Carpenters, tailors, bakers, carriers, cordwainers and coachmakers had formed unions within ten years of European settlement of South Australia, and by the 1870s there were thousands of union members in the colony.
The third-largest religious denomination in South Australia arose through a relatively recent amalgamation of long-standing churches, but their strong traditions remain.
Although their original evangelical impulse has diminished over time, the YMCA and the YWCA retain a liberal Christian ethos and promote healthy lifestyles