This article details the history of Adelaide from the first human activity in the region to the 20th century. Adelaide is a planned city founded in 1836 and the capital of South Australia.
Aboriginal settlement
The Adelaide plains were inhabited by the Kaurna people before the colonisation of South Australia, their territory extending from what is now Cape Jervis to Port Broughton. The Kaurna lived in family groups called yerta, a word which also referred to the area of land which supported the family group. Each yerta was the responsibility of Kaurna adults who inherited the land and had an intimate knowledge of its resources and features. The Kaurna led a nomadic existence within the Yerta confines in large family groups of around 30. The area where the Adelaide city centre now stands was called "Tarndanya","Tarndanya", KauranaPlaceNames.com. Retrieved 2009-09-09. which translates as "male red kangaroo rock", an area along the south bank of what is now called the River Torrens. Kaurna numbers were greatly reduced by at least two devastating epidemics of smallpox which preceded European settlement, having been transported downstream along the River Murray. When European settlers arrived in 1836, estimates of the Kaurna population ranged from 300 to 500 people.Mattingley, C. and Hampton, K. (eds., 1988) Survival in our own land: 'Aboriginal' experiences in South Australia since 1836. Wakefield Press. p. 5.
British preparation for establishing a colony
British Commander Matthew Flinders and French Captain Nicolas Baudin independently charted the southern coast of the Australian continent, with the notable exception of the inlet later known as the Port Adelaide River. In 1802 Flinders named Mount Lofty, but recorded little of the area which is now Adelaide. In 1830 Charles Sturt explored the River Murray and was impressed with what he briefly saw, later writing: "Hurried ....as my view of it was, my eye never fell on a country of more promising aspect, or more favourable position, than that which occupies the space between the lake (Lake Alexandrina) and the ranges of the Gulf St Vincent, and, continuing northerly from Mount Barker stretches away, without any visible boundary".
Captain Collet Barker, sent by New South Wales Governor Ralph Darling, conducted a more thorough survey of the area in 1831, as recommended by Sturt. After swimming the mouth of the Murray River, Barker was killed by Ngarrindjeri people. Despite this, his more detailed survey led Sturt to conclude in his 1833 report: "It would appear that a spot has at last been found upon the south coast of New Holland to which the colonists might venture with every prospect of success ... All who have ever landed upon the eastern shore of the St. Vincent's Gulf agree as to the richness of its soil and the abundance of its pastures."
Edward Wakefield A group in Britain led by Edward Gibbon Wakefield were looking to start a colony based on free settlement rather than convict labour. After problems in other Australian colonies arising from existing settlement methods, the time was right to form a more methodical approach to establishing a colony. In 1829 an imprisoned Wakefield wrote a series of letters about systematic colonisation which were published in a daily newspaper.
Wakefield suggested that instead of granting free land to settlers as had happened in other colonies, the land should be sold. The money from land purchases would be used solely to transport labourers to the colony free of charge, who were to be responsible and skilled workers rather than paupers and convicts. Land prices needed to be high enough so that workers who saved to buy land of their own remained in the workforce long enough to avoid a labour shortage.
The South Australian Association Robert Gouger, secretary of the South Australian Association, promoted Wakefield's theories and organised societies of people interested in the scheme. In 1834 the South Australian Association, with the aid of such figures as George Grote, William Molesworth and the Duke of Wellington persuaded British Parliament to pass the South Australian Colonisation act, succeeding where two previous organisations had failed.
Wakefield wanted the colony's capital to be called Wellington, but King William IV preferred it to be named after his wife, Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. The British government appointed a Board of Commissioners from people nominated by the South Australian Association, with the task of organising the new colony and meeting the condition of selling at least £35,000 worth of land. This land was advertised and preliminary purchase land orders were sold before a single settler had set foot in their new home.
Free passage was given to suitable labourers, generally men and women under 30 years of age who were healthy and of good character. They were expected to carry out a promise of working for wages until they had saved enough to buy land of their own and employ others, a process taking at least 3 or 4 years. Land sales were encouraged by granting one acre (4,000 m2) of town land in Adelaide for every 80 acres (32 ha) of rural land sold (later altered to 134-acre country sections). The largest buyer of land was the South Australia Company headed by businessman and banker George Fife Angas, which bought enough land for South Australia to proceed, and continued to influence the colony's future development.
With the British government's conditions met, King William IV signed the Letters Patent and the first settlers and officials set sail in early 1836.
British settlement (1836)
In February 1836 the vessels and set sail for South Australia. They were followed in March by and , in April by , in May by (captained by Colonel Light) and then by (carrying Robert Gouger) and Tam O'Shanter. The and comprised the Colonization Commissioners for South Australia's 'First Expedition', others took supplies and settlers to Kangaroo Island on the present day site of Kingscote, to await official decisions on the location and administration of the new colony. By the time Duke of York had arrived at Kangaroo Island, (carrying Governor John Hindmarsh) was on its way.
Surveyor-General Colonel William Light, who had two months to complete his tasks, rejected locations for the new settlement such as Encounter Bay, Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln. He was required to find the best site with a harbour, arable land, fresh water, ready internal and external communications, building materials and drainage. Most of the settlers were moved from Kangaroo Island to Holdfast Bay, the site of present-day Glenelg, with Governor Hindmarsh arriving on 28 December 1836 to proclaim the commencement of colonial government in South Australia.
First years
Governor Hindmarsh's time Light had to work quickly as the settlers were eager to take possession of the land they had purchased and grew impatient waiting. The salt water Port River was sighted and deemed to be a suitable harbour, however there was no fresh water available nearby. The River Torrens was discovered to the south of the Port River and northeast of Holdfast Bay, and Light and his team set about determining the city's precise location and layout.
Light favoured a location on rising ground along the Torrens valley between the coast and hills which would be free of floodwaters. Governor Hindmarsh upon arrival initially approved of the location, but changed his mind thinking that the site should instead be two miles (3 km) closer to the harbour (an area unsuitable due to flooding). Other colonists thought Port Lincoln or Encounter Bay would be better sites. After much mud slinging, mainly directed towards Light, a public meeting of landholders was called on 10 February 1837, where a vote was held resulting in 218 to 127 in Light's favour, settling the issue for the meantime.
The survey was completed on 11 March 1837, which was a considerable achievement given the time taken to complete comparable surveys. The city plan carefully fitted the topography of the area: the Torrens Valley was kept as parklands and town acres were planned on higher land to the north and south. Adelaide was divided into two districts north and south of the river with North Adelaide composed of and Adelaide , surrounded by over set aside as parklands for recreation and public functions. PDF
The grid pattern of South Adelaide's streets features a central square (Victoria Square) and four smaller squares (Hindmarsh, Hurtle, Light and Whitmore). North Adelaide features Wellington Square. Space for public buildings such as Government House, government stores, botanical gardens, hospital, cemetery were included within the Park Lands.
Colonists who had already purchased land before departing were given first choice on 23 March 1837, and the remaining areas were auctioned for between 2 and 14 guineas. Within a few weeks many of the same areas were selling for between 80 and 100 pounds which was seen as a healthy sign. With the town survey completed, Light's poorly paid and ill-equipped surveying team were expected to begin another massive task of surveying at least 405 km2 of rural land.
Light's deputy, George Kingston was sent back to London in October 1837 to ask for more staff and equipment to speed up the process, and to have the troublesome Hindmarsh recalled. Light, who was slowly succumbing to tuberculosis, managed to complete by December 1837, by which time the population had increased to around 2,500. When Kingston returned in June 1838, had been completed.
Light's requests were denied; instead he could change from the trigonometric surveys to a faster (but inferior) running survey, or hand control over to Kingston and confine himself to coastal surveys. Light resigned in protest. Hindmarsh was to be replaced, and left Adelaide on board Alligator on 14 July 1838, some three months before the next governor, George Gawler, arrived via Kingscote KI, on 12 October 1838, aboard from London.
The first sheep and other livestock in South Australia were brought in from Tasmania. Sheep were overlanded from New South Wales from 1838, with the wool industry forming the basis of South Australia's economy for the first few years. Vast tracts of land were leased by "Squatters" until required for agriculture. Once the land was surveyed it was put up for sale and the Squatters had to buy their runs or move on. Most bought their land when it came up for sale, disadvantaging farmers who had a hard time finding good and unoccupied land.
Farms took longer to establish than sheep runs and were expensive to set up. Despite this, by 1860 wheat farms ranged from Encounter Bay in the south to the Clare Valley in the north.
The city was intended to develop around the central Victoria Square, with the intersecting Grote and King William Streets planned as extra wide to allow for future development. Instead, development concentrated around two of the narrowest streets on the city plan, Rundle and Hindley streets, due to their proximity to the city's water supply and to Port Road, which led directly to the port. Many empty blocks remained until the late 19th century.
Governor Gawler's time
Adelaide's second governor, Colonel George Gawler, arrived in October 1838 to a situation of almost no public finances, underpaid officials and 4,000 immigrants still living in makeshift accommodation. He was allowed a maximum of £12,000 expenditure a year, with an additional £5,000 credit for emergencies, but was given the impression by the Colonial Office back in London that self-sufficiency of the colony was of minor importance and that government support should be relied upon.