Adela Solomon was the Mayoress of Adelaide between 1869-1871.

Early Life

Adela (Ada) Solomon was born in December 1841, in Gloucestershire, England. She was the daughter of Reverend Isaac Pulver and Rosetta née Solomon.

Ada was the second wife of Judah Moss Solomon, Mayor of Adelaide from 1869 to 1871. Judah’s first wife, Rachel, died in childbirth in 1864.

Ada and Judah were wed at her parents’ home in Melbourne, on 4 September 1867. In 1868 Ada gave birth to her first child, John Pulver, in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. In 1870 Elias was born, followed by daughter Rosetta in 1871.

Contributions

On 21 June 1870, Ada officially opened the Victoria Bridge on Morphett Street. The date chosen for the opening was a public holiday and the ceremony took place in front of several thousand people.

During her term as Mayoress, Ada also regularly performed in a series of charitable concerts for inmates of the Destitute Asylum in Kintore Avenue, the Lunatic Asylum on North Terrace, and the Orphan Home near St John’s Church in Halifax Street.

Personal Note

On 21 September 1875, Ada followed the fate of Judah’s first wife Rachel, and died giving birth to a stillborn child. She was 33. Her daughter, Rosetta, died in 1878. Judah died of cancer in 1880. All three are buried in West Terrace Cemetery.