Victoria Square, also known as Tarntanyangga (formerly Tarndanyangga) (), is the central square of five

public square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

s 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 Ade ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a 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 of Australia's states and territories ...

. It is one of six squares designed by the founder of Adelaide,

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 ...

, who was Surveyor-General at the time, in his 1837 plan of the City of Adelaide which spanned 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 ...

Valley, comprising the city centre (South Adelaide) and

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 ...

. The square was named on 23 May 1837 by the Street Naming Committee after Princess Victoria, then

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

of the British throne. In 2003, it was assigned a second name, Tarndanyangga (later amended to Tarntanyangga), in the

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. Kaurn ...

language of the original inhabitants, as part of the Adelaide City Council's

dual naming Dual naming is the adoption of an official place name that combines two earlier names, or uses both names, often to resolve a disagreement over which of the two individual names is more appropriate. In some cases, the reasons are political. Some ...

initiative. The square has been upgraded and modified several times through its lifetime. It has become a tradition that during the Christmas period a tall

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

is erected in the northern part of the square.

Dual naming and significance

The square was first named "Victoria Square" on 23 May 1837 by the Street Naming Committee, in honour of the then Princess Victoria. VictoriaSquare South

In line with the Adelaide City Council's recognition of

country, the square was officially referred to as Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga from 2002, modified to Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga by 2013, when Stage 1 of a major upgrade was done. The names "Tarndanya", sometimes recorded as "Dharnda anya" (or variant spelling) by colonial sources means "red kangaroo rock" and was reportedly the name used by the Kaurna people for "the site of South Adelaide" or the central-South Adelaide area; the local people whose central camp had been "in or near Victoria Square" were called the "Dundagunya tribe" by colonial sources. Tarndanyangga/Tarntanyangga is derived from the

word for "red kangaroo" – ''tarnta'' (''tarnda'') – and that for "rock" – ''kanya''. The ending "''-ngga''" means it's a location, implying "in, at or on", which is often used in Kaurna place names. Many quarries were built on the southern bank of the Torrens, and ''Tarnta Kanya'' probably referred to one or more rock formations which were quarried, providing much of the stone for the large early buildings on North Terrace. Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga is still considered an important meeting place for

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 ...

. It is the focus for many political and community-based Indigenous events, such as the

National Sorry Day National Sorry Day, or the National Day of Healing, is an annual event that has been held in Australia on 26 May since 1998. The event remembers and commemorates the mistreatment of the country's Indigenous peoples as part of an ongoing process ...

commemoration held by Journey of Healing (SA) on 26 May each year. Each year during

NAIDOC Week NAIDOC Week ( ) is an Australian observance lasting from the first Sunday in July until the following Sunday. The acronym NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, which was originally National Aborigines Day ...

in July, there is a "family fun day" held at the square and a march to Parliament House. The Australian Aboriginal flag was flown at Victoria Square for the first time in the country at a land rights rally in Victoria Square in Adelaide on 9 July 1971. On 8 July 2002 the Adelaide City Council endorsed the permanent flying of the flag, which now flies adjacent to the

Australian flag The flag of Australia, also known as the Australian Blue Ensign, is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star) and a r ...

Description

Victoria Square is in the centre of the city's

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 ...

, designed by William Light. It is bordered by numerous public institutions at its north and south ends, including the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Adelaide

Magistrates' Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...

, the Federal Court of Australia, the historic old Treasury building (now a hotel run by the Adina hotel chain) and the former Adelaide General Post Office. On the eastern side is the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Cathedral Church of St Francis Xavier, the

SA Water SA Water is a government business enterprise wholly owned by the Government of South Australia. History SA Water was established by the proclamation of the ''South Australian Water Corporation Act 1994'' on 1 July 1995. Prior to this its predec ...

headquarters, State Government offices, including the office of the Premier, and 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 ...

, which houses the Carnegie Mellon University. The west side of the square contains more commercially oriented buildings, including an entrance to the

Adelaide Central Market The Adelaide Central Market is a major fresh produce market in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. As one of the oldest markets in Australia, Adelaide Central Market has a large range of fresh food, including fruit and vegetables, meat and po ...

, the Hilton hotel, and the offices of various consultants, law firms and insurance companies. King William Street passes through the centre of the square from north to south, creating a diamond shape, with the southbound carriageway passing through the east side, and the northbound carriageway passing through the west side of the square. The square is bisected on its east–west axis by the section of road (technically part of the square) that connects

Wakefield Street Wakefield Street is a main thoroughfare intersecting the centre of the South Australian capital, Adelaide, from east to west at its midpoint. It crosses Victoria Square in the centre of the city, which has a grid street plan. It continues as ...

(entering from the east) with

Grote Street Grote Street is a major street running east to west in the western half of Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. It is on the northern border of Chinatown and the Adelaide Central Market, and is a lively centre for shopping and r ...

(to the west). A tram stop (formerly the

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

) for the

Glenelg tram line The Glenelg tram line is a tram/ light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic. The service is free in the city centre and a ...

is just south of the Queen Victoria statue; it was shifted from the centre to the western edge of the square in 2007, as part of the extension that was made to the tram line around that time.

History

The link between the Aboriginal people and the square, as a centre for the surrounding area, stretches back many centuries, to a time when Tarndanya (Red Kangaroo Dreaming) people gathered there for special ceremonies and dances. Tarndanyangga was the "headquarters" or central camp of the "Dundagunya tribe", a community numbering in the thousands. During the 1960s the Aboriginal community renewed its activities in Victoria Square, with the area in front of what was then the central Police Station, (and is now the Commonwealth Law Courts building), becoming a social and gathering point.

19th century

Statue of Queen Victoria at Victoria Square, Adelaide

In 1837, the first Surveyor General of South Australia,

, mapped a plan for the City of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, 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. The dem ...

. The design incorporated a central square to function as Adelaide's focal point and provide open space for recreational activities. On his first map, Light called the precinct "The Great Square". It was eventually named in honour of Princess Victoria, then heir to the

British throne The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Baili ...

. The square was a dusty, treeless paddock until 1854, when the Adelaide City Council embarked on a planting program, constructed four broad diagonal pedestrian paths and erected a wooden fence. The landscaping work was designed by

George William Francis George William Francis (1800–9 August 1865) was an English horticulturalist and science writer. He migrated to the colony of South Australia in 1849 and became the first director of the Adelaide Botanic Garden in 1860. Life Born in London, Fra ...

, later the first director of 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 (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital ...

. Other work on the square included construction of an east–west roadway that created two garden areas. A fountain was also considered, but it took a further 100 years for this idea to come to fruition. By 1883, plans were under way to extend King William Street directly through Victoria Square, dividing it into four garden areas. The original wooden fence was replaced by ornate iron railings. A statue of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

– who had ascended to the throne in June 1837 – was erected in the centre of the square in 1894.

20th century

The statue of Colonel Light, now known as Light's Vision and since 1938 situated 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 ...

, was unveiled on 27 November 1906 in its original location at the northern end of Victoria Square. The original tram terminus was located outside the Charles Moore & Company department store with services operating via a loop in an anti-clockwise direction in the south-western corner. As part of the rebuilding of the square, in December 1966 the tram terminus was relocated near the centre of the square with Grote and

s to the north and Gouger and

Angas Street Angas Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map
of the

John Dowie was built to commemorate the visit of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

, in 1968. The three South Australian rivers, the

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

, Onkaparinga and Torrens, are represented by an Aboriginal male with an

Ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word ...

, a female with a heron, and a female with a black swan. On 12 July 1971, the red, black and yellow Aboriginal flag designed by Harold Thomas was flown for the first time – in Victoria Square. It now flies permanently alongside the

on one of the two tall flagpoles in the centre of the square.

21st century

In 2002, the Adelaide City Council formally recognised the areas heritage by bestowing the dual name Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga. The old tram depot at the square was also demolished, so was the old SAPOL Headquarters. An SA Water office building was built in its place. In 2012 the Adelaide City Council endorsed $24 million in funding to begin rejuvenating Victoria Square. Construction commenced in March 2013 and the first of two planned stages (the northern half) was completed in February 2014. The planned redevelopment of the southern half has been held up due to lack of funding. The full development included:

Features

Statue of Queen Victoria

Located in the centre of the square is a statue honouring

from a model by C. B. Birch, unveiled in 1894. The statue was presented to the city by Sir Edwin Smith, based on a design viewed in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1893. It was cast by Moore & Co. of

Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross ...

using bronze specifically made from

Wallaroo Wallaroo is a common name for several species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies. The word "wallaroo" is from the Dharug ''walaru'', and not a portmanteau of the words "kangaroo" and "wal ...

and Moonta copper. Inscribed simply with "Victoria R.I.", the statue was originally unveiled by Lady Smith on 11 August 1894. The statue was symbolically draped in black as a sign of mourning following the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. For many years a wreath laying ceremony was held at the foot of the statue each 24 May (or 23rd when the 24th was a Saturday), the anniversary of her birth in 1819. It was removed, cleaned and polished in May 2013 as part of the upgrade of Victoria Square and returned in December 2013 in a modified location.

Three Rivers Fountain

The Three Rivers Fountain was erected to commemorate the

visit Visit refer as go to see and spend time with socially. Visit may refer to: *State visit, a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country *Conjugal visit, in which a prisoner is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visit ...

to Adelaide in February 1963. Located at the northern end of the square, it was unveiled and first set in operation by the Duke of Edinburgh on 28 May 1968. It was later relocated to the southern end, and was officially reopened by then Lord Mayor, Stephen Yarwood, in July 2014. Sculptured by John Dowie, the centrepiece in the shape of a crown represents the royal visit, and the fountain represents the three rivers that Adelaide draws water from: * The Murray, depicted by an Aboriginal man and an

ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word ...

(probably representing

ancestor creator

Tjilbruke Tjilbruke (also Tjirbruki, Tjilbruki, Tjirbruke, Tjirbuk or Tjirbuki,) is an important creation ancestor for the Kaurna of the Adelaide plains in the Australian state of South Australia. Tjilbruke was a Kaurna man, who appeared in Kaurna Drea ...

) * The Torrens, depicted by a woman and a black swan * The Onkaparinga, depicted by a woman and a heron The fountain was heritage-listed as a state heritage place in 2012.

The State Survey Mark

Located at the northern end of the square, the State Survey Mark commemorates the placing of the first peg for the survey of the City of Adelaide by Colonel Light on 11 January 1837. This survey mark is the reference point for all other survey marks in

. The mark was unveiled, along with a commemorative plaque by then Minister of Lands, Susan Lenehan on 21 April 1989.

Reconciliation Plaza

The east–west road connecting Grote and

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

Streets was named Reconciliation Plaza in 2013. The plaza hosts two flagpoles flying the

Australian National Flag The flag of Australia, also known as the Australian Blue Ensign, is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star) and a r ...

and the Aboriginal Flag, which has flown permanently in the square since 2002. In 1971, the square was the first place the Aboriginal Flag was flown, at a land rights rally (see

Dual naming Dual naming is the adoption of an official place name that combines two earlier names, or uses both names, often to resolve a disagreement over which of the two individual names is more appropriate. In some cases, the reasons are political. Some ...

, above). Reconciliation Plaza was officially opened on 26 May 2014 by Mayor Yarwood, Reconciliation Committee Chairperson Yvonne Agius and Journey of Healing SA Chairperson John Browne.

Statue of John McDouall Stuart

A monument to John McDouall Stuart, one of Australia's premier explorers, is situated in Victoria Square. It was erected on 4 June 1904 and heritage listed on 8 March 2013. Stuart led the first expedition to successfully cross the continent from north to south and back. This opened

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and i ...

for pastoral use and led to the South Australian government's successful case for control over the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. The route of his expedition also paved the way for the

Overland Telegraph The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a telegraphy system to send messages over long distances using cables and electric signals. It spanned between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital o ...

, which permitted virtually immediate communication between Australia and Europe.

Statue of Charles Sturt

A statue of explorer

Charles Sturt Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from Sydney and la ...

stands in Victoria Square. Sturt is depicted in the working clothes of an outback explorer, leaning forward, shielding his eyes from the sun with his right hand and peering into the distance. He carries a compass, telescope, map and water bottle.

Statue of Charles Kingston

A statue of

Charles Kingston Charles Cameron Kingston (22 October 1850 – 11 May 1908) was an Australian politician. From 1893 to 1899 he was a radical liberal Premier of South Australia, occupying this office with the support of Labor, which in the House of Assembly ...

, son of

George Strickland Kingston Sir George Strickland Kingston (23 August 1807 – 26 November 1880) was the Deputy Surveyor to William Light, engaged to survey the new colony of South Australia. He arrived in South Australia on the in 1836. Kingston was also the first Spea ...

and SA premier from 1893 to 1899, stands in the square with a plaque reading "patriot and statesman". British sculptor

Alfred Drury Edward Alfred Briscoe Drury (11 November 1856 – 24 December 1944) was a British architectural sculptor and artist active in the New Sculpture movement. During a long career Drury created a great number of decorative figures such as busts an ...

was commissioned to create the statue, and it was placed in a central location on the northwestern side, facing down Grote Street towards his West Adelaide electorate. It was unveiled on 26 May 1916, during World War I. It was later criticised as capturing "little of his fire". While Kingston was instrumental in bringing about several progressive social policies, such as

electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of: * Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant-r ...

(including the first law to give votes to women in Australia), a

legitimation Legitimation or legitimisation is the act of providing legitimacy. Legitimation in the social sciences refers to the process whereby an act, process, or ideology becomes legitimate by its attachment to norms and values within a given society. I ...

Act, the first conciliation and arbitration act in Australia, and a progressive system of taxation, he was also one of the main architects of the

White Australia policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting i ...

. After the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

gained pace in June 2020, with various statues representing slave traders and various perpetrators of racism being removed or defaced both in the US and in the UK during the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...

, archaeologist and historian Jacinta Koolmatrie argued it is ironic that the statue is placed so close to the Aboriginal flag in the square, which was also the site of the Adelaide Black Lives Matter protest.

Gallery

File:Victoria square, around 1869.jpg, Victoria Square, looking north, 1869 File:Statue of Queen Victoria at Victoria Square, Adelaide.jpg, Unveiling the Victoria statue, 1894 File:Victoria Square Adelaide 1895.jpg, Victoria Square, looking south, 1895 File:Transformers - Victoria Square Adelaide SA - panoramio.jpg, Panoramic view, 2014 File:Victoria square5.jpg, North-western corner of the square, 2006 File:OIC victoria square tram stop.jpg, Tram stop, 2012 File:Adelaide City Christmas.jpg, Fountain and Christmas tree, 2015 File:Tram and bus at Victoria Square, Adelaide.jpg, Night view of the square, 2017 File:Victoria Square Flags.jpg, The Aboriginal and National flag's in the square, 2017 File:Victoria Square Aboriginal Flag.jpg, The Aboriginal flag flying in Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga, Adelaide, near where the flag was first flown, 2013