Adelaide ( ) is the
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...
of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
,
the state's largest city and the
fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the
Adelaide Hills) or the
Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ad ...
. The
demonym
A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...
''Adelaidean'' is used to denote the city and the residents of Adelaide. The
Traditional Owners
Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have right ...
of the Adelaide region are the
Kaurna people. The area of the city centre and surrounding parklands is called ' in the
Kaurna language
Kaurna ( or ) is a Pama-Nyungan language historically spoken by the Kaurna peoples of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. The Kaurna peoples are made up of various tribal clan groups, each with their own ''parnkarra'' district of land and ...
.
Adelaide is situated on the
Adelaide Plains
The Adelaide Plains (Kaurna name Tarndanya) is a plain in South Australia lying between the coast ( Gulf St Vincent) on the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east. The southernmost tip of the plain is in the southern seaside suburbs of A ...
north of the
Fleurieu Peninsula
The Fleurieu Peninsula () is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide.
History
Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western side of the peninsula was occupied by the ...
, between the
Gulf St Vincent in the west and the
Mount Lofty Ranges in the east. Its metropolitan area extends from the coast to the
foothills
Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topogr ...
of the Mount Lofty Ranges, and stretches from
Gawler
Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...
in the north to
Sellicks Beach in the south.
Named in honour of
Queen Adelaide
, house = Saxe-Meiningen
, father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
, mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy  ...
, the city was founded in 1836 as the
planned capital
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
for the only freely-settled British province in Australia.
Colonel William Light
William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British- Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of ...
, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city centre and chose its location close to the
River Torrens
The River Torrens , (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the ...
. Light's design, now
listed as national heritage, set out the city centre in a
grid layout known as "
Light's Vision", interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by
parklands.
Early colonial Adelaide was shaped by the diversity and wealth of its free settlers, in contrast to the convict history of other Australian cities. Until the
post-war
In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period ...
era, it was Australia's third most populated city. It has been noted for its leading examples of religious freedom and progressive political reforms, and became known as the "City of Churches" due to its diversity of faiths. Today, Adelaide is known by
its many festivals and sporting events, its
food and wine, its coastline and hills, and its large defence and manufacturing sectors. Adelaide's
quality of life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
has ranked consistently highly in various measures through the 21st century, at one stage being named Australia's most liveable city.
As South Australia's government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the
city centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
along the cultural boulevards of
North Terrace and
King William Street.
History
Before European settlement
![Kaurnaland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Kaurnaland.png)
The area around modern-day Adelaide was originally inhabited by the Indigenous
Kaurna
The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurna ...
people, one of many
Aboriginal nations in South Australia. The city and
parklands area was known as Tarntanya, Tandanya (now the short name of
Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute
The Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, usually referred to as Tandanya, is an art museum located on Grenfell Street in Adelaide, South Australia. It specialises in promoting Indigenous Australian art, including visual art, music ...
), Tarndanya, or
Tarndanyangga
Victoria Square, also known as Tarntanyangga (formerly Tarndanyangga) (), is the central square of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.
It is one of six squares designed by the founder of Adelaide, Colonel William L ...
(now the dual name for Victoria Square) in the
Kaurna language
Kaurna ( or ) is a Pama-Nyungan language historically spoken by the Kaurna peoples of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. The Kaurna peoples are made up of various tribal clan groups, each with their own ''parnkarra'' district of land and ...
. The surrounding area was an open grassy plain with patches of trees and shrub which had been managed by hundreds of generations. Kaurna country encompassed the plains which stretched north and south of Tarntanya as well as the wooded foothills of the
Mt Lofty Ranges
The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and ...
. The River Torrens was known as the Karrawirra Pari (Red Gum forest river). About 300 Kaurna populated the Adelaide area, and were referred to by the settlers as the Cowandilla.
There were more than 20 local clans across the plain who lived semi-nomadic lives, with extensive
mound settlements where huts were built repeatedly over centuries and a complex social structure including a class of sorcerers separated from regular society.
Within a few decades of European settlement of South Australia, Kaurna culture was almost completely destroyed; the last speaker of
Kaurna language
Kaurna ( or ) is a Pama-Nyungan language historically spoken by the Kaurna peoples of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. The Kaurna peoples are made up of various tribal clan groups, each with their own ''parnkarra'' district of land and ...
died in 1929. Extensive documentation by early missionaries and other researchers has enabled a modern revival of both,
which has included a commitment by local and state governments to rename or include Kaurna names for many local places.
19th century
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
was officially established as a British Province in England in February 1836. The first
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
proclaimed the commencement of colonial government in South Australia on 28 December 1836, near
The Old Gum Tree
The Old Gum Tree (also known as The Proclamation Tree) is a historic site in Glenelg North, South Australia. Near this tree on 28 December 1836, the British governor John Hindmarsh delivered the proclamation announcing the establishment of Go ...
in what is now the suburb of
Glenelg North
Glenelg North is a seaside suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in both the City of Holdfast Bay and the City of West Torrens.
Demographics
The 2011 Census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 5,699 persons in Glenelg ...
. The event is commemorated in South Australia as
Proclamation Day
Proclamation Day is the name of official or unofficial holidays or other anniversaries which commemorate or mark an important proclamation. In some cases it may be the day of, or the anniversary of, the proclamation of a monarch's accession to the ...
. The site of the colony's capital was surveyed and laid out by Colonel
William Light
William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British- Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of ...
, the first Surveyor-General of South Australia, with his own original, unique, topographically sensitive design. The city was named after
Queen Adelaide
, house = Saxe-Meiningen
, father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
, mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy  ...
.
Adelaide was established as a planned colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution, based upon the ideas of
Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Brit ...
. Wakefield had read accounts of Australian settlement while in prison in London for attempting to abduct an heiress, and realised that the eastern colonies suffered from a lack of available labour, due to the practice of giving land grants to all arrivals. Wakefield's idea was for the Government to survey and sell the land at a rate that would maintain land values high enough to be unaffordable for labourers and journeymen. Funds raised from the sale of land were to be used to bring out working-class emigrants, who would have to work hard for the monied settlers to ever afford their own land. As a result of this policy, Adelaide does not share
the convict settlement history of other Australian cities like Sydney,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
and
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
.
![North Terrace, 1841](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/North_Terrace%2C_1841.jpg)
As it was believed that in a colony of free settlers there would be little crime, no provision was made for a
gaol
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...
in Colonel Light's 1837 plan. But by mid-1837 the ''
South Australian Register
''The Register'', originally the ''South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register'', and later ''South Australian Register,'' was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and f ...
'' was warning of escaped convicts from New South Wales and tenders for a temporary gaol were sought. Following a burglary, a murder, and two attempted murders in Adelaide during March 1838, Governor Hindmarsh created the South Australian Police Force (now the
South Australia Police
South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Po ...
) in April 1838 under 21-year-old
Henry Inman. The first sheriff, Samuel Smart, was wounded during a robbery, and on 2 May 1838 one of the offenders, Michael Magee, became the first person to be hanged in South Australia. William Baker Ashton was appointed governor of the temporary gaol in 1839, and in 1840 George Strickland Kingston was commissioned to design Adelaide's new gaol. Construction of
Adelaide Gaol
Adelaide Gaol is a former Australian prison located in the Park Lands of Adelaide, in the state of South Australia. The gaol was the first permanent one in South Australia and operated from 1841 until 1988. The Gaol is one of the two oldest bui ...
commenced in 1841.
Adelaide's early history was marked by economic uncertainty and questionable leadership. The first governor of South Australia,
John Hindmarsh
Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH (baptised 22 May 1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838.
Family
His grandfather William Hindmarsh was a gardener in Co ...
, clashed frequently with others, in particular the Resident Commissioner,
James Hurtle Fisher
Sir James Hurtle Fisher (1 May 1790 – 28 January 1875) was a lawyer and prominent South Australian pioneer. He was the first Resident Commissioner of the colony of South Australia, the first Mayor of Adelaide and the first resident Sou ...
. The rural area surrounding Adelaide was surveyed by Light in preparation to sell a total of over of land. Adelaide's early economy started to get on its feet in 1838 with the arrival of livestock from
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
. Wool production provided an early basis for the South Australian economy. By 1860, wheat farms had been established from
Encounter Bay
Encounter Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south central coast about south of the state capital of Adelaide. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his encounter on 8 April 1802 with Nicolas Baudi ...
in the south to
Clare Clare may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land
Australia
* Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley
* Clare Valley, South Australia
Canada
* Clare (electoral district), an electoral district
* Cl ...
in the north.
George Gawler
Lieutenant-Colonel George Gawler, KH, (21 July 1795 – 7 May 1869) was the second Governor of South Australia, at the same time serving as Resident Commissioner, from 17 October 1838 until 15 May 1841.
Biography Early life
Gawler, born on 21 ...
took over from Hindmarsh in late 1838 and, despite being under orders from the ''Select Committee on South Australia'' in Britain not to undertake any public works, promptly oversaw construction of a governor's house, the
Adelaide Gaol
Adelaide Gaol is a former Australian prison located in the Park Lands of Adelaide, in the state of South Australia. The gaol was the first permanent one in South Australia and operated from 1841 until 1988. The Gaol is one of the two oldest bui ...
, police barracks, a hospital, a
customs house
A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...
and a wharf at
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...
. Gawler was recalled and replaced by
George Edward Grey
Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, ...
in 1841. Grey slashed public expenditure against heavy opposition, although its impact was negligible at this point: silver was discovered in
Glen Osmond that year, agriculture was well underway, and other mines sprung up all over the state, aiding Adelaide's commercial development. The city exported meat, wool, wine, fruit and wheat by the time Grey left in 1845, contrasting with a low point in 1842 when one-third of Adelaide houses were abandoned.
Trade links with the rest of the Australian states were established after the
Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...
was successfully navigated in 1853 by
Francis Cadell, an Adelaide resident. South Australia became a
self-governing colony
In the British Empire, a self-governing colony was a colony with an elected government in which elected rulers were able to make most decisions without referring to the colonial power with nominal control of the colony. This was in contrast t ...
in 1856 with the ratification of a new constitution by the British parliament.
Secret ballot
The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vo ...
s were introduced, and a
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...
parliament was elected on 9 March 1857, by which time 109,917 people lived in the province.
In 1860, the
Thorndon Park
Thorndon Park is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Brentwood in Essex. Part of it is run by Essex County Council as Thorndon Country Park, and the Essex Wildlife Trust manages its visitor centre.
The site is semi-natural woodl ...
reservoir was opened, finally providing an alternative water source to the now turbid River Torrens. Gas street lighting was implemented in 1867, the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
was founded in 1874, the
South Australian Art Gallery
The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...
opened in 1881 and the
Happy Valley Reservoir opened in 1896. In the 1890s Australia was affected by a severe economic depression, ending a hectic era of land booms and tumultuous expansionism. Financial institutions in Melbourne and banks in Sydney closed. The national fertility rate fell and immigration was reduced to a trickle. The value of South Australia's exports nearly halved. Drought and poor harvests from 1884 compounded the problems, with some families leaving for Western Australia. Adelaide was not as badly hit as the larger gold-rush cities of Sydney and Melbourne, and silver and lead discoveries at
Broken Hill
Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It ...
provided some relief. Only one year of deficit was recorded, but the price paid was retrenchments and lean public spending. Wine and copper were the only industries not to suffer a downturn.
20th century
![North Terrace in 1938](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/North_Terrace_in_1938.jpg)
Adelaide was Australia's third largest city for most of the 20th century.
Electric street lighting was introduced in 1900 and electric trams were transporting passengers in 1909. 28,000 men were sent to fight in World War I. Historian F. W. Crowley examined the reports of visitors in the early 20th century, noting that "many visitors to Adelaide admired the
foresighted planning of its founders", as well as pondering the riches of the young city. Adelaide enjoyed a postwar boom, entering a time of relative prosperity. Its population grew, and it became the third most populous metropolitan area in the country, after Sydney and Melbourne. Its prosperity was short-lived, with the return of droughts and the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
of the 1930s. It later returned to fortune under strong government leadership.
Secondary industries helped reduce the state's dependence on
primary industries
The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining.
The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in de ...
. World War II brought industrial stimulus and diversification to Adelaide under the
Playford Government, which advocated Adelaide as a safe place for manufacturing due to its less vulnerable location. Shipbuilding was expanded at the nearby port of
Whyalla
Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...
.
The South Australian Government in this period built on former wartime manufacturing industries but neglected cultural facilities which meant South Australia's economy lagged behind.
International manufacturers like General Motors
Holden
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thr ...
and
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...
made use of these factories around the Adelaide area in suburbs like
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, completing its transformation from an agricultural service centre to a 20th-century motor city. The
Mannum–Adelaide pipeline
The Mannum–Adelaide pipeline is a water pipeline in South Australia. It was the first major pipeline built from the River Murray to serve Adelaide. The pipeline project was started in 1949 and completed in March 1955. After suffering water re ...
brought
River Murray
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...
water to Adelaide in 1955 and
an airport opened at
West Beach West Beach may refer to:
;Australia
*West Beach, South Australia
* West Beach, Western Australia
;United States
* West Beach (Santa Barbara), California
* West Beach, Beverly, Massachusetts
;South Africa
* West Beach, Western Cape
See also
*''Wes ...
in 1955.
Flinders University
Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator M ...
and the
Flinders Medical Centre were established in the 1960s at Bedford Park, south of the city. Today, Flinders Medical Centre is one of the largest teaching hospitals in South Australia. In the post-war years around the early 1960s, Adelaide was surpassed by Brisbane as Australia's third largest city.
The
Dunstan Governments of the 1970s saw something of an Adelaide 'cultural revival', establishing a wide array of social reforms. The city became noted for its progressivism as South Australia became the first Australian state or territory to
decriminalise homosexuality between consenting adults in 1975.
It also became a centre for the arts, building upon the biennial "
Adelaide Festival of Arts
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
" that commenced in 1960. Adelaide hosted the
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different ven ...
between 1985 and 1995 on a street circuit in the city's east parklands; it moved to Melbourne in 1996.
The
State Bank
A state bank is generally a financial institution that is chartered by a federated state, as opposed to one regulated at the federal or national level. State banks differ from a reserve bank in that it does not necessarily control monetary polic ...
collapsed in 1991 during an economic recession; the effects lasted until 2004, when
Standard & Poor's
S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is con ...
reinstated South Australia's AAA credit rating. From
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
until
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
, the
Adelaide 500
The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is someti ...
Supercars race has made use of sections of the former Formula One circuit. Adelaide's tallest building, completed in 2020, is called the Adelaidean and is located at 11 Frome Street.
21st century
In the early years of the 21st century, a significant increase in the state government's spending on Adelaide's infrastructure occurred. The
Rann government invested A$535 million in a major upgrade of the Adelaide Oval to enable
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...
to be played in the city centre and more than A$2
billion
Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions:
*1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English.
* 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...
to build a new
Royal Adelaide Hospital
The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), colloquially known by its initials or pronounced as "the Rah", is South Australia's largest hospital, owned by the state government as part of Australia's public health care system. The RAH provides tertiary hea ...
on land adjacent to the Adelaide Railway Station. The Glenelg tramline was extended through the city to Hindmarsh down to East Terrace and the suburban railway line extended south to Seaford.
Following a period of stagnation in the 1990s and 2000s, Adelaide began several major developments and redevelopments. The Adelaide Convention Centre was redeveloped and expanded at a cost of A$350 million beginning in 2012. Three historic buildings were adapted for modern use: the
Torrens Building
The Torrens Building, named after Sir Robert Richard Torrens, is a State Heritage-listed building on the corner of Victoria Square and Wakefield Street in Adelaide, South Australia. It was originally known as the New Government Offices, and a ...
in Victoria Square as the Adelaide campus for Carnegie Mellon University, University College London, and Torrens University; the Stock Exchange building as the Science Exchange of the Royal Institution Australia; and the Glenside Psychiatric Hospital as the Adelaide Studios of the
SA Film Corporation. The government also invested more than A$2 billion to build a
desalination
Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Salt ...
plant, powered by renewable energy, as an 'insurance policy' against droughts affecting Adelaide's
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...
. The
Adelaide Festival
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
,
Fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts
* Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe"
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* The Fringe, the ...
, and
Womadelaide
WOMADelaide is an annual four-day festival of Music, Arts and Dance, which was first held in 1992 in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia. One of many WOMAD festivals held around the world, it is a four-day event that presents a diverse selec ...
became annual events.
The COVID-19 Pandemic had an impact the economy and resident life of the city. Comparing to other major cities in Australia, Adelaide is less affected. The city only went to fully lockdown twice since the beginning of the pandemic, once in November 2020 (4 days) and another once in July 2021 (7 days), despite being the nearest city to Melbourne (
262 days of lockdown) with 1 million or more population.
Geography
Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges. The city stretches from the coast to the foothills, and from
Gawler
Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...
at its northern extent to
Sellicks Beach in the south. According to the Regional Development Australia, an Australian government planning initiative, the "Adelaide Metropolitan Region" has a total land area of , while a more expansive definition by the Australian Bureau of Statistics defines a "Greater Adelaide" statistical area totalling .
The city sits at an average elevation of above sea level.
Mount Lofty
Mount Lofty (, elevation AHD) is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about east of the Adelaide city centre, within the Cleland National Park in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia.
The mountain's s ...
, east of the Adelaide metropolitan region in the Adelaide Hills at an elevation of , is the tallest point of the city and in the state south of
Burra. The city borders the
Temperate Grassland of South Australia
The Iron-grass Natural Temperate Grassland of South Australia is a temperate grassland in the southeast of South Australia that stretches from Orroroo in the north, to Strathalbyn in the south, just straddling the eastern fringes of Adelaide' ...
in the east, an endangered vegetation community.
![Adelaide, Australia ESA384290](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Adelaide%2C_Australia_ESA384290.jpg)
Much of Adelaide was bushland before British settlement, with some variation – sandhills, swamps and marshlands were prevalent around the coast. The loss of the sandhills to urban development had a particularly destructive effect on the coastline due to erosion. Where practical, the government has implemented programs to rebuild and vegetate sandhills at several of Adelaide's beachside suburbs. Much of the original vegetation has been cleared with what is left to be found in reserves such as the
Cleland National Park and
Belair National Park
Belair National Park (formerly known as the National Park and as Belair Recreation Park) is a protected area in Belair, South Australia, southeast of Adelaide city centre; it covers an area of . It was proclaimed in 1891 and was the first nation ...
. A number of creeks and rivers flow through the Adelaide region. The largest are the Torrens and
Onkaparinga catchments. Adelaide relies on its many reservoirs for water supply with the
Happy Valley Reservoir supplying around 40% and the much larger
Mount Bold Reservoir
Mount Bold Reservoir is the largest reservoir in South Australia with a maximum capacity of over forty-six thousand megalitres. Costing A$1.1 million, the reservoir took six years to construct on the Onkaparinga River system between 1932 and 1938 ...
10% of Adelaide's domestic requirements respectively.
Geology
Adelaide and its surrounding area is one of the most seismically active regions in Australia. On 1 March 1954 at 3:40 am Adelaide experienced its largest recorded earthquake to date, with the epicentre 12 km from the city centre at
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underw ...
, and a reported magnitude of 5.6. There have been smaller earthquakes in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2018.
The uplands of the
Adelaide Hills, part of the southern
Mount Lofty Ranges to the east of Adelaide, are defined on their western side by a number of arcuate faults (the Para, Eden, Clarendon and Willunga Faults), and consist of rocks such as
siltstone
Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, ...
,
dolomite Dolomite may refer to:
*Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral
*Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock
*Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community
*Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
and
quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...
, dating from the
Neoproterozoic
The Neoproterozoic Era is the unit of geologic time from 1 billion to 538.8 million years ago.
It is the last era of the Precambrian Supereon and the Proterozoic Eon; it is subdivided into the Tonian, Cryogenian, and Ediacaran periods. It is prec ...
to the middle
Cambrian
The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million years ago ...
, laid down in the Adelaide Rift Complex, the oldest part of the
Adelaide Superbasin.
Most of the Adelaide metropolitan area lies in the downthrown St Vincent Basin and its embayments, including the
Adelaide Plains
The Adelaide Plains (Kaurna name Tarndanya) is a plain in South Australia lying between the coast ( Gulf St Vincent) on the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east. The southernmost tip of the plain is in the southern seaside suburbs of A ...
Sub-basin, and the Golden Grove, Noarlunga and Willunga Embayments. These basins contain deposits of
Tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
marine and non-marine sands and limestones, which form important aquifers. These deposits are overlain by
Quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million year ...
alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...
s and
piedmont
it, Piemontese
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, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
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, demographics1_title2 ...
slope deposits, derived from erosion of the uplands, consisting of sands, clays and gravels, interfingering to the west with
transgressive Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
to
Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...
marine sands and coastal sediments of the shoreline of Gulf St Vincent.
Urban layout
Adelaide is a planned city, designed by the first Surveyor-General of South Australia, Colonel
William Light
William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British- Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of ...
. His plan, sometimes referred to as "Light's Vision" (also the name of a statue of him on
Montefiore Hill
Montefiore Hill is a small hill in North Adelaide, South Australia, which affords a view over the Adelaide city centre. Location and description
The hill lies within the northern Adelaide Parklands, within the area known as Park 26: Adelaide O ...
), arranged Adelaide in a
grid
Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to:
Common usage
* Cattle grid or stock grid, a type of obstacle is used to prevent livestock from crossing the road
* Grid reference, used to define a location on a map
Arts, entertainment, and media
* News ...
, with
five squares in the
Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ad ...
and a ring of parks, known as the
Adelaide Parklands
The Adelaide Park Lands are the figure-eight of land spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton and separating the City of Adelaide area (which includes both Adelaide city centre and North Adelaide) from the surro ...
, surrounding it. Light's selection of the location for the city was initially unpopular with the early settlers, as well as South Australia's first governor, John Hindmarsh, due to its distance from the harbour at Port Adelaide, and the lack of fresh water there. Light successfully persisted with his choice of location against this initial opposition. Recent evidence suggests that Light worked closely with George Kingston as well as a team of men to set out Adelaide, using various templates for city plans going back to
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
, including
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
designs and the similar layouts of the American cities
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and
Savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
–which, like Adelaide, follow the same layout of a central city square, four complementing city squares surrounding it and a parklands area that surrounds the city centre.
The benefits of Light's design are numerous: Adelaide has had wide multi-lane roads from its beginning, an easily navigable
cardinal direction
The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are at ...
grid layout and an expansive green ring around the city centre. There are two sets of
ring road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
s in Adelaide that have resulted from the original design. The
inner ring route (
A21) borders the parklands, and the outer route (
A3/
A13/
A16/
A17) completely bypasses the inner city via (in clockwise order)
Grand Junction Road
Grand Junction Road is the longest east–west thoroughfare in the Adelaide metropolitan area, traversing through Adelaide's northern suburbs approximately 8 kilometres north of the Adelaide city centre.
Route
Travelling from the Port Adelaide r ...
, Hampstead Road, Ascot Avenue,
Portrush Road
Portrush Road is a major arterial route through the eastern suburbs of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. This name covers many consecutive streets and is not widely known to most drivers except for the southernmost section, as the entire ...
,
Cross Road and
South Road
South Road and its southern section as Main South Road outside of Adelaide is a major north–south conduit connecting Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula, in South Australia. It is one of Adelaide's most important arterial and bypass roads. As ...
.
Suburban expansion has to some extent outgrown Light's original plan. Numerous former outlying villages and "country towns", as well as the satellite city of
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, have been enveloped by its
suburban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
. Expanding developments in the Adelaide Hills region led to the construction of the
South Eastern Freeway
South Eastern Freeway is a freeway in South Australia (SA). It is a part of the National Highway network linking the state capital cities of Adelaide, SA, and Melbourne, Victoria, and signed as National Highway M1. It carries traffic over t ...
to cope with growth, which has subsequently led to new developments and further improvements to that transport corridor. Similarly, the booming development in Adelaide's
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
led to the construction of the
Southern Expressway.
New roads are not the only transport infrastructure developed to cope with the urban growth. The
O-Bahn Busway
The O-Bahn Busway is a guided busway that is part of the bus rapid transit system servicing the northeastern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The O-Bahn system was conceived by Daimler-Benz to enable buses to avoid traffic congestion by s ...
is an example of a unique solution to
Tea Tree Gully's transport woes in the 1980s. The development of the nearby suburb of
Golden Grove in the late 1980s is an example of well-thought-out urban planning.
In the 1960s, a
Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study
The Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study, or "MATS Plan" as it became known, was a comprehensive transport plan released in 1968 proposing a number of road and rail transport projects for the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia.
It ...
Plan was proposed to cater for the future growth of the city. The plan involved the construction of freeways,
expressways
Expressway may refer to:
*Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic.
*Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road.
*Expressway, the fictional slide ...
and the upgrade of certain aspects of the public transport system. The then premier
Steele Hall
Raymond Steele Hall (born 30 November 1928) is a former Australian politician who served as the 36th Premier of South Australia from 1968 to 1970. He also served in the federal Parliament as a senator for South Australia from 1974 to 1977 and f ...
approved many parts of the plan and the government went as far as purchasing land for the project. The later
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
government elected under
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...
shelved the plan, but allowed the purchased land to remain vacant, should the future need for freeways arise. In 1980, the
Liberal party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
won government and premier
David Tonkin
David Oliver Tonkin AO (20 July 1929 – 2 October 2000) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of South Australia from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Bragg at the 1 ...
committed his government to selling off the land acquired for the MATS plan, ensuring that even when needs changed, the construction of most MATS-proposed freeways would be impractical. Some parts of this land have been used for transport, (e.g. the O-Bahn Busway and Southern Expressway), while most has been progressively subdivided for residential use.
In 2008, the
SA Government announced plans for a network of
transport-oriented development
In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of Real estate development, urban development that maximizes the amount of Residential area, residential, business and leisure space within Pedestrian, walking distance of public t ...
s across the Adelaide metropolitan area and purchased a
10 hectare industrial site at
Bowden Bowden may refer to:
Places Australia
* Bowden Island, one of the Family Islands in Queensland
* Bowden, South Australia, northwestern suburb of Adelaide
* Bowden railway station
Canada
* Bowden, Alberta, town in central Alberta
England
* Bowde ...
for $52.5 million as the first of these developments. The site covers 102,478 square metres, or about 10 hectares, and is bounded by Park Terrace to the south, the Adelaide to Outer Harbour railway line to the west, Drayton Street to the north and Sixth and Seventh Streets to the east.
File:Adelaide South Australia - panoramio.jpg, The Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ad ...
was built on a grid plan
In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid.
Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogona ...
, known as ''Light's Vision''
File:Cnr of Pulteney and North Terrace, Adelaide.png, The corner of North Terrace (right) and Pulteney Street
Pulteney Street is a main road which runs north-south through the middle of the eastern half of the Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. It runs north-south from North Terrace, through Hindmarsh and Hurtle Squares, to South ...
(left), looking south-west from near Bonython Hall
Bonython Hall is the " great hall" of the University of Adelaide, located in the university grounds and facing North Terrace, Adelaide. The building is on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate and the South Australian Heritage Register ...
.
File:Transformers - Victoria Square Adelaide SA - panoramio.jpg, Aerial view of Victoria Square, one of the five main squares in the city centre and considered the heart of Adelaide's grid layout.
Housing
Historically, Adelaide's suburban residential areas have been characterised by single-storey detached houses built on blocks. A relative lack of suitable, locally-available timber for construction purposes led to the early development of a brick-making industry, as well as the use of stone, for houses and other buildings. By 1891, 68% of houses were built of stone, 15% of timber, and 10% of brick, with brick also being widely used in stone houses for quoins, door and window surrounds, and chimneys and fireplaces.
There is a wide variety in the styles of these houses. Until the 1960s, most of the more substantial houses were built of red brick, though many front walls were of ornamental stone. Then cream bricks became fashionable, and in the 1970s, deep red and brown bricks became popular. Until the 1970s, roofs tended to be clad with (painted)
corrugated iron
Corrugated galvanised iron or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America) and occasionally abbreviated CGI is a bu ...
or tiles (cement or clay, usually red "terracotta"). Since then,
Colorbond corrugated steel has dominated. Most roofs are pitched; flat roofs are not common. Up to the 1970s, most houses were of "double brick" construction on concrete footings, with timber floors laid on joists supported by "dwarf walls". Later houses have mainly been of "
brick veneer
Masonry veneer walls consist of a single non-structural external layer of masonry, typically made of brick, stone or manufactured stone. Masonry veneer can have an air space behind it and is technically called "anchored veneer". A masonry veneer ...
" construction – structural
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
or, more recently,
lightweight steel frame on a
concrete slab
A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings, consisting of a flat, horizontal surface made of cast concrete. Steel- reinforced slabs, typically between 100 and 500 mm thick, are most often used to construct floors and ...
foundation
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
, lined with
Gyprock, and with an outer skin of brickwork,
[Rosemary Cadden: ''Building South Australia: celebrating 125 years''. Solstice Media. pp. 77, 87. ] to cope with Adelaide's
reactive soils, particularly Keswick Clay, black earth and some red-brown earth soils. The use of precast concrete panels for floor and wall construction has also increased.
In addition to this, a significant factor in Adelaide's suburban history is the role of the
South Australian Housing Trust
The South Australian Housing Trust (SAHT) is an independent statutory authority originally established by the Government of South Australia responsible for providing low-cost rental housing to working people and their families, as a means of s ...
.
File:Adelaide-NthTce-EastEnd-TerraceHouses-Aug08.jpg, Terraced housing
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
on North Terrace.
File:Fitzroy sa bluestone 1.jpg, A bluestone villa, typical of the housing in Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to:
People As a given name
*Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name:
**FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855)
** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
.
File:Maison à Adelaide.JPG, Heritage-listed house showing wrought-iron lacework and corrugated-iron verandah.
Climate
![Lightning in Adelaide, South Australia, 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Lightning_in_Adelaide%2C_South_Australia%2C_2014.jpg)
Adelaide has a
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: Csa). The city has hot, dry summers and cool winters with moderate rainfall. Most
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
falls in the winter months, leading to the suggestion that the climate be classified as a "cold monsoon". Rainfall is unreliable, light and infrequent throughout summer, although heavy falls can occur. In contrast, the winter has fairly reliable rainfall with June being the wettest month of the year, averaging around 80 mm.
Frost
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...
s are occasional, with the most notable occurrences in 1908 and 1982. Hail is also common in winter.
Adelaide is a windy city with significant
wind chill
Wind chill or windchill (popularly wind chill factor) is the lowering of body temperature due to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air.
Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When ...
in winter, which makes the temperature
seem colder than it actually is. Snowfall in the metropolitan area is extremely uncommon, although light and sporadic falls in the nearby hills and at
Mount Lofty
Mount Lofty (, elevation AHD) is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about east of the Adelaide city centre, within the Cleland National Park in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia.
The mountain's s ...
occur during winter. Dewpoints in the summer typically range from . There are usually several days in summer where the temperature reaches or above; the frequency of these temperatures has been
increasing in recent years. Temperature extremes range from -0.4 °C (31.4 °F), 8 June 1982 to 47.7 °C (117.9 °F), 24 January 2019. The city features 90.6 clear days annually.
The average sea temperature ranges from in August to in February.
Liveability
![Rymill Park in autumn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Rymill_Park_in_autumn.jpg)
Adelaide was consistently ranked in the world's 10
most liveable cities
City quality of life indices are lists of cities that are ranked according to a defined measure of living conditions. In addition to considering the provision of clean water, clean air, adequate food and shelter, many indexes also measure more s ...
through the 2010s by
The Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, ...
.
In June 2021, ''The Economist'' ranked Adelaide the third most liveable city in the world, behind
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
and
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
.
In December 2021, Adelaide was named the world's second National Park City, after the state government had lobbied for this title.
It was ranked the
most liveable city
City quality of life indices are lists of cities that are ranked according to a defined measure of living conditions. In addition to considering the provision of clean water, clean air, adequate food and shelter, many indexes also measure more ...
in Australia by the
Property Council of Australia The Property Council of Australia is an Australian national lobby group representing property developers and property owners. It was formed as the Building Owners and Managers’ Association of Australia (BOMA) 1966, incorporated in 1969, and assum ...
, based on surveys of residents’ views of their own city, between 2010 and 2013, dropping to second place in 2014.
Governance
![Parliament House, South Australia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Parliament_House%2C_South_Australia.jpg)
Adelaide, as the capital of South Australia, is the seat of the
Government of South Australia
The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...
as well as the
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
Parliament of South Australia
The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly ( lower house) and the 22-seat Legislative Council (upper house). General elections are ...
, which consists of the
lower house
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
known as the
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...
and the
upper house
An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...
known as the
Legislative Council.
General elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
are held every four years, the last being the
2022 South Australian state election. As Adelaide is South Australia's capital and most populous city, the
State Government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
co-operates extensively with the
City of Adelaide
The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of South ...
. In 2006, the Ministry for the City of Adelaide was created to facilitate the State Government's collaboration with the
Adelaide City Council
The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...
and the Lord Mayor to improve Adelaide's image. The State Parliament's Capital City Committee is also involved in the governance of the City of Adelaide, being primarily concerned with the planning of Adelaide's urban development and growth.
Reflecting South Australia's status as Australia's most centralised state, Adelaide elects a substantial majority of the South Australian House of Assembly. Of the 47 seats in the chamber, 34 seats (three-quarters of the legislature) are based in Adelaide, and two rural seats include Adelaide suburbs.
Local governments
The Adelaide metropolitan area is divided between nineteen
local government areas
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory.
The phrase i ...
. At its centre, the
City of Adelaide
The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of South ...
administers the
Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ad ...
,
North Adelaide
North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands.
History
Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...
, and the surrounding
Adelaide Parklands
The Adelaide Park Lands are the figure-eight of land spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton and separating the City of Adelaide area (which includes both Adelaide city centre and North Adelaide) from the surro ...
. It is the oldest municipal authority in Australia and was established in 1840, when Adelaide and Australia's first mayor,
James Hurtle Fisher
Sir James Hurtle Fisher (1 May 1790 – 28 January 1875) was a lawyer and prominent South Australian pioneer. He was the first Resident Commissioner of the colony of South Australia, the first Mayor of Adelaide and the first resident Sou ...
, was elected. From 1919 onwards, the city has had a
Lord Mayor, the current being Lord Mayor ''The Right Honourable''
Sandy Verschoor.
Demography
![Adelaide Chinatown](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Adelaide_Chinatown.jpg)
Adelaide's inhabitants are known as Adelaideans.
Compared with Australia's other state capitals, Adelaide is growing at a rate similar to Sydney, Canberra, and Hobart (see
List of cities in Australia by population
This list of Australian cities by population provides rankings of Australian cities and towns according to various systems defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The eight Greater Capital City Statistical Areas are listed for the stat ...
). In 2020, it had a metropolitan population (including suburbs) of more than 1,376,601,
[ Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.] making it Australia's fifth-largest city. Some 77% of the population of South Australia are residents of the Adelaide metropolitan area, making South Australia one of the most centralised states.
Major areas of population growth in recent years have been in outer suburbs such as
Mawson Lakes
Mawson Lakes is a residential suburb in the City of Salisbury, Adelaide, Australia. Named in honor of Sir Douglas Mawson, it has a census area population of 10,872 people. The suburb is located in the northern suburbs of Adelaide around 12  ...
and Golden Grove. Adelaide's inhabitants occupy 366,912 houses, 57,695 semi-detached, row terrace or town houses and 49,413 flats, units or apartments.
About one sixth (17.1%) of the population had university qualifications. The number of Adelaideans with vocational qualifications (such as tradespersons) fell from 62.1% of the labour force in the 1991 census to 52.4% in the 2001 census.
Adelaide is ageing more rapidly than other Australian capital cities. More than a quarter (27.5%) of Adelaide's population is aged 55 years or older, in comparison to the national average of 25.6%. Adelaide has the lowest number of children (under-15-year-olds), who comprised 17.7% of the population, compared to the national average of 19.3%.
Ancestry and immigration
At the 2021 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:
Overseas-born Adelaideans composed 31.3% of the total population at the 2021 census. The five largest groups of overseas-born were from England (5.7%), India (3.1%),
Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
(1.8%), Vietnam (1.2%) and Italy (1.1%).
Suburbs including
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
,
Payneham and
Campbelltown in the east and
Torrensville
Torrensville is a western suburb west of the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It was named after Irish-born economist and chairman of the South Australian Colonisation Commission, Robert Torrens.
Torrensville is in the City of West Tor ...
,
West Lakes
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
and
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
to the west, have large
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
communities. The Italian consulate is located in the eastern suburb of
Payneham. Large
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
populations are settled in the north-western suburbs of
Woodville,
Kilkenny
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilken ...
,
Pennington,
Mansfield Park
''Mansfield Park'' is the third published novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1814 by Thomas Egerton. A second edition was published in 1816 by John Murray, still within Austen's lifetime. The novel did not receive any public reviews unt ...
and
Athol Park and also
Parafield Gardens and
Pooraka in Adelaide's north. Migrants from
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
have settled into inner suburban areas of Adelaide including the inner northern suburbs of
Blair Athol,
Kilburn and
Enfield
Enfield may refer to:
Places Australia
* Enfield, New South Wales
* Enfield, South Australia
** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb
** Enfield High School (South Australia)
...
and the inner southern suburbs of
Plympton
Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to Plym ...
,
Park Holme and
Kurralta Park.
Suburbs such as
Para Hills,
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
,
Ingle Farm
Ingle Farm is an established, residential suburb, with some parklands, of about 8,500 people in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It is located at the base of the Mount Lofty Ranges foothills, around 12 kilometres north-east of ...
and
Blair Athol in the north and
Findon,
West Croydon and
Seaton and other Western suburbs have sizeable
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
communities.
Chinese migrants favour settling in the eastern and north eastern suburbs including
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde P ...
,
Greenacres,
Modbury
Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor situated in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish co ...
and
Golden Grove.
Mawson Lakes
Mawson Lakes is a residential suburb in the City of Salisbury, Adelaide, Australia. Named in honor of Sir Douglas Mawson, it has a census area population of 10,872 people. The suburb is located in the northern suburbs of Adelaide around 12  ...
has a large international student population, due to its proximity to the
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
campus.
At the 2021 census, 1.7% of Adelaide's population identified as being
Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
—
Aboriginal Australians
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
and
Torres Strait Islanders
Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...
.
Language
At the 2016 census, 75.4% of the population spoke
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
at home. The other languages most commonly spoken at home were Italian (2.1%),
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standar ...
(2.1%), Greek (1.7%) Vietnamese (1.4%), and
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
(0.7%).
The
Kaurna language
Kaurna ( or ) is a Pama-Nyungan language historically spoken by the Kaurna peoples of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. The Kaurna peoples are made up of various tribal clan groups, each with their own ''parnkarra'' district of land and ...
, spoken by the area's original inhabitants, had no living speakers in the middle of the 20th century, but since the 1990's there has been a sustained revival effort from academics and Kaurna elders.
Religion
![Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Saint_Nicholas_Russian_Orthodox_Church.jpg)
Adelaide was founded on a vision of religious tolerance that attracted a wide variety of religious practitioners. This led to it being known as ''The City of Churches''. But approximately 28% of the population expressed no religious affiliation in the 2011 Census, compared with the national average of 22.3%, making Adelaide one of Australia's least religious cities. Over half of the population of Adelaide identifies as Christian, with the largest denominations being
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
(21.3%),
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
(12.6%),
Uniting Church
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...
(7.6%) and
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
(3.5%).
The Jewish community of the city dates back to 1840. Eight years later, 58 Jews lived in the city.
[Adelaide]
, Jewish Virtual Library, Encyclopaedia Judica, 2008. A synagogue was built in 1871, when 435 Jews lived in the city. Many took part in the city councils, such as Judah Moss Solomon (1852–66) and others after him. Three Jews have been elected to the position of city mayor. In 1968, the Jewish population of Adelaide numbered about 1,200; in 2001, according to the Australian census, 979 persons declared themselves to be Jewish by religion.
In 2011, over 1,000 Jews were living in the city, operating an
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
and a
Reform
Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...
school, in addition to a virtual Jewish museum.
The "
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
" community in Australia first became established in the 1860s when camels and their Pathan, Punjabi, Baluchi and Sindhi handlers began to be used to open up settlement in the continent's arid interior. Until eventually superseded by the advent of the railways and motor vehicles, camels played an invaluable economic and social role in transporting heavy loads of goods to and from isolated settlements and mines. This is acknowledged by the name of
The Ghan
''The Ghan'' is an experiential tourism oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor. O ...
, the passenger train operating between Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Darwin. The
Central Adelaide Mosque is regarded as Australia's oldest permanent mosque; an earlier
mosque at Marree in northern South Australia, dating from 1861 to 1862 and subsequently abandoned or demolished, has now been rebuilt.
Economy
![NRAHfront](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/NRAHfront.jpg)
South Australia's largest employment sectors are health care and social assistance,
surpassing manufacturing in SA as the largest employer since 2006–07.
In 2009–10, manufacturing in SA had average annual employment of 83,700 persons compared with 103,300 for health care and social assistance.
Health care and social assistance represented nearly 13% of the state average annual employment.
[1345.4 – SA Stats, Apr 2011]
. abs.gov.au. Retrieved 26 July 2013. The
Adelaide Hills wine region
Adelaide Hills is an Australian geographical indication for wine made from grapes grown in a specific area of the Adelaide Hills east of Adelaide in South Australia.
Extent and appellation
The Adelaide Hills wine region covers an area extendi ...
is an iconic and viable economic region for both the state and country in terms of wine production and sale. The 2014 vintage is reported as consisting of red grapes crushed valued at A$8,196,142 and white grapes crushed valued at $14,777,631.
[PGIBSA, 2014, page 25]
The retail trade is the second largest employer in SA (2009–10), with 91,900 jobs, and 12 per cent of the state workforce.
Manufacturing, defence technology, high-tech electronic systems and research, commodity export and corresponding service industries all play a role in the SA economy. Almost half of all cars produced in Australia were made in Adelaide at the
General Motors Holden
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last three ...
plant in
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
. The site ceased operating in November 2017.
The
collapse of the State Bank in 1992 resulted in large levels of state public debt (as much as A$4 billion). The collapse meant that successive governments enacted lean budgets, cutting spending, which was a setback to the further economic development of the city and state. The debt has more recently been reduced with the State Government once again receiving a AAA+ Credit Rating.
The global media conglomerate
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
was founded in, and until 2004 incorporated in, Adelaide and it is still considered its "spiritual" home by its founder,
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
. Australia's largest oil company,
Santos, prominent South Australian brewery,
Coopers, and national retailer
Harris Scarfe
Harris Scarfe is an Australian retailer that sells bed linen, kitchenware, homewares, electrical appliances and apparel. It has a e-commerce retail presence in Australia and is considered a multi-channel lifestyle and homewares store.
Founded in ...
also call Adelaide their home.
In 2018, at which time more than 80 organisations employed 800 people in the space sector in South Australia, Adelaide was chosen for the headquarters of a new
Australian Space Agency. The agency opened its in 2020. It is working to triple the size of the Australian space industry and create 20,000 new jobs by 2030.
Defence industry
Adelaide is home to a large proportion of Australia's defence industries, which contribute over A$1 billion to South Australia's Gross State Product. The principal government military research institution, the
Defence Science and Technology Organisation
The Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) is part of the Australian Department of Defence dedicated to providing science and technology support to safeguard Australia and its national interests. The agency's name was changed from Defence ...
, and other defence technology organisations such as
BAE Systems Australia
BAE Systems Australia, a subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, is one of the largest defence contractors in Australia. It was formed by the merger of British Aerospace Australia and GEC-Marconi Systems and expanded by the acquisitions of Armor Holdings ...
and Lockheed Martin Australia, are north of Salisbury and west of Elizabeth in an area now called "Edinburgh Parks", adjacent to
RAAF Base Edinburgh
RAAF Base Edinburgh is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military airbase located in Edinburgh approximately north of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia and forms part of the Edinburgh Defence Precinct.
The base is primarily home to No 9 ...
.
Others, such as Saab Systems and Raytheon, are in or near
Technology Park
A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...
.
ASC Pty Ltd
ASC Pty Ltd, formerly the Australian Submarine Corporation, is an Australian government business enterprise involved with Australian naval shipbuilding, headquartered in Osborne, South Australia. It is notable for the construction and main ...
, is based in the industrial suburb of
Osborne
Osborne may refer to:
* Osborne (name)
Places Australia
* Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area
* Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region
Can ...
and is also a part of
Technology Park
A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...
. South Australia was charged with constructing Australia's s and more recently the A$6 billion contract to construct the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
's new
air-warfare destroyers.
Employment statistics
, Greater Adelaide had an unemployment rate of 7.4% with a youth unemployment rate of 15%.
The median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over was $447 per week in 2006, compared with $466 nationally. The median family income was $1,137 per week, compared with $1,171 nationally.
Adelaide's housing and living costs are substantially lower than that of other Australian cities, with housing being notably cheaper. The median Adelaide house price is half that of Sydney and two-thirds that of Melbourne. The three-month trend unemployment rate to March 2007 was 6.2%. The Northern suburbs' unemployment rate is disproportionately higher than the other regions of Adelaide at 8.3%, while the East and South are lower than the Adelaide average at 4.9% and 5.0% respectively.
House prices
Over the decade March 2001 – March 2010, Metropolitan Adelaide median house prices approximately tripled. (approx. 285% – approx. 11%p.a. compounding)
In the five years March 2007 – March 2012, prices increased by approx. 27% – approx. 5%p.a. compounding. March 2012 – March 2017 saw a further increase of 19% – approx. 3.5%p.a. compounding.
In summary:
Each quarter,
The Alternative and Direct Investment Securities Association (ADISA) publishes a list of median house sale prices by suburb and
Local Government Area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
. (Previously, this was done by REISA
) Due to the small sizes of many of Adelaide's suburbs, the low volumes of sales in these suburbs, and (over time) the huge variations in the numbers of sales in a suburb in a quarter, statistical analysis of "the most expensive suburb" is unreliable; the suburbs appearing in the "top 10 most expensive suburbs this quarter" list is constantly varying. Quarterly Reports for the last two years can be found on the REISA website.
Education and research
![Adelaide (AU), Barr Smith Library -- 2019 -- 0677](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Adelaide_%28AU%29%2C_Barr_Smith_Library_--_2019_--_0677.jpg)
Education forms an increasingly important part of the city's economy, with the
South Australian Government
The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...
and educational institutions attempting to position Adelaide as "Australia's education hub" and marketing it as a "Learning City."
The number of international students studying in Adelaide has increased rapidly in recent years to 30,726 in 2015, of which 1,824 were secondary school students.
In addition to the city's existing institutions, foreign institutions have been attracted to set up campuses to increase its attractiveness as an education hub.
Adelaide is the birthplace of three Nobel laureates,
more than any other Australian city: physicist
William Lawrence Bragg
Sir William Lawrence Bragg, (31 March 1890 – 1 July 1971) was an Australian-born British physicist and X-ray crystallographer, discoverer (1912) of Bragg's law of X-ray diffraction, which is basic for the determination of crystal structu ...
and pathologists
Howard Florey
Howard Walter Florey, Baron Florey (24 September 189821 February 1968) was an Australian pharmacologist and pathologist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Sir Ernst Chain and Sir Alexander Fleming for his role in ...
and
Robin Warren
John Robin Warren (born 11 June 1937, in Adelaide) is an Australian pathologist, Nobel Laureate and researcher who is credited with the 1979 re-discovery of the bacterium ''Helicobacter pylori'', together with Barry Marshall. The duo proved t ...
, all of whom completed secondary and tertiary education at
St Peter's College and the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
.
Primary and secondary education
At the level of primary and secondary education, there are two systems of school education. There is a public system operated by the South Australian Government and a private system of independent and Catholic schools.
South Australian schools provide education under the
Australian Curriculum
The Australian Curriculum is a national curriculum for all primary and secondary schools in Australia under progressive development, review, and implementation. The curriculum is developed and reviewed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment an ...
for reception to Year 10 students. In Years 10 to 12, students study for the
South Australian Certificate of Education
The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is awarded to students who have successfully completed their senior secondary schooling in the state of South Australia.
The SACE Board of South Australia (formerly known as the Senior Secondar ...
(SACE). They have the option of incorporating
vocational education and training
Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesman, tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education give ...
(VET) courses or a flexible learning option (FLO). South Australia also has 24 schools that use
International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...
programs as an alternative to the Australian Curriculum or SACE. These programs include the
IB Primary Years Programme
The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) is an educational programme managed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) for students in grades Kindergarten to Fifth grade. While the programme prepares students for the IB Middle Y ...
, the
IB Middle Years Programme
The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) is an educational programme for students between the ages of 11 to 16 around the world as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum. Middle Year Programme is intended to pr ...
, and the
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...
.
For South Australian students who cannot attend a traditional school, including students who live in rural or remote areas, the state government runs the Open Access College (OAC), which provides virtual teaching. The OAC has a campus in
Marden which caters to students from reception to Year 12 and adults who haven't been able to complete their SACE. Guardians are also able to apply for their child to be educated from home as long as they provide an education program which meets the same requirements as the Australian Curriculum as well as opportunities for social interaction.
Tertiary education
![Carnegie Mellon University (5266180152)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Carnegie_Mellon_University_%285266180152%29.jpg)
There are three public universities local to Adelaide, as well as one private university and three constituent colleges of foreign universities.
Flinders University of South Australia
Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...
, the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
, the
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
and
Torrens University Australia
Torrens University is an Australian international private, for-profit university and vocational registered training organisation, with campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Blue Mountains, Australia, Auckland, New Ze ...
—part of the
Laureate International Universities
Laureate Education, Inc. is a corporation based in Miami, Florida, United States. The firm owns and operates Laureate International Universities, with campuses in Mexico and Peru.
The company is publicly traded on the Nasdaq.
Corporate history ...
are based in Adelaide. The University of Adelaide was ranked in the top 150 universities worldwide. Flinders ranked in the top 250 and Uni SA in the top 300. Torrens University Australia is part of an international network of over 70 higher education institutions in more than 30 countries worldwide. The historic Torrens Building in
Victoria Square houses
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
's
Heinz College Australia
Carnegie Mellon University in Australia is the Australian campus of Carnegie Mellon University's H. John Heinz III College established in 2006 in the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia.
The move by Heinz to establish a campus in Austra ...
, and
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
's School of Energy and Resources (Australia), and constitute the city's international university precinct.
The
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
, with 25,000 students, is Australia's third-oldest university and a member of the leading "
Group of Eight
The Group of Eight (G8) was an inter-governmental political forum from 1997 until 2014. It had formed from incorporating Russia into the Group of Seven, or G7, and returned to its previous name after Russia left in 2014.
The forum originated ...
". It has five campuses throughout the state, including two in the city-centre, and a campus in Singapore. The
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
, with 37,000 students, has two North Terrace campuses, three other campuses in the metropolitan area and campuses in the regional cities of
Whyalla
Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...
and
Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...
.
Flinders University
Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator M ...
, with 25,184 students, is based in the southern suburb of
Bedford Park, alongside the
Flinders Medical Centre, with additional campuses in neighbouring
Tonsley
Tonsley is a southern suburb of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia.
History
The suburb of Tonsley was created on 27 January 2017 by dividing the suburb of Clovelly Park in half. The southern part of the suburb was separated from C ...
and in Victoria Square in the city centre.
The
Adelaide College of Divinity
Adelaide College of Divinity (ACD) is an accredited higher education provider offering diploma, associate and bachelor's degrees, graduate diplomas, master and doctoral degrees in ministry, it is also a Registered Training Organisation offering ...
is at
Brooklyn Park.
There are several South Australian
TAFE
Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...
(Technical and Further Education) campuses in the metropolitan area that provide a range of vocational education and training. The Adelaide College of the Arts, as a school of TAFE SA, provides nationally recognised training in visual and performing arts.
Research
In addition to the universities, Adelaide is home to research institutes, including the
Royal Institution of Australia, established in 2009 as a counterpart to the two-hundred-year-old
Royal Institution
The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...
of Great Britain. Many of the organisations involved in research tend to be geographically clustered throughout the Adelaide metropolitan area:
* The east end of
North Terrace:
SA Pathology
SA Pathology, (formerly the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS)), is an organisation providing diagnostic and clinical pathology services throughout South Australia for the public health sector. The headquarters are in Frome Road, ...
;
Hanson Institute
SA Pathology, (formerly the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS)), is an organisation providing diagnostic and clinical pathology services throughout South Australia for the public health sector. The headquarters are in Frome Road, ...
;
National Wine Centre
The National Wine Centre of Australia (commonly the "Wine Centre") is a public exhibition building about winemaking and its industry in South Australia, opened in 2001. It contains an interactive permanent exhibition of winemaking, introducing ...
.
* The west end of North Terrace:
South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute
The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) is an independent health and medical research institute in Adelaide, South Australia. The institute is housed in a purpose-built eponymous building with its iconic " cheese-grat ...
(SAHMRI), located next to the
Royal Adelaide Hospital
The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), colloquially known by its initials or pronounced as "the Rah", is South Australia's largest hospital, owned by the state government as part of Australia's public health care system. The RAH provides tertiary hea ...
.
* The
Waite Research Precinct
Urrbrae is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Mitcham.
Located at the foot of the Adelaide Hills, it is bordered on the east by the South Eastern Freeway, and the Old Toll House, which marked the traditional en ...
:
SARDI
The South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) is the principal research institute of the Government of South Australia, with a network of research centres, laboratories and field sites both in metropolitan Adelaide and through ...
Head Office and Plant Research Centre;
AWRI;
ACPFG;
CSIRO
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...
research laboratories.
SARDI also has establishments at
Glenside and
West Beach West Beach may refer to:
;Australia
*West Beach, South Australia
* West Beach, Western Australia
;United States
* West Beach (Santa Barbara), California
* West Beach, Beverly, Massachusetts
;South Africa
* West Beach, Western Cape
See also
*''Wes ...
.
*
Edinburgh, South Australia
Edinburgh is an outer northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Salisbury. The suburb was created in 1997, on land straddling Penfield and Salisbury, that was compulsorily acquired by the Commonwealth Government in 1940 in ord ...
:
DSTO;
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
(Australia);
Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
Australia Electronic Systems.
*
Technology Park
A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...
(
Mawson Lakes
Mawson Lakes is a residential suburb in the City of Salisbury, Adelaide, Australia. Named in honor of Sir Douglas Mawson, it has a census area population of 10,872 people. The suburb is located in the northern suburbs of Adelaide around 12  ...
): BAE Systems;
Optus
Singtel Optus Pty Limited (commonly referred to as Optus) is an Australian Telecommunications in Australia, telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore, Si ...
;
Raytheon
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...
;
Topcon
is a Japanese manufacturer of optical equipment for ophthalmology and surveying.
History
September 1932—TOPCON was established based on the surveying instruments division of K. Hattori & Co., Ltd. (currently SEIKO HOLDINGS CORPORATION) in or ...
; Lockheed Martin Australia Electronic Systems.
* Research Park at
Thebarton
Thebarton ( ), formerly Theberton, on Kaurna land, is an inner-western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of West Torrens. The suburb is bounded by the River Torrens to the north, Port Road and Bonython Park to the east, Kintore ...
: businesses involved in materials engineering, biotechnology, environmental services, information technology, industrial design, laser/optics technology, health products, engineering services, radar systems, telecommunications and petroleum services.
* Science Park (adjacent to Flinders University): Playford Capital.
* The
Basil Hetzel
Basil Stuart Hetzel (13 June 1922 – 4 February 2017) was an Australian medical researcher who made a major contribution to combating iodine deficiency, a major cause of goitre and cretinism worldwide.
Early life and education
Hetzel was bor ...
Institute for Translational Health Research in
Woodville the research arm of the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH) is an acute care teaching hospital in the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. It provides a range of health services, including inpatient, outpatient, surgical, emergency and mental health services.
H ...
* The
Joanna Briggs Institute
JBI, formerly known as the Joanna Briggs Institute, is an international research organisation which develops and delivers evidence-based information, software, education and training designed to improve healthcare practice and health outcomes. JB ...
, a global research collaboration for evidence-based healthcare with its headquarters in North Adelaide.
File:Bonython Hall.jpg, The Mitchell Building and Bonython Hall, University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
File:Hawke Building, UniSA.jpg, The Hawke Building, part of the UniSA
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
, City West Campus
File:Flinders from hill 3.jpg, Flinders University
Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator M ...
buildings from the campus hills
File:Torrens Building, Victoria Square.jpg, Torrens University
File:SAHMRI.jpg, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)
Cultural life
![ACC - NYE low res-69](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/ACC_-_NYE_low_res-69.jpg)
While established as a
British province, and very much English in terms of its culture, Adelaide attracted immigrants from other parts of Europe early on, including German and other European non-conformists escaping religious persecution. The first
German Lutherans arrived in 1838, bringing with them the
vine cuttings
The propagation of grapevines is an important consideration in commercial viticulture and winemaking. Grapevines, most of which belong to the ''Vitis vinifera'' family, produce one crop of fruit each growing season with a limited life span for indi ...
that they used to found the acclaimed wineries of the
Barossa Valley
The Barossa Valley ( Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destinati ...
.
The
Royal Adelaide Show
The Royal Adelaide Show is an annual carnival and agricultural show run by the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia. It is held at the Adelaide Showground, a dedicated venue located in Wayville, a suburb of Adelaide, S ...
is an annual
agricultural show
An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which selective breeding, breed ...
and
state fair
A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...
, established in 1839 and now a huge event held in the
Adelaide Showground
The Adelaide Showground holds many of Adelaide's most popular events, including the Royal Adelaide Show.
The Showground (also popularly known as the Wayville Showgrounds) is located in the inner-southern Adelaide suburb of Wayville, just so ...
annually.
Adelaide's arts scene flourished in the 1960s and 1970s with the support of successive premiers from both major political parties. The renowned
Adelaide Festival of Arts
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
was established in 1960 under Thomas Playford, which in the same year spawned an unofficial uncurated series of performances and exhibits which grew into the
Adelaide Fringe
The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, i ...
. Construction of the
Adelaide Festival Centre
Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...
began under Steele Hall in 1970 and was completed under the subsequent government of
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...
, who also established the
South Australian Film Corporation
South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) is a South Australian Government statutory corporation established in 1972 to engage in film production and promote the film industry, located in Adelaide, South Australia. The Adelaide Studios are managed ...
in 1972 and the
State Opera of South Australia
State Opera South Australia (SOSA) is a professional opera company in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 1976.
History
State Opera South Australia was established in 1976 as a statutory corporation under the ''State Opera of South Aust ...
in 1976.
Over time, the Adelaide Festival expanded to include
Adelaide Writers' Week
Adelaide Writers' Week, known locally as Writers' Week or WW, is a large and mostly free literary festival held annually in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Considered one of the world's pre-eminent literary events, it forms part of the ...
and
WOMADelaide
WOMADelaide is an annual four-day festival of Music, Arts and Dance, which was first held in 1992 in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia. One of many WOMAD festivals held around the world, it is a four-day event that presents a diverse select ...
, and other separate festivals were established, such as the
Adelaide Cabaret Festival
The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is an annual arts festival featuring cabaret held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It has been held in June each year since 2001, with the exception of 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, ...
(2002), the
Adelaide Festival of Ideas
The Adelaide Festival of Ideas (AFOI) is a festival held in Adelaide, South Australia since 1999, usually biennially. It aims to foster the public promulgation, discussion and critique of culturally and socially relevant ideas from around the wo ...
(1999), the
Adelaide Film Festival
The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented biennially in March from 2003, since 2013 AFF has been held in October ...
(2013),
FEAST
A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...
(1999, a
queer culture
Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of people who have shared experiences, backgrounds, or interests due to common sexual or gender identities. Among the first to argue that members of sexual mi ...
),
Tasting Australia
Tasting Australia is a South Australian wine and food festival held in the capital city of Adelaide. It was first held in 1997 and managed by Marina Libia and event management company Consuming Passions, run by Ian Parmenter and David Evans. ...
(1997, a food and wine affair), and
Illuminate Adelaide
Illuminate Adelaide is an annual winter event held each July in Adelaide, South Australia. It includes free and ticketed events presented by local, national and international artists and companies, encompassing "art, light, sound and imaginatio ...
(2021). With the Festival, the Fringe, WOMADelaide, Writers' Week and the
Adelaide 500
The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is someti ...
street motor racing event (along with evening music concerts) all happening in early March, the period became known colloquially as "Mad March".
In 2014,
Ghil'ad Zuckermann
Ghil'ad Zuckermann ( he, גלעד צוקרמן, ; ) is an Israeli-born language revivalist and linguist who works in contact linguistics, lexicology and the study of language, culture and identity. Zuckermann is Professor of Linguistics and Ch ...
founded the
Adelaide Language Festival.
There are many international cultural fairs, most notably the German
Schützenfest
A Schützenfest (, '' marksmen's festival'') is a traditional festival or fair featuring a target shooting competition in the cultures of Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
At a Schützenfest, contestants compete based on their shooting ...
and Greek
Glendi
In Australia, Glendi is an annual weekend long festival that celebrates Greek culture in Australia. Established in 1978, it's held in Adelaide during the last weekend of November at Bonython Park since 2013 and is the largest ethnic festival in ...
. Adelaide holds an annual
Christmas pageant
A Christmas pageant is a public event conducted in celebration of the Christmas holiday, typically involving an entertainment in the form of a procession (such as a Santa Claus parade), or a Nativity play or other performance.
Nativity pageant ...
, the world's largest
Christmas parade
Santa Claus parades, also called Christmas parades, are parades held in some countries to celebrate the official opening of the Christmas season with the arrival of Santa Claus who always appears in the last float.
The parades usually include them ...
.
![Palm House, Adelaide Botanic Gardens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Palm_House%2C_Adelaide_Botanic_Gardens.jpg)
North Terrace institutions
As the state capital, Adelaide has a great number of cultural institutions, many of them along the boulevard of
North Terrace. The
Art Gallery of South Australia
The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...
, with about 35,000 works, holds Australia's second largest state-based collection. Adjacent are the
South Australian Museum
The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum and research institution in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856 and owned by the Government of South Australia. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultu ...
and
State Library of South Australia
The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research l ...
. The
Adelaide Botanic Garden
The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace, Adelaide, North Terrace (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old ...
,
National Wine Centre
The National Wine Centre of Australia (commonly the "Wine Centre") is a public exhibition building about winemaking and its industry in South Australia, opened in 2001. It contains an interactive permanent exhibition of winemaking, introducing ...
and
Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute
The Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, usually referred to as Tandanya, is an art museum located on Grenfell Street in Adelaide, South Australia. It specialises in promoting Indigenous Australian art, including visual art, music ...
are nearby in the
East End
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
of the city. In the back of the State Library lies the
Migration Museum
Migration museums cover human migration in the past, present and future.
Background
The current trend in the development of migration museums, named differently worldwide, is an interesting phenomenon, as it may contribute to the creation of a n ...
, Australia's oldest museum of its kind.
Further west, the
Lion Arts Centre
The Lion Arts Centre, also known as Fowler's Lion Factory and Fowlers Building, with the main music venue within known as the Lion Arts Factory (formerly Fowler's Live), is a multi-purpose arts centre, including studios, galleries, music and per ...
is home to
ACE Open, which showcases contemporary art;
Dance Hub SA
Dance Hub SA, formerly Leigh Warren & Dancers or Leigh Warren + Dancers (LWD) and then LWDance Hub, is a contemporary dance company based in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Formed in 1993 by Leigh Warren, the company toured i ...
; and other studios and arts industry spaces. The
Mercury Cinema
Mercury CX, formerly Media Resource Centre (MRC), is a not-for-profit film and television training organisation based in the Lion Arts Centre on the corner of Morphett Street, Adelaide, Morphett Street and North Terrace, Adelaide, South Austral ...
and the
JamFactory
JamFactory is a not-for-profit arts organisation which includes training facilities, galleries and shops, located in Adelaide city centre, the West End precinct of Adelaide and on the Seppeltsfield (wine), Seppeltsfield Estate in the Barossa Val ...
ceramics and design gallery are just around the corner.
Performing arts and music venues
![The Orb, Adelaide Entertainment Centre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/The_Orb%2C_Adelaide_Entertainment_Centre.jpg)
The Adelaide Festival Centre (which includes the Dunstan Playhouse, Festival Theatre and Space Theatre), on the banks of the Torrens, is the focal point for much of the cultural activity in the city and home to the
State Theatre Company of South Australia
The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...
. Other live music and theatre venues include the
Adelaide Entertainment Centre
The Adelaide Entertainment Centre (AEC) is an indoor arena located in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is used for sporting and entertainment events. It is the principal venue for concerts, events and attractions for audiences bet ...
;
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...
;
Memorial Drive Park
Memorial Drive Park, more generally referred to as "Memorial Drive", is a tennis venue, located adjacent to the Adelaide Oval, in the park lands surrounding the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. Memorial Drive took its name from the winding ...
;
Thebarton Theatre
The Thebarton Theatre, also known as the Thebbie Theatre or simply Thebbie/Thebby, is an entertainment venue located in the inner-western Adelaide suburb of Torrensville, South Australia. Built in 1926 as a combined town hall / picture theatre ...
;
Adelaide Town Hall
Adelaide Town Hall is a landmark building on King William Street in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The City of Adelaide Town Hall complex includes the Town Hall and the office building at 25 Pirie Street.
Description and history
Adelai ...
;
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...
;
Queen's Theatre; Holden Theatres and the Hopgood Theatre.
The
Lion Arts Factory
The Lion Arts Centre, also known as Fowler's Lion Factory and Fowlers Building, with the main music venue within known as the Lion Arts Factory (formerly Fowler's Live), is a multi-purpose arts centre, including studios, galleries, music and per ...
, within the Lion Arts Centre, hosts contemporary music in a wide range of genres, as does "
The Gov
Hindmarsh is an inner suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Charles Sturt.
The suburb is located between South Road to the west and North Adelaide. The River Torrens forms its southern boundary and the Grange and ...
" in
Hindmarsh. The city also has numerous smaller theatres, pubs and cabaret bars which host performances.
Live music
![Thebarton Theatre 2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Thebarton_Theatre_2021.jpg)
In 2015, it was said that there were now more live music venues per capita in Adelaide than any other capital city in the southern hemisphere, ''
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books.
History Early years
Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...
'' labelled Adelaide "Australia's live music city", and the city was recognised as a "
City of Music" by the
UNESCO Creative Cities Network
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.[Creamfields
Creamfields is an electronic dance music festival series founded and organised by British club promoter Cream, with its UK edition taking place on August Bank Holiday weekend, with a number of international editions held across various territ ...]
,
Laneway
An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane) ...
and
Groovin'
"Groovin" is a single released in 1967 by American rock band the Young Rascals that became a number-one hit and one of the group's signature songs. It has been covered by many artists, including the Young Rascals themselves in other languages. ...
.
Adelaide has produced musical groups and individuals who have achieved national and international fame. These include the
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian performing arts organisation comprising 75 full-time musicians, established in 1936.
Based in Adelaide, South Australia, the orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Ha ...
, the
Adelaide Youth Orchestra
The Adelaide Youth Orchestra is an 80-member symphony orchestra designed to showcase the best young instrumentalists in Adelaide, South Australia.
The youth orchestra itself comprises members aged between 12 and 25 years. Four further ensembles f ...
, rock bands
The Angels,
Atlas Genius
Atlas Genius are an alternative rock band formed in Adelaide, South Australia in November 2009. The band's mainstay members are the Jeffery brothers, Keith on lead vocals and lead guitar; Michael on drums; and Darren Sell on keyboard. Their debu ...
,
Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes (at the ...
,
The Superjesus
The Superjesus are an Australian rock band formed in Adelaide in late 1994. Their debut album, ''Sumo'' (February 1998), peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart, their second album, ''Jet Age'' (October 2000) reached No. 5 and their ...
,
Wolf & Cub
Wolf & Cub are a psychedelic rock band from Adelaide, Australia. Three of the original members hail from Port Augusta. The four-piece were signed to record label 4AD, which make use of two drummers. This allows the percussive elements of thei ...
, roots/blues group
The Audreys
The Audreys are an Australian blues and roots band which formed in Adelaide, in 2004 by founding mainstay, Taasha Coates on lead vocals, melodica, harmonica and ukulele. They have released four studio albums, '' Between Last Night and Us'' (F ...
, internationally acclaimed metal acts
I Killed The Prom Queen and
Double Dragon
is a beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technōs Japan and released as an arcade game in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight against various adversaries and rivals.
The original ...
, popular Australian hip-hop outfit
Hilltop Hoods
Hilltop Hoods is an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1996 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the "larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa (Matthew David Lambert) a ...
, pop acts like
Sia
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
,
Orianthi
Orianthi Penny Panagaris (born 22 January 1985), known mononymously as Orianthi, is an Australian guitarist, singer and songwriter who rehearsed in 2009 with Michael Jackson in preparation for his '' This Is It'' concert series, and performed wi ...
,
Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first '' Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's ''The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...
, and
Wes Carr
Wesley Dean "Wes" Carr (born 14 September 1982), also recording as Buffalo Tales, is an Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for winning the sixth season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2008. He released his first studi ...
, as well as internationally successful tribute act, The
Australian Pink Floyd Show
The Australian Pink Floyd Show, more frequently referred to as the Australian Pink Floyd, is a Pink Floyd tribute band formed in 1988 in Adelaide, South Australia. Their live shows attempt to recreate the look, feel, and sound of Pink Floyd' ...
.
Noted rocker
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...
(formerly lead vocalist with Cold Chisel) spent most of his youth in the northern suburb of
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
. Paul Kelly grew up in Adelaide and was head prefect at
Rostrevor College
, motto_translation =
, coordinates =
, established =
, type = Independent primary and secondary day and boarding
, gender = Boys
, religious_affiliation = Cath ...
. The first ''
Australian Idol
''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program ''Pop Idol' ...
'' winner, Guy Sebastian, hails from the north-eastern suburb of
Golden Grove.
Television
Adelaide is served by numerous digital
free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...
television channels:
#
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
#
ABC HD (ABC broadcast in
HD)
#
ABC TV Plus
ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment pr ...
#
ABC Me
ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3.
Hist ...
#
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
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SBS
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SBS HD
SBS is a national public television network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2018, SBS had a 7.7% audience share.
As of 2022, SBS is the lowest ...
(SBS broadcast in
HD)
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SBS World Movies
SBS World Movies is an Australian free-to-air television channel showing international movies. The channel features foreign language films, documentaries, independent and mainstream cinema and interviews with international movie stars. It w ...
HD
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SBS Viceland HD
SBS Viceland (stylised as SBS VICELAND) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). It began as SBS TWO on 1 June 2009, and was branded as SBS 2 between 2013 and 2016. On 8 April 2017, SBS ...
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SBS Food
SBS Food is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel airs programs about food and cooking, from cultures around the world.
History
SBS first revealed it would laun ...
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NITV
National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...
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SBS WorldWatch
SBS WorldWatch is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel shows multilingual international news bulletins in more than 30 languages, as well as two local bulletins i ...
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Seven
7 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
7 or seven may also refer to:
* AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era
* 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era
* The month of
July
Music Artists
* Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...
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7HD
7HD is an Australian television channel, owned by Seven West Media, originally launched on 15 October 2007 featuring unique breakaway programming from 10 December 2007 to 4 October 2009 and a HD simulcast of Seven until 25 September 2010. The ...
(Seven broadcast in HD)
# 7Two
# 7mate
# 7flix
# Racing.com
# NWS (TV station), Nine
# 9HD (Nine broadcast in HD)
# 9Gem
# 9Go!
# 9Life
# 9Gem HD
# 9Rush
# Extra (Australian TV channel), Extra
# ADS (TV station), 10
# 10 HD (10 broadcast in HD)
# 10 Bold
# 10 Peach
# 10 Shake
# TVSN
# Gecko TV
# Channel 44 (Adelaide), C44 Adelaide (Adelaide's community TV station)
All of the five Australian national television networks broadcast both High-definition television, high-definition digital and standard-definition television, standard-definition digital television services in Adelaide. They share three transmission towers on the ridge near the summit of
Mount Lofty
Mount Lofty (, elevation AHD) is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about east of the Adelaide city centre, within the Cleland National Park in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia.
The mountain's s ...
. There are two other transmission sites at 25 Grenfell Street, Adelaide and Elizabeth Downs, South Australia, Elizabeth Downs. The two government-funded stations are run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABS (TV station), ABC South Australia) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The Seven Network and Network Ten both own their Adelaide stations (SAS-7 and ADS-10 respectively). Adelaide's NWS-9 is part of the Nine Network. Adelaide also has a Community television in Australia, community television station, Channel 44 (Adelaide), Channel 44.
As part of a nationwide phase-out of analogue television in Australia, Adelaide's analogue television service was shut down on 2 April 2013.
The Foxtel pay TV service is also available via cable or satellite to the entire metropolitan area.
All the major broadcasting networks also operate online on-demand television services, alongside internet-only services such as Stan (company), Stan, Fetch TV, Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, and Kayo Sports.
Radio
There are 20 radio stations that serve the metropolitan area, as well as four stations that serve only parts of the metropolitan area; six commercial stations, six community stations, six national stations and two narrowcast stations.
DAB+ digital radio has been broadcasting in metropolitan Adelaide since 20 May 2009, and currently offers a choice of 41 stations all operated by the existing licensed radio broadcasters, which includes high-quality simulcast of all AM and FM stations.
Sport
![Adl utd stadium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Adl_utd_stadium.jpg)
The main sports played professionally in Adelaide are Australian Rules football, association football (soccer), cricket, netball, and basketball. Adelaide is the home of two
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...
teams: the Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club, and one A-League soccer team, Adelaide United. A local Australian rules football league, the South Australian National Football League, SANFL, is made up of 10 teams from around Adelaide. The SANFL has been in operation since 1877 when it began as the South Australian Football Association (SAFL) before changing its name to the SANFL in 1927. The SANFL is the oldest surviving football league of any code played in Australia.
Adelaide has developed a strong culture of attracting crowds to major sporting events. Until the completion of the 2012–14 renovation and upgrade of the
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...
, most large sporting events took place at either Football Park (the then home base of the Adelaide Crows, and the then Port Adelaide Football Club, Port Adelaide home game venue), or the historic
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...
, home of the South Australia cricket team, South Australia Redbacks and the Adelaide Strikers cricket teams. Since completion of the upgrade, home games for Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide now take place at Adelaide Oval.
Since 1884,
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...
has also hosted an international cricket test every summer, along with a number of One Day International cricket matches.
Memorial Drive Park
Memorial Drive Park, more generally referred to as "Memorial Drive", is a tennis venue, located adjacent to the Adelaide Oval, in the park lands surrounding the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. Memorial Drive took its name from the winding ...
, adjacent to the Adelaide Oval, used to host Davis Cup and other major tennis events, including the Australian Open and the Adelaide International. Adelaide's professional association football team, Adelaide United, play in the A-League. Founded in 2003, their home ground is Hindmarsh Stadium, which has a capacity of 17,000 and is one of the few Soccer-specific stadium, purpose-built soccer stadia in Australia. Prior to United's foundation, Adelaide City FC, Adelaide City and West Adelaide SC, West Adelaide represented the city in the National Soccer League. The two sides, which contest the Adelaide derby against one another, now play in the National Premier Leagues South Australia.
For two years, 1997 and 1998, Adelaide was represented in Australia's top level rugby league, after the New South Wales Rugby League had played a single game per season at the Adelaide Oval for five years starting in 1991. The Adelaide Rams were formed and played in the breakaway Super League (Australia), Super League (SL) competition in 1997 Super League (Australia) season, 1997 before moving to the new National Rugby League in 1998 NRL season, 1998. Initially playing at the Adelaide Oval, the club moved to the more suitable Hindmarsh Stadium late in the 1998 season. As part of a peace deal with the Australian Rugby League to end the Super League war, the club's owners News Limited (who were also owners of the SL) suddenly closed the club only weeks before the start of the 1999 NRL season, 1999 season.
Adelaide has two professional basketball teams, the men's team being the Adelaide 36ers which plays in the National Basketball League (Australasia), National Basketball League (NBL) and the women's team, the Adelaide Lightning which plays in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). Both teams play their home games at the Titanium Security Arena. Adelaide has a professional netball team, the Adelaide Thunderbirds, which plays in the national netball competition, the Suncorp Super Netball championship, with home games played at Priceline Stadium. The Thunderbirds occasionally play games or finals at the Titanium Security Arena, while international netball matches are usually played at the 10,500 seat Adelaide Entertainment Centre. The Titanium Security Arena has a capacity of 8,000 and is the largest purpose-built basketball stadium in Australia.
![Tourdownunder2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Tourdownunder2.jpg)
Since 1999 Adelaide and its surrounding areas have hosted the Tour Down Under Bicycle racing, bicycle race, organised and directed by Adelaide-based Michael Turtur. Turtur won an Summer Olympics, Olympic gold medal for Australia in the Cycling at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's team pursuit, 4000 m team pursuit at the 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The Tour Down Under is the largest cycling event outside Europe and was the first event outside Europe to be granted UCI ProTour status.
Adelaide maintains a franchise in the Australian Baseball League, the Adelaide Giants. They have been playing since 2009, and their home stadium (until 2016) was Norwood Oval. From 2016 the team moved to the Diamond Sports Stadium located near the Adelaide International Airport due to renovations at Norwood.
Adelaide also has an ice hockey team, Adelaide Adrenaline in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It was national champions in 2009 and plays its games at the Ice Arena (Adelaide), IceArenA.
The
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different ven ...
for World Championship
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
racing was hosted by Adelaide from 1985 to 1995 on the Adelaide Street Circuit which was laid out in the city's East End as well as the eastern parklands including the Victoria Park, Adelaide, Victoria Park Racecourse.
The Grand Prix became a source of pride, and losing the event to Melbourne in a surprise announcement in mid-1993 left a void that has since been filled with the highly successful Adelaide 500, Clipsal 500 for V8 Supercar racing, held on a modified version of the same street circuit. The Classic Adelaide, a rallying, rally of classic sporting vehicles, is also held in the city and its surrounds.
Adelaide formerly had three horse racing venues. Victoria Park, Adelaide, Victoria Park, Cheltenham Park Racecourse, both of which have now closed, and Morphettville Racecourse that remains the home of the South Australian Jockey Club. It also has Globe Derby Park (harness racing), Globe Derby Park for Harness racing that opened in 1969, and by 1973 had become Adelaide's premier harness racing venue taking over from the Adelaide Showgrounds, Wayville Showgrounds, as well as Greyhound Park for greyhound racing that opened in 1972.
The World Solar Challenge race attracts teams from around the world, most of which are fielded by universities or corporations, although some are fielded by high schools. The race has a 20-years' history spanning nine races, with the inaugural event taking place in 1987. Adelaide hosted the 2012 World Bowls Championships at Lockleys Bowling Club, becoming the third city in the world to have held the championships twice, having previously hosted the event in 1996.
Dirt track racing, Dirt track speedway is also popular in Adelaide with three operating speedways. Adelaide Motorsport Park, located adjacent to the Adelaide International Raceway road racing circuit at Virginia, South Australia, Virginia ( north of the city centre) has been in continuous operation since 1979 after the closure of the popular Rowley Park Speedway. Gillman Speedway located in the semi-industrial suburb of Gillman, South Australia, Gillman, has been in operation since 1998 and caters to Motorcycle speedway and Sidecar speedway, Sidecars, while the Sidewinders Speedway located in Wingfield, South Australia, Wingfield is also a motorcycle speedway dedicated to Under-16 riders and has been in operation since 1978. In 2016, backed my South Australia's Peregrine Group owners of OTR (On the run service stations and 24/7-hour convenient stores) opened up a multi-purpose facility; a state-of-the-art motorsporting park and a hotel alongside its newer OTR service station outside a small township of Tailem Bend currently named The Bend Motorsport Park. Design for thrill seekers and rev-heads the facility currently host South Australia's second V8 Supercars motoring event during a round in August and hopes to bring in other major international motoring events such as SBK Superbikes and other well established FIA motoring events.
Adelaide is home to the Great Southern Slam, the world's largest roller derby tournament. The tournament has been held biennially over Australia's Queen's Birthday holiday weekend since 2010. In 2014, and 2016 the tournament featured 45 teams playing in two divisions. In 2018, the tournament has expanded to 48 teams competing in three divisions.
Infrastructure
Transport
![TransAdelaideRailwayMap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/TransAdelaideRailwayMap.svg)
Being centrally located on the Australian mainland, Adelaide forms a strategic transport hub for east–west and north–south routes. The city itself has a metropolitan public transport system managed by and known as the Adelaide Metro. The Adelaide Metro consists of a contracted bus system including the
O-Bahn Busway
The O-Bahn Busway is a guided busway that is part of the bus rapid transit system servicing the northeastern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The O-Bahn system was conceived by Daimler-Benz to enable buses to avoid traffic congestion by s ...
, Railways in Adelaide, 6 commuter rail lines (diesel and electric), and a small tram network operating between inner suburb
Hindmarsh, the city centre, and seaside Glenelg tram line, Glenelg. Tramways were largely dismantled in the 1950s, but saw a revival in the 2010s with upgrades and extensions.
Road transport in Adelaide has historically been easier than many of the other Australian cities, with a well-defined city layout and wide multiple-lane roads from the beginning of its development. Adelaide was known as a "twenty-minute city", with commuters having been able to travel from metropolitan outskirts to the city proper in roughly twenty minutes. However, such arterial roads often experience traffic congestion as the city grows.
![O-Bahn tunnel in Rymill Park, Adelaide cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/O-Bahn_tunnel_in_Rymill_Park%2C_Adelaide_cropped.jpg)
The Adelaide metropolitan area has one freeway and four expressways. In order of construction, they are:
* The
South Eastern Freeway
South Eastern Freeway is a freeway in South Australia (SA). It is a part of the National Highway network linking the state capital cities of Adelaide, SA, and Melbourne, Victoria, and signed as National Highway M1. It carries traffic over t ...
(M1), connects the south-east corner of the Adelaide Plain to the Adelaide Hills and beyond to Murray Bridge, South Australia, Murray Bridge and Tailem Bend, where it then continues as National Highway 1 south-east to Melbourne.
* The
Southern Expressway (M2), connecting the outer southern suburbs with the inner southern suburbs and the city centre. It duplicates the route of South Road.
* The North-South Motorway (M2), is an ongoing major project that will become the major north–south corridor, replacing most of what is now South Road, connecting the Southern Expressway (Adelaide), Southern Expressway and the Northern Expressway via a motorway with no traffic lights. As of 2020 the motorway's northern half is complete (save for a small link under construction at Croydon Park, South Australia, Croydon Park), connecting the Northern Expressway to Adelaide's inner north-west; the section running through Adelaide's inner west and inner south-west is awaiting funding.
* The Port River Expressway (A9), connects Port Adelaide and Outer Harbor, South Australia, Outer Harbor to Port Wakefield Road at the northern "entrance" to the metropolitan area.
* The Northern Expressway (Max Fatchen Expressway) (M2), is the northern suburbs bypass route connecting the Sturt Highway (National Highway 20) via the Gawler Bypass to Port Wakefield Road at a point a few kilometres north of the Port River Expressway connection.
* The Northern Connector, completed in 2020, links the North South Motorway to the Northern Expressway.
Airports
![Adelaide Airport, 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Adelaide_Airport%2C_2008.jpg)
The Adelaide metropolitan area has two commercial airports, Adelaide Airport and Parafield Airport. Adelaide Airport, in Adelaide's south-western suburbs, serves in excess of 8 million passengers annually.
Parafield Airport, Adelaide's second airport north of the city centre, is used for small aircraft, pilot training and recreational aviation purposes. Parafield Airport served as Adelaide's main aerodrome until the opening of the Adelaide Airport in February 1955. Adelaide airport serves many international and domestic destinations including all Australian state capitals.
Adelaide is also home to a military airport, known as RAAF Base Edinburgh, Edinburgh Airport, located in the northern suburbs. It was built in 1955 in a joint initiative with the UK for weapon development.
Health
![North Terrace's BioMed precinct at night](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/North_Terrace%27s_BioMed_precinct_at_night.jpg)
Adelaide's two largest hospitals are the
Royal Adelaide Hospital
The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), colloquially known by its initials or pronounced as "the Rah", is South Australia's largest hospital, owned by the state government as part of Australia's public health care system. The RAH provides tertiary hea ...
(RAH) in the city centre, a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Adelaide (800 beds), and the
Flinders Medical Centre (580 beds) in Bedford Park, affiliated with Flinders University. The RAH also operates additional campuses for specialist care throughout the suburbs including the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre (150 beds) in Northfield, South Australia, Northfield and the Glenside Hospital (Adelaide), Glenside Campus (129 beds) for acute mental health services. Other major public hospitals are the Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, Women's and Children's Hospital (305 beds), in North Adelaide; the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide, Queen Elizabeth Hospital (340 beds) in Woodville; Modbury Hospital (178 beds) in Modbury; and the Lyell McEwin Hospital (198 beds) in Elizabeth. Numerous private hospitals are also located throughout the city, with the largest operators being not-for-profits Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance (3 hospitals) and Sisters of the Little Company of Mary, Calvary Care (4 hospitals).
In 2017, the RAH was relocated from the city's
East End
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
to a new AU$2.3 billion facility built over former railyards in the West End. The state-of-the-art hospital forms part of a new biomedical precinct called BioMed City that collocates the
South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute
The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) is an independent health and medical research institute in Adelaide, South Australia. The institute is housed in a purpose-built eponymous building with its iconic " cheese-grat ...
(SAHMRI), the University of Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences building, the University of South Australia's Health Innovation Building, and the state's Dental Hospital. SAHMRI is building a $300 million second facility due to be completed by 2022 to house the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research, Australian Bragg Centre with Australia's first proton therapy unit.
There are also plans for the Women's and Children's Hospital to be relocated to the precinct adjacent the RAH by 2024.
![Adelaide (25092999627)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Adelaide_%2825092999627%29.jpg)
The largest provider of community health care within Adelaide is the not-for-profit Royal District Nursing Service (South Australia), Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS), which provides out of hospital care and hospital avoidance care.
Energy
Adelaide's energy requirements were originally met by the Adelaide Electric Supply Company, which was nationalised by the
Playford government in 1946, becoming the Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA). Despite significant public opposition and the Labor party's anti-privatisation stance which left the Liberal party one vote short of the numbers needed to pass the legislation, ETSA was privatised by the John Olsen, Olsen Government in 1999 by way of a 200-year lease for the distribution network (ETSA Utilities, later renamed SA Power Networks) and the outright purchase of ETSA Power by the Cheung Kong Holdings for $3.5 billion (11 times ETSA's annual earnings) after Labor MP Trevor Crothers resigned from the party and voted with the government.
The electricity retail market was opened to competition in 2003 and although competition was expected to result in lower retail costs, prices increased by 23.7% in the market's first year. In 2004, the privatisation was deemed to be a failure with consumers paying 60% more for their power and with the state government estimated to lose $3 billion in power generation net income in the first ten years of privatisation. In 2012, the industry came under scrutiny for allegedly reducing supply by shutting down generators during periods of peak demand to force prices up. Increased media attention also revealed that in 2009 the state government had approved a 46% increase in retail prices to cover expected increases in the costs of generation while generation costs had in fact fallen 35% by 2012. South Australia has the highest retail price for electricity in the country.
Privatisation led to competition from a variety of companies who now separately provide for the generation, transmission, distribution and retail sales of gas and electricity. Electricity generation comes from a range of technologies and operators. ElectraNet operates the high-voltage electricity transmission network. SA Power Networks distributes electricity to end users. The largest electricity and gas retailing companies are also the largest generating companies.
The largest fossil fuel power stations are the Torrens Island Power Station gas-fired plant operated by AGL Energy and the Pelican Point Power Station operated by Engie. South Australia also has wind and solar power and connections to the national grid. Natural gas, Gas is supplied from the Moomba, South Australia, Moomba Gas Processing Plant in the Cooper Basin via the Moomba Adelaide Pipeline System
and the SEAGas pipeline from Victoria, Australia, Victoria.
In 2011, South Australia generated 18% of its electricity from wind power, and had 51% of the installed capacity of wind generators in Australia.
Due to almost universal blackouts within the city during September 2016, the state worked with Tesla, Inc., Tesla to produce the world's largest electricity battery at Hornsdale Wind Farm, Hornsdale Power Reserve which has increased that state's electrical security to the extent in which large blackouts are no longer an event.
Water
![Happy Valley Reservoir 20070223](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Happy_Valley_Reservoir_20070223.jpg)
The provision of water services is by the government-owned SA Water. Adelaide's water is supplied from its seven reservoirs: Mount Bold Reservoir, Mount Bold, Happy Valley Reservoir, Happy Valley, Myponga Reservoir, Myponga, Millbrook Reservoir, Millbrook, Hope Valley Reservoir, Hope Valley, Little Para Reservoir, Little Para and South Para Reservoir, South Para. The yield from these reservoir catchments can be as little as 10% of the city's requirements (90GL per annum
) in drought years and about 60% in average years. The remaining demand is met by the pumping of water from the
River Murray
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...
.
A Adelaide Desalination Plant, sea-water desalination plant capable of supplying 100GL per annum was built during the 2000s Australian drought, 2001–2009 drought; however, it operated at about 8% of its capacity until 2019. In December 2018, the State and Federal Governments agreed to fund a $2m study to determine how the plant could be used to reduce reliance on river water, in an effort to help save the Murray River basin and mouth (including the Coorong) from further ecological damage.
Communications
AdelaideFree WiFi is a citywide free Wi-Fi network covering most of the inner city areas of Adelaide, primarily the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD and Northern Adelaide precincts.
It was officially launched at the Adelaide Central Markets on Tuesday 25 June 2014.
It is provided by Internode (ISP), Internode,
with infrastructure provided by outdoor Cisco WiFi N access points attached to the top of lighting poles, as well as inside cafes and businesses across the city.
See also
*
Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ad ...
includes chart of major streets and squares, street widths, and town acres
*
Adelaide Hills
*
City of Adelaide
The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of South ...
* Music of Adelaide
*
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...
; Lists
* :Images of Adelaide, Images of Adelaide
* List of Adelaide obsolete suburb names
* List of Adelaide parks and gardens
* List of Adelaide railway stations
* List of Adelaide suburbs
* List of films shot in Adelaide
* List of people from Adelaide
* List of protected areas in Adelaide
* List of public art in South Australia
* List of public transport routes in Adelaide
* List of South Australian commercial icons
* List of sporting clubs in Adelaide
* List of tallest buildings in Adelaide
* City of Adelaide#Sister cities, Sister cities of the City of Adelaide (the Local government area that governs the city centre)
* :Tourist attractions in South Australia, Tourist attractions in South Australia
Notes
References
Further reading
*
* (full text)
*
*
*
External links
Adelaide City Council > Official City GuideAdelaide City CouncilKids in AdelaideRetrieved 12 May 2020.
{{Authority control
Adelaide,
1836 establishments in Australia
Australian capital cities
Cities in South Australia
Coastal cities in Australia
Planned capitals
Populated places established in 1836
Metropolitan areas of Australia