Timeline of South Australian history

This is a Timeline of South Australian history.

Pre 1836

• 18,000 BC: Evidence of flint mining activity and rock art in the Koonalda Cave on the Nullarbor Plain.
• 1627: First recorded European sighting of the South Australian coast.
• 1802: South Australian coastline mapped by Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin.
• 1802 (Circa): Unofficial settlement of Kangaroo Island by sealers.
• 1830: Captain Charles Sturt travels to the mouth of the Murray River in a whale boat.
• 1831: Captain Collet Barker explores the Adelaide Plains and climbs to the summit of Mount Lofty.

1800s

1830s

Adelaide in 1839, looking south-east from North Terrace

• 1836: South Australia proclaimed by Governor John Hindmarsh on 28 December at the Old Gum Tree, Glenelg.
• 1836: Site for Adelaide chosen by Colonel William Light beside the River Torrens.
• 1837: Colonel Light completes survey of Adelaide city centre and designs the city's grid layout. Allotments of 1 acre (0.40 ha) are made.
• 1837: First regional town, Gawler, is founded north of Adelaide.
• 1837: Adelaide's first hospital opens on North Terrace.
• 1838: The first Australian police force is formed in Adelaide, the South Australia Police.
• 1838: Overlanders Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney arrive in Adelaide from New South Wales with 300 head of cattle.
• 1838: First German immigrants arrive and settle in Adelaide and surrounds.
• 1839: Colonel Light dies at Thebarton and is interred in Light Square beneath a memorial. He is the only person buried within "the square mile".
• 1839: The first road in South Australia, Port Road, is opened.
• 1839: Edward John Eyre begins his explorations of the Flinders Ranges and beyond.

1840s

• 1840: The first portion of Government House is completed, becoming the first in Australia.
• 1840: Royal Adelaide Show held for the first time.
• 1840: The Corporation of Adelaide is founded as the first municipal authority in Australia.
• 1840: All 26 survivors of the shipwreck Maria are murdered by Aboriginals in mysterious circumstances along the Coorong.
• 1841: Construction of Adelaide Gaol begins.
• 1841: Adelaide Hospital (later Royal) opened.
• 1842: Copper is discovered at Kapunda.
• 1843: The first Legislative Council building opens on North Terrace.
• 1844: The colonial Government takes control of the Corporation of Adelaide.
• 1845: Copper is discovered at Burra.
• 1845: Port Pirie founded on the upper Spencer Gulf.
• 1846: John Ainsworth Horrocks dies while exploring land to the northwest of Lake Torrens.
• 1847: St Peter's College established.
• 1848: Pulteney Grammar School established.

1850s

• 1850: The forerunner to Harris Scarfe, G. P. Harris and J. C. Lanyon, opened on Hindley Street.
• 1852: The Corporation of Adelaide is reconstituted. First transport of gold overland arrived in Adelaide.
• 1854: The township of Port Augusta at the head of Spencer Gulf is surveyed.
• 1854: The township of Gambierton, later Mount Gambier is founded in the South East.
• 1855: James Macgeorge lays telegraph line between Adelaide and Port Adelaide.
• 1856: The South Australian Institute, from which the State Library, State Museum and Art Gallery derived, is founded.
• 1856: Government telegraph line and steam railway between Adelaide and Port Adelaide opened.
• 1856: South Australia becomes one of the first places in the world to enact the Secret Ballot.
• 1857: Adelaide Botanic Gardens opened at today's site in the Parklands at the corner of North and East Terraces.
• 1858: Melbourne-Adelaide telegraph line opened.
• 1858: The first edition of The Advertiser newspaper is published.
• 1859: A jetty of more than 350 metres in length is constructed at Glenelg.
• 1859: Shipwreck of SS Admella off Carpenter Rocks in the South East. 89 dead. Worst maritime disaster to this day.

1860s

• 1860: Thorndon Park Reservoir supplied water through new reticulation system.
• 1861: East Terrace markets opened.
• 1861: Copper discovered at Moonta, on the Yorke Peninsula.
• 1862: John McDouall Stuart successfully crosses the continent from north to south on his sixth attempt.
• 1863: First gas supplied to city.
• 1864–1867: Great drought
• 1865: Bank of Adelaide founded.
• 1866: The Italianate Adelaide Town Hall opened.
• 1866: First oil exploration in Australia at Alfred Flat near Salt Creek, along the Coorong.
• 1867: Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, made first royal visit to Adelaide.
• 1869: The City Market (later Central) opened on Grote Street.
• 1869: Prince Alfred College established.

1870s

• 1870: Port Adelaide Football Club established.
• 1872: The General Post Office opened. Adelaide became first Australian capital linked to Imperial London with completion of the Overland Telegraph.
• 1873: First cricket match played at Adelaide Oval.
• 1874: The Adelaide Oval is officially opened.
• 1874: The University of Adelaide founded.
• 1874: Iron ore mined and smelted at Mt. Jagged, near Victor Harbor, then abandoned.
• 1875: Adelaide Steamship Company founded.
• 1876: Adelaide Children's Hospital founded.
• 1877: The Adelaide Bridge across the Torrens completed.
• 1877: Copper mines at Burra and Kapunda close.
• 1878: First horse-drawn trams in Australia commenced operations in the city.
• 1879: Foundation stone of the University of Adelaide laid.

1880s

• 1880: Telephone introduced in South Australia.
• 1880: Fort Glanville opens.
• 1880: Reformatory Hulk Fitzjames commissioned and moored off Largs Bay.
• 1881: The Art Gallery of South Australia opened by Prince Albert Victor.
• 1881: Torrens Lake created following the construction of weir.
• 1881: Coopers Brewery is established.
• 1881: Drought ruins thousands of farmers on marginal land in the Mid North and Goyder's Line is recognised as the limit to agricultural settlement.
• 1882: First water-borne sewerage service in Australia commenced.
• 1882: The City Baths opened on King William Road.
• 1883: Adelaide Zoological Gardens opened.
• 1884: Adelaide Trades and Labor Council inaugurated.
• 1884: Fort Largs opens.
• 1885: The Adelaide Arcade opens.
• 1886: Commercial Bank of South Australia failed in February.
• 1885: Flinders Column erected at the Mount Lofty Summit.
• 1887: Express train services between Adelaide and Melbourne commence.
• 1887: Stock Exchange of Adelaide forms.
• 1889: School of Mines and Industries opens on North Terrace.
• 1889: Lead smelters built at Port Pirie.

1890s

1892: First public statue, Venus (Venere Di Canova), unveiled on North Terrace.

• 1891: The Central Australia Railway reaches Oodnadatta in the far north.
• 1892: First public statue, Venus (Venere Di Canova), unveiled on North Terrace.
• 1894: The world's second Act granting women suffrage passed in Parliament House on North Terrace.
• 1896: Moving pictures shown for first time in South Australia at Theatre Royal on Hindley Street.
• 1896: Happy Valley Reservoir opened.
• 1897: Constitutional Convention on Federation held in Adelaide.
• 1899: South Australian contingent leaves Adelaide for the Second Boer War.
• 1899: State Referendum on Federation: South Australia votes Yes (70.2%).

1900s

1900s

• 1900: First electricity station opened in South Australia at Grenfell Street.
• 1901: Adelaide became a state capital upon the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January. The Duke and Duchess of York visit.
• 1901: Whyalla founded on the upper Spencer Gulf as a port for iron ore from the Middleback Ranges.
• 1904: Adelaide Fruit and Produce Exchange opens in the East End.
• 1904: State Flag of South Australia is officially adopted.
• 1906: Federal Referendum on Senate Elections: South Australia votes Yes (86.99%).
• 1908: Outer Harbor opens.
• 1908: Adelaide High School established.
• 1909: Electric tram services begin.

1910s

• 1910: Federal Referendum on Surplus Revenue: South Australia votes No (50.94%).
• 1911: Federal Referendum on Trade and Commerce: South Australia votes No (61.93%).
• 1912: The Verco Building, an early 'skyscraper', is built on North Terrace.
• 1913: Metropolitan abattoirs open.
• 1913: Federal Referendum on Trade and Commerce: South Australia votes Yes (51.32%).
• 1914: South Australian troops join their Australian comrades in Europe to fight in the Great War.
• 1914: Torrens Island Internment Camp opens.
• 1915: Liquor bars close at 6 pm following referendum, creating the six o'clock swill.
• 1915: Torrens Island Internment Camp closes.
• 1915: Four women Justices of the Peace appointed, the first in Australia.
• 1917: German private schools close because of the Great War.
• 1917: First trains to Perth following completion of East-West continental railway.
• 1918: Railway line from Hallett Cove to Willunga opens.
• 1918: Railway branchline between Balhannah and Mount Pleasant opens.
• 1919: Adelaide awarded official city status and Mayor became Lord Mayor.
• 1919: Railway branchline between Monarto South and Sedan opens.

1920s

• 1921: Politician Percy Brookfield is shot at the Riverton railway station and later dies.
• 1924: Radio broadcasting begins.
• 1924: James Stobie invents the Stobie pole, now a South Australian icon.
• 1924: Township of Murray Bridge is founded.
• 1925: Wayville Showgrounds open.
• 1927: North-South railway extended.
• 1927: Duke and Duchess of York visit.
• 1928: Federal Referendum - South Australia Votes:
  • Yes (62.68%) on State Debt
• 1929: Electric service to Glenelg commences.

1930s

• 1932: Local government overhauled when Government redefined boundaries and names and abolished others.
• 1933: First John Martin's Christmas Pageant
• 1935: Many German place names, which had been changed during the Great War, are restored.
• 1936: South Australia celebrates its centenary.
• 1936: South Australian Housing Trust is founded.
• 1937: First trolley bus services commence.
• 1937: First permanent traffic signals installed.
• 1937: Federal Referendum - South Australia Votes:
  • No (59.87%) on Aviation
  • No (79.17%) on Marketing
• 1937: Outbreak of poliomyelitis.
• 1938: South Australian Housing Trust completes first dwelling.
• 1939: Worst heat wave recorded with disastrous bushfires and highest Adelaide temperature of 47.6° Celsius.
• 1939: New Parliament House opened on North Terrace by the Governor-General Lord Gowrie.

1940s

• 1940: Birkenhead Bridge opens.
• 1940: Ship building begins at Whyalla.
• 1940: Pinguin enters South Australian waters, laying sea mines along vital shipping lanes.
• 1940: Loveday POW camp opens
• 1942: Rationing of tea and clothing introduced.
• 1943: Rationing of butter introduced.
• 1944: Federal Referendum - South Australia Votes:
  • Yes (50.64%) on Post War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights
• 1944: Rationing of meat introduced.
• 1944: German submarine U-862 attacks the Greek freighter Ilissos off the Limestone Coast.
• 1945: Gas and electricity restrictions imposed.
• 1945: Hills Industries founded.
• 1946: Federal Referendum - South Australia Votes:
  • Yes (51.73%) on Social Services
  • No (51.26%) on Marketing
  • No (51.80%) on Industrial Employment
• 1947: Orchards ripped up following discovery of fruit fly in the metropolitan area.
• 1948: Federal Referendum - South Australia Votes:
  • No (57.85%) on Rents and Prices
• 1948: Glenelg jetty destroyed and widespread damage caused by severe storms.
• 1948: Clothing and meat rationing abolished.
• 1948: Holden begins production.

1950s

• 1950: State Election: The Liberal Party, led by Thomas Playford, holds onto government.
• 1950: Petrol, butter and tea rationing abolished.
• 1950: Port Pirie proclaimed South Australia's first provincial city.
• 1951: Federal Referendum - South Australia Votes:
  • No (52.71%) on Communists and Communism
• 1953: State Election: The Liberal Party, led by Thomas Playford, holds onto government.
• 1954: Adelaide is hit by an earthquake causing much property damage but no loss of life.
• 1954: Queen Elizabeth II makes first sovereign visit to Adelaide.
• 1954: Mannum-Adelaide pipeline completed, pumping water from the River Murray to metropolitan reservoirs.
• 1955: Adelaide Airport at West Beach opens.
• 1955: Elizabeth officially proclaimed.
• 1956: State Election: The Liberal Party, led by Thomas Playford, holds onto government.
• 1958: Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, visits Adelaide.
• 1958: First parking meters installed.
• 1958: South Para Reservoir opened and connected to Adelaide water supply.
• 1958: Last street tram removed, leaving only the Glenelg Tram.
• 1959: Television broadcasting commences in Adelaide with NWS-9. ADS-7 (now ADS-10) begins broadcasting one month later.
• 1959: State Election: The Liberal Party, led by Thomas Playford, holds onto government.

1960s

• 1960: Adelaide Festival of Arts held for the first time.
• 1962: State Election: The Liberal Party, led by Thomas Playford, holds onto government.
• 1963: Port Stanvac oil refinery begins operations.
• 1963: Queen Elizabeth II visits Adelaide.
• 1963: Gas discovered in the Cooper Basin.
• 1964: Record wind gust of 148 kilometres per hour recorded in Adelaide.
• 1965: State Election: The Labor Party, led by Frank Walsh, wins government for the first time in 33 years.
• 1965: Television station SAS-10 (Now SAS-7) begins broadcasting.
• 1966: Flinders University opens at Bedford Park.
• 1966: Beaumont children go missing at Glenelg beach.
• 1967: Lotteries commence in South Australia.
• 1967: Liquor trading hours extended.
• 1967: Torrens Island Power Station begins operations.
• 1967: Premier Frank Walsh retires and is replaced by Don Dunstan.
• 1967: Federal Referendum - South Australia Votes:
  • Yes (86.26%) on Aboriginals
  • No (66.09%) on Parliament
• 1968: State Election: The Liberal Party, led by Steele Hall, wins government.

1970s

• 1970: State Election: The Labor Party, led by Don Dunstan, wins government. South Australia becomes first state to reform abortion laws.
• 1971: Fluoridation of water supply commences.
• 1973: State Election: The Labor Party, led by Don Dunstan, holds onto government.
• 1973: New hospital opens at Modbury.
• 1973: Two children disappear from Adelaide Oval and are never seen again.
• 1973: Federal Referendum - South Australia Votes:
  • No (58.84%) on Commodity Prices
  • No (71.75%) on Incomes
• 1974: Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, visits Adelaide.
• 1974: Federal Referendum - South Australia Votes:
  • No (52.86%) on Simultaneous Elections
  • No (55.74%) on Mode of Altering the Constitution
  • No (55.89%) on Democratic Elections
  • No (57.48%) on Local Government Bodies
• 1975: State Election: The Labor Party, led by Don Dunstan, holds onto government.
• 1975: The International Equestrian Exposition is held in Adelaide and attended by Princess Anne.
• 1975: The Adelaide City Council adopts the City of Adelaide Plan.
• 1976: Rundle Mall, Australia's first pedestrian mall, opens between King William and Pulteney streets.
• 1977: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visit Adelaide to open the Adelaide Festival Centre.
• 1977: Late night shopping commences.
• 1977: Federal Referendum - South Australia Votes:
  • Yes (65.99%) on Simultaneous Elections
  • Yes (76.59%) on Senate Vacancies
  • Yes (83.29%) on Referendums
  • Yes (85.57%) on Retirement of Judges
• 1978: The remains of seven women are found in bushland near Truro.
• 1979: Don Dunstan resigns as Premier and is replaced by Des Corcoran.
• 1979: State Election: The Liberal Party, led by David Tonkin, wins government.

1980s

1986: South Australia celebrates its 150th Anniversary.

• 1980: Thirty-five homes destroyed in an Adelaide Hills bushfire.
• 1981: Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, visits Adelaide.
• 1982: State Election: The Labor Party, led by John Bannon, wins government.
• 1982: International air services begin at Adelaide Airport.
• 1983: The Ash Wednesday fires claim 28 lives throughout the state.
• 1983: The Prince and Princess of Wales visit Adelaide.
• 1983: Wendy Chapman elected the first woman Lord Mayor of Adelaide.
• 1984: South Australia officially adopts the current Coat of Arms.
• 1984: Keswick Railway Terminal opens.
• 1984: Federal Referendum - South Australia votes:
  • No (50.02%) on Terms of Senators
  • No (54.06%) on Interchange of Powers
• 1985: State Election: The Labor Party, led by John Bannon, holds onto government.
• 1985: The Adelaide Casino opens in the Adelaide railway station as part of the multimillion-dollar Adelaide Station and Environs Redevelopment (ASER).
• 1985: The first Australian Grand Prix held on the Adelaide Street Circuit.
• 1986: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visit Adelaide.
• 1986: Pope John Paul II visits Adelaide and holds Mass to a gathering of hundreds of thousands in the East Parklands.
• 1986: The South Australian Maritime Museum opens.
• 1986: South Australia celebrates its sesqui-centenary as "Jubilee 150".
• 1987: The Collins class submarine contract awarded to the Australian Submarine Corporation at Outer Harbor.
• 1987: The Adelaide Convention Centre opens on North Terrace.
• 1988: The Prince and Princess of Wales visit Adelaide.
• 1988: Federal Referendum - South Australia votes:
  • No (73.24%) on Parliamentary Terms
  • Yes (69.39%) on Fair Elections
  • No (70.15%) on Local Government
  • Yes (73.99%) on Rights and Freedoms.
• 1989: State Election: The Labor Party, led by John Bannon, holds onto government.
• 1989: The Bicentennial Conservatory, referred to as "The Crystal Pasty", opens at the Botanic Gardens.

1990s

• 1991: State Bank of South Australia collapses plunging South Australia into a debt of $3.1 billion.
• 1991: The University of South Australia formed from a merger of several institutions.
• 1991: The $40 million Adelaide Entertainment Centre opened.
• 1991: Adelaide Football Club, referred to as "The Adelaide Crows", established and enters the AFL.
• 1992: John Bannon resigns as Premier and is replaced by Lynn Arnold.
• 1992: The final edition of The News newspaper is published.
• 1993: State Election: The Liberal Party, led by Dean Brown, wins government in a landslide.
• 1993: Poker machines installed for first time in South Australia.
• 1994: Sunday trading introduced in the Adelaide city centre.
• 1994: High-speed ferry service from Glenelg to Kangaroo Island begins.
• 1995: The Australian Grand Prix is held in Adelaide for the last time.
• 1995: United Water is contracted to manage Adelaide's water and sewerage systems.
• 1995: The Local Government (Boundary Reform) Act, 1995 passed to encourage municipal amalgamations, resulting in an overhaul of local government.
• 1997: Port Adelaide Football Club, referred to as "Port Power", enters the AFL.
• 1997: State Election: The Liberal Party, led by John Olsen, narrowly holds onto government.
• 1997: Adelaide Football Club wins its first AFL premiership.
• 1998: Adelaide Football Club wins its second AFL premiership.
• 1999: Eight bodies are found in a disused bank volt in Snowtown, further bodies were later found, revealing Australia's worst serial killings.
• 1999: Federal Referendum - South Australia votes:
  • No (56.43%) on an Australian Republic
  • No (61.90%) on Constitution Preamble.

2000s

2000s

2000: Adelaide-Crafers Highway opened.

• 2000: Adelaide-Crafers Highway opened.
• 2001: John Olsen resigns as Premier and is replaced by Rob Kerin.
• 2001: Construction of Alice Springs-Darwin track starts.
• 2001: The National Wine Centre of Australia opens in the north-east of the Adelaide Parklands.
• 2002: State Election: The Labor Party, led by Mike Rann, narrowly wins government.
• 2003: The transcontinental railway line from Adelaide to Darwin is completed.
• 2003: Port Stanvac Oil Refinery closed.
• 2004: Port Adelaide Football Club wins its first AFL premiership.
• 2004: First train travels on the completed Adelaide-Darwin railway.
• 2005: Nine people die in bushfires on the Eyre Peninsula.
• 2006: State Election: The Labor Party, led by Mike Rann, retains government in a landslide.
• 2009: Wind gusts of 152 km/h recorded at Adelaide Airport.

2010s

• 2010: State Election: The Labor Party, led by Mike Rann, retains government with a reduced majority.
• 2010: Northern Expressway opened.
• 2014: State election, Labor Party now led by Jay Weatherill retains government with a further reduced majority
• 2014: South Road Superway opened
• 2015 Sampson Flat bushfires in January and 2015 Pinery bushfire in November both destroyed houses near Adelaide (the Pinery fire also killed two people)

See also

• History of South Australia
• History of Adelaide
• Governors of South Australia
• Premiers of South Australia
• List of Mayors and Lord Mayors of Adelaide