The Schützenfest (, ''marksmen's festival'') held annually in

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 capital of

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 ...

, is a German cultural festival. Schützenfests are held in Germany and also around the world. The Adelaide festival has been reputed to be the second largest Schützenfest in the world. Soon after the

British colonisation of South Australia British colonisation of South Australia describes the planning and establishment of the colony of South Australia by the British government, covering the period from 1829, when the idea was raised by the then-imprisoned Edward Gibbon Wakefield ...

, with settlers arriving from 1836, a large migration of Germans occurred, especially after 1838. The Adelaide German Club was founded on 15 July 1854, and in the same year, the first Schützenfest was held. The German Shooting Society founded in Adelaide in January 1861 was the first recorded in the colony. The festivals continued to be held in country towns, notably Hahndorf,

Lobethal Lobethal is a town in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area, and is nestled on the banks of a creek between the hills and up the sides of the valley. It was once the centr ...

and 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 destina ...

. The first public Schützenfest held in Adelaide was organised by the Adelaide German Club in 1865 in the suburb of St Peters, which drew a crowd of more than 5,000 people (when the total city population was only 27,000). The first event run by the South Australian German Association (founded 1886) was held in the suburb of Walkerville on 30 December 1889. It was not held again until 1964, when it started being held annually at Hahndorf, and in 1994 the event was moved to Adelaide, where it was held in

Bonython Park Bonython Park is a 17-hectare park in the north-west Park Lands of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. The park was opened in 1962 and named in honour of prominent South Australian politician and journalist, Sir John Langdon Bonython. It ...

in the western parklands over a weekend. The event included activities for children (such as

Humphrey B. Bear ''Humphrey B. Bear'' is a fictional character first created in an Australian children's television series called ''Here's Humphrey'', which first went to air in 1965. Its fictional character namesake is an icon of Australian children's televis ...

and singer

Peter Combe Peter Charles Combe OAM (; born 20 October 1948) is an Australian children's entertainer and musician. At the ARIA Music Awards he has won three ARIA Awards for Best Children's Album, for '' Toffee Apple'' (1988), ''Newspaper Mama'' (1989) an ...

), music, dancing, food and drink. For some years the event took place in the height of summer, sometimes resulting in people suffering

heatstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, b ...

, such as in the middle of a

heatwave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in th ...

in January 2001. In 2010 the festival took place at Ellis Park/ Tampawardli, after being moved by Adelaide City Council from

owing to roadworks. By 2015 it was back in Bonython Park. In April 2021 the first Schützenfest was held over two days at the German Club's new home in the western suburb of Brooklyn Park.

See also

References

Further reading