Elder Hall on Morialta Street, between Grote Street and Franklin Street, is the home of the Adelaide Benevolent and Strangers’ Friend Society. Like its more well known name sake at the The University of Adelaide, this building was named after Sir Thomas Elder.
The the Adelaide Benevolent and Strangers’ Friend Society formed in 1849 to help people sleeping rough, and others struggling with little funds in the young city of Adelaide. In 1869 they began acquiring housing in the West End to rent at low rates to people in need.
It was a bequest from Sir Thomas Elder that allowed the society to erect this building in 1898. The society continues today and it supports those in need with low cost housing. It has more than 195 rental properties across metropolitan Adelaide and refugees, domestic violence victims and the unemployed are among the society’s tenants.
By Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia
Cite this
Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia, ‘Elder Hall’, SA History Hub, History Trust of South Australia, https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/places/elder-hall/
Sources
Advertiser, 1 June 1899, ‘The Elder Conservatorium’, p5
Advertiser, 29 March 1898 ‘The late Sir Thomas Elder’, p6
Advertiser, 9 November 1897, ‘Proposed Conservatorium of Music’, pp4–5
Linn, Rob, The spirit of knowledge: A social history of the University of Adelaide North Terrace campus (Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press, 2011)
Marsden, Susan, Paul Stark & Patricia Sumerling eds, Heritage of the City of Adelaide: An illustrated guide (Adelaide: Corporation of the City of Adelaide, 1990)
South Australian Register, 1 June 1899, ‘Elder Conservatorium: A new organ ordered’, p5
South Australian Register, 26 November 1897, ‘Deputations: Government buildings and the Art Gallery’, p5
South Australian Register, 27 April 1900, ‘Music and the Elder Hall’, p4
South Australian Register, 27 September 1898, ‘The Elder Conservatorium: Laying the foundation stone’, p6
South Australian Register, 27 September 1900, ‘Elder Hall: The opening ceremony’, p6
South Australian Register, 28 April 1900, ‘The Elder Conservatorium: Description of the building’, p5
South Australian Register, 28 April 1900, ‘The opening concert’, p5
South Australian Register, 29 September 1898, Untitled notes, p4
University of Adelaide Archives, Provenance 12 – Elder Conservatorium, http://www.adelaide.edu.au/records/archives/guide/UAR0012.htm, accessed 2 August 2012
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