mid nineteenth century

Image: Upper body portrait photograph of a man wearing a suit

McEwin, Mr. Alexander

Lyell Alexander McEwin (1897–1988) received a frugal Mid North upbringing which taught him the motto, ‘waste not, want not’, that characterised his 40 years in the Legislative Council, 1934–75.

Historical Person | By Carol Fort | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s

Image: black and white photo of man in suit wearing white turban

Allum, Mahomet

Mahomet Allum was described in glowing testimonials as 'the wonder man' and by his adversaries as a 'quack'.

Historical Person | By Vedrana Budimir & Catherine Manning, History Trust of South Australia | Central Market | 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s

Image: A young Caucasian woman in a full-length Edwardian-era dress paints a still life on an easel. The painting features a couple of vases holding flowers

Preston, Mrs. Margaret

A highly influential painter and printmaker, Margaret Preston was once described as 'a natural enemy of the dull'.

Historical Person | By Jane Hylton | North Terrace | 1870s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s

Marriage and divorce

Marriage and divorce rates have fluctuated according to social mores and legislative imposts.

Historical Subject | By Margaret Allen | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Deeply affected by the isolation and loneliness of her early married life, Mary Jane Warnes strived to improve conditions for her fellow countrywomen by founding the South Australian Country Women’s Association.

Historical Person | By Nancy Robinson Flannery | North Terrace | 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s

Lee, Mary

Suffragist and social reformer Mary Lee was jubilant when, in 1894, South Australia became the first Australian colony to grant women the vote.

Historical Person | By Dr Helen Jones | North Terrace | 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910

Image: A portrait of a young woman wearing a nun’s habit. She is holding a bible and a crucifix

MacKillop, Mary

An educationist and co-founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Mary MacKillop is now famous as Australia’s only Catholic saint.

Historical Person | By Sister Marie Foale | Central Market, North Terrace | 1900-1910, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

Moorhouse, Dr. Matthew

Matthew Moorhouse, a medical practitioner, arrived in South Australia from Staffordshire, England, in June 1839 to take up appointment as the colony’s first permanent protector of Aboriginals.

Historical Person | By Robert Foster | early nineteenth century, late nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

Mills, Ms. May

Educationist and sports administrator May Mills believed 'the wholesome development of a nation' depended on sport.

Historical Person | By Dr Helen Jones | North Terrace | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s

Anderson, M.C.

MC ‘Thistle’ Anderson was a Scottish born actress turned writer. Best known for her pamphlet Arcadian Adelaide; she also published poems and short stories.

Historical Person | By Anthony Laube | 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s

Image: two men operating large machinery inf fron of pile of boulders

Mines and mining

South Australia's rich mineral wealth is reflected in the state's long mining history

Historical Subject | By Bernie O'Neil | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1940s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s

McLeod, Mr. Murdoch

A very industrious and conservative businessman, Murdoch McLeod was generous but modest and never flamboyant.

Historical Person | By Knoyle Cross | Central Market | 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s

Northern Territory

A territory foregone – practical decision or economic and social development opportunities lost?

Historical Subject | By Jack Cross | 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s

Nursing

On-the-job experience was the only training for the earliest nurses, but the profession is now part of the higher education sector

Historical Subject | By Joan Durdin | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Overlanders

The one viable alternative to importing live stock by sea was the droving of stock overland from New South Wales, the work of overlanders. Their motive was simple: high profit.

Historical Subject | By Rob Linn | early nineteenth century, mid nineteenth century

Image: A photographic head-and-shoulders portrait of a young man wearing a late-Victorian era suit and sporting a dark, handlebar moustache

Nesbit, Mr. Edward

Barrister, intellectual and proud hedonist, Paris Nesbit was an early starter who allegedly read Milton at three and translated Goethe at ten.

Historical Person | By Peter Moore | North Terrace | 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s

Image: A photographic head-and-shoulders portrait of an elderly Caucasian man wearing an early twentieth-century suit and wire-rimmed spectacles. He is balding, but has a full beard and bushy moustache

Waite, Mr. Peter

A pastoralist who built an empire on sheep and cattle runs, Peter Waite was also a major philanthropist.

Historical Person | By Yvonne Routledge | North Terrace | 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s

Philanthropy

‘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’.

Historical Subject | By Rob Linn | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: Black and white portrait photograph of the upper body of a man dressed in formal attire

Playford Family

A Baptist minister and Waterloo veteran with a dragoon’s pension, South Australia’s first Thomas Playford arrived in 1844 to claim an inherited original town acre. Thomas’s eldest son, Thomas Playford (1837–1915), was a successful orchardist at Drysdale, Norton Summit, in the Adelaide Hills. Thomas’s grandson, Tom Playford (1896–1981), also went into parliament, becoming Australia’s longest-serving premier.

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

Image: Black and white photograph of an Aboriginal man

Booboorowie, Mr. Poltpalingada

From the 1880s Tommy Walker, or Poltpalingada Booboorowie, was a leading figure among the community of Aboriginal people who lived on the fringes of white Adelaide society.

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

Image: group of people standing together on steps

Population

South Australia’s demography is in many ways the most distinctive of all Australia’s states, but the wealth of historical population data available for both the colony and state remains under-analysed.

Historical Subject | By Graeme Hugo | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: A wooden motor boat with large cabin is moored alongside a jetty with a covered shelter. Several people are transiting from the jetty to the boat

Port Adelaide Ferries

Originally an informal service provided by a ragtag assortment of 'watermen' and their rowboats, Port Adelaide's ferries evolved into the preferred link between Port Adelaide and Lefevre Peninsula until the opening of the Birkenhead Bridge in 1940.

Historical Subject | By James Hunter, History Trust of South Australia | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s

Image: A two-storey octagonal stone tower set within a high wall with a crenellated parapet.

Prisons

Although South Australia was proclaimed a free settlement, colonial officials soon found they needed a gaol to house lawbreakers.

Historical Subject | By Patricia Sumerling | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: Head and shoulder shot of bald man wearing suit

Bragg, Prof. William

Professor William Bragg had an extraordinarily active scientific career in Adelaide.

Historical Person | By John Patterson | 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s

Image: men standing in front of building

Pubs

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.

Historical Subject | By Patricia Sumerling | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: protesters on King William Street

Radicalism

Radicalism has been inherent in South Australian history from its founding as a free settlement. Based upon the English radical liberal thought of its founders, the State's reputation grew as a progressive colony and the first to entirely separate church from state.

Historical Subject | By Brendan Moran | 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 1890s, 1900-1910, 1930s, 1940s, 1960s, 1970s

Regions/Regionalism

Regions/Regionalism, meaning extensive and distinctive areas and human attachments to them, these are words to conjure with in the South Australian experience.

Historical Subject | By Helen Bartley and Jill Roe | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: crowds of people, dressed fairly formally, in front of shop awnings

Retail Trade

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.

Historical Subject | By Martin P Shanahan | early nineteenth century, early twentieth century, early twenty–first century, late nineteenth century, late twentieth century, mid nineteenth century, mid twentieth century

Image: Black and white photographic portrait of a man with small round glasses and a large beard

Hanson, Sir Richard

Sir Richard Davies Hanson was a lawyer, politician, theologian and author who helped write in significant aspects of South Australia's Constitution

Historical Person | By Carol Fort | mid nineteenth century

Image: paddle steamer with a number of people standing on top

River Murray

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.