1. 19th Century Childbirth

    When men and women married in the 1830s they generally assumed that children would follow promptly and regularly. 

    Historical Subject | By Margaret Anderson, History Trust of South Australia | early nineteenth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

  2. Aboriginal Land Rights

    The 1834 British statute authorising the establishment of the colony of South Australia described the region as ‘waste and unoccupied’, making no mention of the Indigenous owners of the land.

    Historical Subject | By Robert Foster | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  3. Aboriginal Policy and Administration

    South Australia’s Foundation Act, passed by the British parliament in 1834, made no reference to the Aboriginal peoples who owned and occupied the land that was being annexed from the other side of the world.

    Historical Subject | By Robert Foster | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  4. Aboriginal Ration Depots

    The distribution of government rations to Aboriginal people, begun in the earliest days of European settlement, continued well into the twentieth century. 

    Historical Subject | By Robert Foster | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  5. Boas, Abraham

    Abraham Tobias Boas was the first rabbi in South Australia, but so inclusive he was also called ‘the best Christian in Adelaide’.

    Historical Person | By Jim Loudon | 1860s, 1870s, 1890s, 1920s

  6. Adelaide

    The city of Adelaide refers here to the area within the outer boundary of the parklands; that is, the ‘square mile’ of the commercial centre, plus North Adelaide, the city’s first suburb.

    Historical Place | By Peter Morton | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  7. Adelaide City Baths

    Adelaide’s City Baths were a prominent and important social institution for more than a century from their opening in 1861

    Historical Place | By Peter Bell | 1860s, 1880s, early twentieth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

  8. Adelaide City Council

    The Adelaide City Council has a history spanning over 170 years of service to its citizens.

    Historical Organisation | By Corinne Ball, Migration Museum | 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s

  9. Adelaide Gaol

    One of South Australia's earliest buildings and home to over 300 000 people from 1841 to 1988, Adelaide Gaol is one of Australia's longest operating prisons.

    Historical Place | By Rhiannon Agutter, History Trust of South Australia | Parklands | 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s

  10. Albion Hotel Ball

    My third great-grandfather's Grand Opening Ball at the Albion Hotel, 1864.

    User Story | 1860s

  11. Tolmer, Mr. Alexander

    Alexander Tolmer was a Police Commissioner, initiator of the gold escorts, and by all accounts a colourful character with a thirst for action and adventure.

    Historical Person | By Robert Clyne | North Terrace | 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s

  12. Simpson, Mr. Alfred

    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

  13. Tennant, Mr. Andrew

    Andrew Tennant was the son of a Scottish shepherd who became a pastoralist and counted mining and the Adelaide Steamship Co. among his business investments. 

    Historical Person | By Dirk van Dissel | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

  14. Angas Family

    George Fife Angas (1789–1879), described by his biographer Edwin Hodder, who was attracted to Angas’s nonconformist piety, as ‘one of the Fathers and Founders of South Australia’, helped shape South Australia’s institutions

    Historical Subject | By Carol Fort | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

  15. Short, Augustus

    The energetic Augustus Short, South Australia’s first Anglican bishop, laid firm foundations for the growth of the Anglican Church in the new colony.

    Historical Person | By David Hilliard | 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s

  16. Barr Smith Family

    Robert Barr Smith (1824–1915), the son of a Scottish clergyman and his wife Marjory, née Barr, migrated to Melbourne in 1854. Moving to Adelaide just as Thomas Elder’s brothers were leaving South Australia, he threw in his lot with Elder.

    Historical Subject | By Carol Fort | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  17. Babbage, Benjamin

    Benjamin Herschel Babbage (1815–1878), an English engineer who superintended construction of the first Port Adelaide railway line, was employed by the South Australian Government in 1851 to search for gold. He led two official expeditions (1856 and 1858) that found no gold but surveyed the Flinders Ranges and Far North and established the extent of Lakes Eyre and Torrens.

    Historical Person | By Carol Fort | early nineteenth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

  18. Boarding Out Society

    The origins of foster care for disadvantaged children

    Historical Organisation | By Mary-Louise Geyer | 1860s, 1870s, 1880s

  19. Botanic Park

    Botanic Park has blossomed as a place for informal family gatherings and a venue for public events

    Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Parklands | 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s, 2020s, Aboriginal Country pre-contact

  20. Finniss, Boyle

     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

  21. Brown Street

    Brown Street, running from South Terrace to Grote Street, morphed into Morphett Street in 1967 but the area retains its out-of-the-way feel

    Historical Place | By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia | Southwest corner | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, early twenty–first century

  22. Sturt, Captain Charles

    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

  23. Spence, Catherine Helen

    Writer and social reformer Catherine Helen Spence was also the first woman to write a novel about Australia.

    Historical Person | By Susan Magarey | 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910

  24. Central Market

    The Central Market is a distinctively Adelaide institution, renowned for fine food and produce and a bustling cosmopolitan atmosphere

    Historical Place | By Peter Bell | Central Market | 1860s, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

  25. Chalmers Church Free Church of Scotland

    The second oldest remaining church in Adelaide, Scots Church is still in use today.

    Historical Place | By Hannah Stewart, History Trust of South Australia | North Terrace | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, early twentieth century

  26. Cawthorne, Charles

    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

  27. Childhood

    The history of childhood in South Australia has been characterised by the assimilation policies practised by the state and the Christian churches throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and also changes in infant mortality, and the introduction of compulsory schooling. 

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

  28. Closer Settlement

    Settlers believed that using land intensively maximised its value and civilised its occupants, and that holdings should be small to allow people to hold land

    Historical Subject | By Bill Gammage | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

  29. Colonial Laws Validity Act

    The powers of colonial legislatures to create courts, alter local constitutions and authenticate laws were confirmed by the British statute.

    Historical Subject | By Peter Moore | 1860s, 1930s

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