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Aboriginal flag

The Aboriginal flag flies high over its birthplace, Tarntanyangga/Victoria Square, a symbol of Aboriginal pride, rights and identity.

flags

Aboriginal flag, Aboriginal rights

1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s
Aboriginal Land Rights

The 1834 British statute authorising the establishment of the colony of South Australia described the region as ‘waste and unoccupied’,…

civil rights, land rights, land tenure, native title, settlement

early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century
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…

civil rights, colonial government, colonization, settlement

early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century
Aboriginal Ration Depots

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

early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century
Aborigines Protection Board

The South Australian Aborigines Act Amendment Act (1939) established a board ‘charged with the duty of controlling and promoting the welfare’ of…

late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century
Adelaide City Council

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

council

1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000-2010, 2010s
Adelaide Gaol

One of South Australia’s earliest buildings and home to over 300 000 people from 1841 to 1988, Adelaide Gaol is one…

1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Adelaide Laetitia Miethke, OBE

Adelaide Miethke was born on 8th June 1881 at Manoora, South Australia, the daughter of Prussian-born schoolteacher Carl Rudolph Miethke…

1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s
Adelaide Town Hall

The classically inspired Adelaide Town Hall was opened in 1866 and accommodates council chambers and civic reception rooms. It remains…
Alexander Hore-Ruthven

1st Earl of Gowrie and one time Governor of South Australia

1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s
Alexander Maurice Ramsay, CBE

Alexander Maurice Ramsay was born in Adelaide, South Australia, on 27 October 1914, the son of boot machinist Alexander Ramsay…

1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s
Alexander Tolmer

By any account, Alexander Tolmer was a colourful character whose thirst for action and adventure was matched only by his…

1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s
Alfred Muller Simpson

Like his father before him, Alfred Muller Simpson began his working life as a tinsmith. During his apprenticeship in his…

1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s
Andrew Alexander Kirkpatrick

Andrew Alexander Kirkpatrick was born in London, England, on 4th January 1848. His mother, Mary Ann Gildin (née Stinton), was…

early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century
Anna Moir Rennie

Anna Moir Rennie served the Port Adelaide community for nineteen years as Councillor and eventually as the Port’s first female…
Auditor-General

Independent auditing of Government is established in the position of the colonies first auditor general

1830s, 1840s, 1930s
Australian Democrats

The Australian Democrats have been arguably the most successful minor party in Australia’s political history and one that (unlike the…

political party

democrat, election, electorate, parliament, party, politics

early twenty–first century, late twentieth century
Beef Riot

In January 1931, during the Great Depression, more than 1000 unemployed men clashed with police in protest at the replacement…

Great Depression, protest, work

1930s
Boyle Travers Finniss

Boyle Travers Finniss (1807–1893), South Australia’s first premier, was born at sea off the Cape of Good Hope and educated…

1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1880s
Bushrangers

No bushrangers to threaten the utopian dream, but criminal activity led to Australia’s first police force

1830s
Catherine Helen Spence

In October 1905, at a public gathering in Adelaide to celebrate Catherine Spence’s eightieth birthday, South Australia’s Chief Justice, Sir…

1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910
Catherine Helen Spence statue

The powerful sculpture of Catherine Helen Spence in Light Square, Adelaide celebrates the life and work of a formidable South…

bronze statue

author, books, children, journalist, preacher, welfare, writing

1850s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1980s
Charles Allan Seymour Hawker

Charles Hawker was born on 16th May 1894 at Bungaree Station, near Clare, South Australia, the son of station manager…

early twentieth century
Charles Cameron Kingston Memorial

A remarkable and feisty South Australian attorney-general and premier, a father of federation and the first Australian Minster for Trade and…

statue

class, divorce, duel, football, work

1850s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s
Charles Cameron Kingston PC QC

Privy Councillor and Queen’s Counsel, Premier of South Australia from 1893 to 1899 and member of the first Commonwealth ministry…

1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910
Charles Duguid, OBE

Charles Duguid was born on 6th April 1884 at Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland, the son of primary school headmaster Charles Duguid…

early twentieth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century
Childhood

The history of childhood in South Australia has been characterised by the assimilation policies practised by the state and the…

assimilation, children, stolen generation

early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century
Closer Settlement

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

early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century
Colonial Laws Validity Act

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

1860s, 1930s
Conscription

Universal military training, including ‘boy conscription’ for those as young as 12, was introduced via the Commonwealth Defence Act in…

RSL, vietnam war, World War One, World War Two

early twentieth century, late twentieth century, mid twentieth century

Featured Thing

‘Street Art Poetry Project’ Location 3

‘Street Art Poetry Project’ Location 3

Featured Thing

‘The Apron’ by Karen Genoff

‘The Apron’ by Karen Genoff

Featured Thing

14 Pieces

14 Pieces

Most popular Things

‘Street Art Poetry Project’ Location 3

‘Street Art Poetry Project’ Location 3

Mark Niehus’ four-part series cemented his status as a prominent poet and artist in Adelaide.

Matthew Flinders Memorial

Matthew Flinders Memorial

A statue to honour Matthew Flinders, the first explorer to circumnavigate Australia, was a long time coming in Adelaide

Port Adelaide Lighthouse

Port Adelaide Lighthouse

Installed in the 1860s as Port Adelaide’s first fixed navigational beacon, and later used at South Neptune Island, the Port Adelaide Lighthouse today functions as an iconic museum display in the heart of the Port.

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