History of Adelaide
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.
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.
[2] 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.
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.
Robert Gouger, secretary of the South Australian Association, promoted Wakefield's theories and organised societies of people interested in the scheme.
Wakefield wanted the colony's capital to be called Wellington,[citation needed] 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.
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.
They were followed in March by Cygnet and Lady Mary Pelham, in April by Emma, in May by Rapid (captained by Colonel Light) and then by Africaine (carrying Robert Gouger) and Tam O'Shanter.
The Rapid and Cygnet 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.
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.
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).
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.
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 Pestonjee Bomanjee from London.
Adelaide's second Governor was Colonel George Gawler who arrived in October 1838 to a situation of almost no public finances, underpaid officials and 4,000 immigrants still living in makeshift accommodation.
He appointed more colonial officials with higher wages, set up a police force and took part in explorations of the surrounding terrain.
Gawler increased public expenditure to prevent an economic collapse, which resulted in bankruptcy and later, changes to the way the colony was run (see South Australia Act, 1842).
Silver was discovered at Glen Osmond the same year, which lifted spirits and spurred on discoveries of other finds in the Mount Lofty Ranges.
With a series of good harvests and expanding agriculture, Adelaide exported meat, wool, wine, fruit and wheat.
Gold discoveries in Victoria in 1851 brought a severe labour shortage due to the exodus of workers leaving to seek their fortunes on the goldfields.
Premier Robert Torrens devised a land title system in 1858 which adapted the principles of shipping registers, and was emulated in the other Australian colonies and overseas in places such as Singapore.
In 1860 the Thorndon Park reservoir was opened, finally providing an alternative water source to the turbid River Torrens.
Adelaide was not as badly hit as the larger gold-rush cities of Sydney and Melbourne, and silver and lead discoveries at Broken Hill provided some relief.
Others thought it combined all the best and all the worst features of life in an Australian city – an extremely wealthy upper crust living in splendour in elite suburbs alongside grinding poverty in industrial slums; a nominal proclamation of Christian virtues on Sundays, yet a ruthless devotion to money-making on weekdays.Electric street lighting was introduced in 1900 and Adelaide's electric tram service began transporting passengers in 1909.
The volunteer "Citizen's Defence Brigade" had been brought in and armed to fight striking port workers, and they were housed in a camp dubbed the "scab compound".
[8] In 1980, the Liberal party won government on a platform of fiscal conservatism and the premier David Tonkin, deeming Adelaide road capacities sufficient for future needs, committed his government to selling off the land acquired for the MATS plan ensuring that even when needs or public opinion changed, the construction of most MATS proposed freeways would be impossible.
[9] The Dunstan Government of the 1970s saw something of an Adelaide 'cultural revival' - establishing a wide array of social reforms and overseeing the city becoming a centre of the arts.
