Constructed from east to west in January 1880, Adelaide’s most distinctive commercial complex of14 shops and hotel, heading west along Rundle Street, was built for The South Australian Company.
This compass is believed to have been used by John William Billiatt on the successful 1861-1862 expedition with John McDouall Stuart across Australia, from Adelaide to Chambers Bay, east of the present site of Darwin.
Despite an inauspicious start as a dumping ground for waste, the East Parklands gradually developed as an attractive centre for recreation in the city.