Theatre

South Australia’s theatrical beginnings were commercial and entrepreneurial: trade as much as art drove public houses and performance together.

Historical Subject | By Gus Worby | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: Photographic portrait of a middle-aged Caucasian man in the clothing of a Christian minister. He is sitting in an high-backed chair and has his right hand resting on a book--possibly a bible

Stow, Thomas

Founder of the Congregational Church in South Australia, Thomas Stow was a strenuous minister and a dedicated opponent of state aid to religion.

Historical Person | By Brian Jones | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s

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

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

Tricycle

Tricycle, painted red and white.

Collection Item | 1950s

Image: group stand in front of a tavern building with four women standing on a balcony in the tavern

United Trades and Labor Council

Carpenters, tailors, bakers, carriers, cordwainers and coachmakers had formed unions within ten years of European settlement of South Australia, and by the 1870s there were thousands of union members in the colony.

Historical Organisation | By Tom Sheridan | 1890s, 1910s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s

Image: Hellenic vase shaped bronze urn on square base

Urn

Urn made by Henry Tijou and carried in Queen Adelaide's funeral procession.

Collection Item | North Terrace | 1840s

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

Image: trees in from of a building with tall tower

Victoria Square/ Tarntanyangga

Victoria Square, named after Princess Victoria (later Queen Victoria) in 1836, is the central and most significant of Adelaide’s squares.

Historical Place | By Owen Hems | Central Market | Aboriginal Country pre-contact, early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Viticulture

The growing of grape vines dates from the earliest years of European settlement in South Australia.

Historical Subject | By Dr Geoffrey Bishop | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

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

War Memorial

Architect Louis Laybourne-Smith and sculptor George Rayner Hoff created a memorial that conveys the impact of the First World War

Historical Thing | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 2000-2010

Wealth

In South Australia, the prime key to wealth has been land. From its inception as a European colony, ownership (or control) of land meant access to agricultural and mineral resources. For the Aboriginal peoples, dispossession meant devastation.

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