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Kind-hearted and single-minded, 'Padre' Arthur Strange was the founder of the Helping Hand Centre.
Historical Person | By Rev. Keith Smith | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Prussian by descent, Adelaide Miethke was an educationist, and her School of the Air ‘bridged the lonely distance’ for outback children.
Historical Person | By Dr Helen Jones | 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s
Adolf Schulz was an educationist with a brilliant grasp of philosophy and psychology, and the first Principal of Adelaide Teachers’ College.
Historical Person | By Anna Stirling Pope | North Terrace | 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s
As general manager of the South Australian Housing Trust, Alexander Maurice Ramsay was energetic and compassionate.
Historical Person | By Dr Susan Marsden | North Terrace | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s
Alf Traeger was friendly but self-effacing, and is perhaps best known as the inventor of the pedal wireless.
Historical Person | By John Healey | North Terrace | 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Not content with being the nation’s biggest metal goods manufacturer, Alfred Muller Simpson was prominent in public life too.
Historical Person | By Jim Loudon | North Terrace | 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s
An unconventional character who had an unconventional career
Historical Person | By Jennifer MT Carter | 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s
An agricultural scientist and researcher, the genial Richardson was widely liked and admired.
Historical Person | By Yvonne Routledge | North Terrace | 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s
An austere but tolerant Lutheran migrant leader, August Kavel contributed significantly to South Australia’s rich legacy of German culture.
Historical Person | By David Schubert | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s
The person responsible for the greening of Adelaide in the first decades of the twentieth century.
Historical Person | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Parklands | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s
Camel driver Bejah Dervish, highly-regarded for his part in the Calvert Scientific Exploring Expedition in 1896, became a familiar figure in South Australia’s far north.
Historical Person | By Valmai Hankel | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s
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
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
A geologist and explorer, Cecil Madigan crossed the Simpson Desert in the last classic Australian exploration adventure.
Historical Person | By Michael Madigan | Hindley Street | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s
Charles Fenner’s often unheralded contributions to South Australian life were noteworthy.
Historical Person | By CR Twidale, University of Adelaide | North Terrace | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s
Charles Mountford was an anthropologist, writer and photographer, and was dedicated to the promotion of Aboriginal art and mythology.
Historical Person | By Philip Jones | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s
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
Remembered as the founder of the City of Adelaide, Light was South Australia’s first surveyor-general.
Historical Person | By Dr Robert Nicol | North Terrace | 1830s
A trailblazing jurist, Dame Roma Mitchell pushed for numerous law reforms and became South Australia’s first female governor.
Historical Person | By Nic Klaassen | North Terrace | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010
As befitting a dedicated community worker and charity organizer, her simple philosophy was benign: ‘’To live and let live.’’
Historical Person | By Jo Peoples | North Terrace | 2000-2010, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century
Daniel Moriarty has been acclaimed as the greatest footballer between the two World Wars.
Historical Person | By Prof John Daly | East Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Though a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, David Shearer also designed an early car, constructed an observatory, and was a keen artist.
Historical Person | By Don Beaty | North Terrace | 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s
David Unaipon was an Aboriginal leader, writer, gatherer of legends, and inventor who was referred to in the press as 'the Black Leonardo'.
Historical Person | By Philip Jones | North Terrace | 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s
Doris Taylor was the founder and organizer of Meals on Wheels, despite spending most of her life in a wheelchair.
Historical Person | By Michael Cudmore | North Terrace | 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s
A physician by training, Charles Everard became a landholder, a farmer and a prominent colonist.
Historical Person | By Jude Elton and Mandy Paul, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1830s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s
Works by the renowned and unpretentious artist John Dowie enhance many public places
Historical Person | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace, Parklands, Rundle Mall | 1910s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010
Edward Gibbon Wakefield was born into a family of English Quaker reformers.
Historical Person | By Carol Fort | 1830s, 1850s
A racing car designer and driver, Eldred Norman was interested in all things mechanical.
Historical Person | By Jon G Chittleborough | Southeast corner | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s
Flexmore Hudson was a poet and teacher who produced Poetry, the second largest poetry magazine circulating in the English speaking world.
Historical Person | By Anthony Laube | 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Frank Tennyson Perry (1887–1965) was born in Gawler and educated at Prince Alfred College before joining his uncle’s engineering business in 1903.
Historical Person | By Carol Fort | 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s
Discover the people who have shaped Adelaide
Explore the city's built environment and famous Parklands
Find the stories behind the city's public artworks, monuments and memorials
Browse some of the themes that contextualise the city's history
Learn about the organisations that have made the city tick
Find out what's drawn people into the city's streets
Explore some of the early maps, plans and panoramas that trace the development of the city
Discover the city's history through a rich collection of museum objects
Explore Adelaide by following a themed tour
Share your memories, stories and pictures with the Adelaidia community