‘South Australia’, wrote the early twentieth-century author of The Cyclopedia of South Australia, ‘owes its existence to a movement which had its origins in philanthropy’.
JM Freeland characterises Australian pubs as among ‘the most socially significant, historically valuable, architecturally interesting and colourful features of Australian society’ (Freeland 1977, p. 1). South Australia’s pubs are no exception.
Regions/Regionalism, meaning extensive and distinctive areas and human attachments to them, these are words to conjure with in the South Australian experience.
In the early years of European settlement the distinction between retail trade, wholesale trade and importing in South Australia was unclear, with many businesses combining all three functions.
The River Murray has been central to South Australia’s existence. Named in 1830 by Charles Sturt after Sir George Murray, British secretary of state for the colonies, the river runs 2576 kilometres from its watershed in the Australian Alps to the sea near Goolwa on the Fleurieu Peninsula, 650 kilometres of the river’s flow being within South Australia.
Saint Patrick's Church on Grote Street is one of several historically significant Catholic church buildings in the southwest corner of the Adelaide CBD. The original building was the first Catholic church in Adelaide.
Before and after the arrival of Europeans, Aboriginal peoples had a well-developed cultural understanding and practical knowledge of plants, animal behaviour, local geology and meteorological conditions. Information they provided was frequently vital to the success – and even survival – of early European navigators and explorers.
Synagogue Place, named after the Synagogue built in 1850, has been the centre of the Jewish community in South Australia for much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It has since grown, becoming increasingly commercialised with numerous businesses making it their home.
Modelled on the gentlemen’s clubs that proliferated in London from the eighteenth century, the Adelaide Club resembles bodies established at about the same time in the capital cities of the other Australian colonies.
Originally a liberal religious faith without dogma or creeds, Unitarians now emphasise the importance of free inquiry, tolerance of religious differences and individual spiritual exploration.
In South Australia, the prime key to wealth has been land. From its inception as a European colony, ownership (or control) of land meant access to agricultural and mineral resources. For the Aboriginal peoples, dispossession meant devastation.
The story of wheat is more than the story of a versatile food grain. In South Australia, the history of the production, transport and marketing of wheat opens wider windows onto society, economics and politics.
Life on the ‘ill-shaped leg’ of Yorke Peninsula has revolved around mining, farming, fishing, shipping and tourism, while the region’s sporting prowess is substantial.
Although their original evangelical impulse has diminished over time, the YMCA and the YWCA retain a liberal Christian ethos and promote healthy lifestyles