User:Beneaththelandslide/personal sandbox/Adelaide History Section
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Name
[edit]Adelaide is named after Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the German born Queen consort of the King of England, King William IV. King William reigned from 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837, and gave final approval for the establishment of the city of Adelaide, and the wider colony of South Australia in 1836.
History
[edit]Settlement
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Prior to European settlement, the Adelaide area was inhabited by the Kaurna Aboriginal tribe. Their name for the area known as Adelaide was Tarnda(r)nya, deriving supposedly from the Kaurna word tarnda, which means Red Kangaroo. Adelaide is still unofficially referred to by some, by this name. The Kaurna people were stone-age hunter gatherers who inhabited the Adelaide Plains and surrounding regions - from Cape Jervis in the south, and to Port Wakefield in the north. Among their unique customs were burn-offs (controlled bushfires) in the Adelaide Hills which the early Europeans spotted before the Kaurna people were pushed out by settlement. By 1852, the total population (by census count) of the Kaurna was 650 in the Adelaide region and steadily decreasing. During the winter months, they moved into the Adelaide hills for better shelter and firewood. [1] [2]
South Australia was officially settled as a new British province on December 28, 1836. This day is now commemorated as a public holiday, Proclamation Day in South Australia. The site of the colonies capital city was surveyed and laid-out by Colonel William Light, the first Surveyor-General of South Australia. Light chose, not without opposition, a site on rising ground close to the River Torrens, which became the chief early water supply for the fledgling colony. "Light's Vision", as it has been termed, has meant that the initial design of Adelaide required little modification as the city grew and prospered. Usually in an older city, it would be necessary to accommodate larger roads and add parks, whereas Adelaide had them from the start. Adelaide was established as the centre of a planned colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution and as such does not share the convict settlement history of other Australian cities, like Sydney and Hobart.
Early Years
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Adelaide's early history was wrought by economic uncertainty and incompetent leadership. The first governor of South Australia, Hindmarsh, clashed frequently with Col Light. The rural area surrounding Adelaide city was surveyed by light in preperation to sell, a total of over 405 km² of land. Adelaide's early economy started to get on its feet in 1838 with the arrival of livestock from New South Wales and Tasmania. The wool industry served as a early basis for the South Australian economy. Light's survey was completed in this period, and land was promptly offered to sale to early colonists. Wheat farms ranged from Encounter Bay in the south to Clare in the north by 1860. Governor Gawler took over from Hindmarsh in late 1838 and promptly oversaw construction of a governor's house, jail, police barracks, hospital, and customs house and a wharf at Port Adelaide. In addition houses for public officials and missionaries, and outstations for police and surveyors were also constructed during Gawler's governorship. Adelaide had also become economically self-sufficent during this period but at heavy cost: the colony was heavily in debt and relied on bail-outs from London to stay afloat. Gawler was recalled and replaced by Governor Grey in 1841. Grey slashed public expenditure against heavy opposition, yet it's impact was neglible at this point: Silver was discovered in Glen Osmond that year, agricultural industries were well underway and other mines sprung up all over the state, aiding Adelaide's commercial development. The city exported meat, wool, wine, fruit and wheat by the time Grey left in 1845, contrasting with a low point in 1842 when one-third of Adelaide houses were abandoned.
19th century
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Trade links with the rest of the Australian states were established with the navigation of the Murray River being successfully navigated in 1853 by Francis Cadell, an Adelaide resident. Adelaide saw South Australia became a Self-governing colony in 1856 with the ratification of a new constitution by the British parliament. Secret ballots were introduced, and a bicameral parliament was elected on 9 march 1857, by which time 109,917 people lived in the province. In 1860 the Thorndon Park reservoir was opened, finally providing an alternative water source to the turbid River Torrens. In 1867 gas street lighting was implemented, the University of Adelaide was founded in 1874, the South Australian Art Gallery opened in 1881 and the Happy Valley Reservoir opened in 1896. In the 1890's Australia was affected by a severe economic depression, ending a hectic era of land booms and tumultuous expansionism. Financial institutions in Melbourne and banks in Sydney closed. The national fertility rate fell and immigration was reduced to a trickle. The value of South Australia's exports nearly halved. Drought and poor harvests from 1884 compounded the problems with some families leaving for Western Australia. 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. Only one year of deficit was recorded but the price paid was retrenchments and lean public spending. Wine and Copper were the only industries not to suffer a downturn.
20th century
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Electric street lighting was introduced in 1900 and electric trams were transporting passengers in 1909. 28,000 men were sent to fight in World War I. Adelaide enjoyed a post-war boom but with the return of droughts, entered the depression of the 1930's, later returning to prosperity with strong government leadership. Secondary industries helped reduce the state's dependence on primary industries. The 1933 census recorded the state population at 580,949 which was less of an increase than other states due to the state's economic limitations. World War II brought industrial stimulus and diversification to Adelaide under the Playford Government, which advocated Adelaide as a safe place for manufacturing due to its less vulrenable location. 70,000 men and women enlisted and shipbuilding was expanded at the nearby port of Whyalla.
The South Australian Government in this period built on former wartime manufacturing industries. International manufacturers like General Motors Holden and Chrysler make use of these factories around Adelaide completing it's transformation from an agricultural service centre to a twentieth century city. A pipeline from Mannum brought River Murray water to Adelaide in 1954 and an airport opened at West Beach in 1955. An assisted migration scheme brought 215,000 emigrants of all nationalities to South Australia between 1947 and 1973. The Dunstan Government in the 1970's saw something of an Adelaide 'cultural revival' - establishing a wide array of social reforms and overseeing the city becoming a center of the arts. Adelaide hosted the Australian Grand Prix between 1985 and 1996 on a street circuit in the city's east parklands, before losing it in a controversial move to Melbourne. The 1992 State Bank collapse plunged both Adelaide and South Australia into economic recession, and it's effects can still be felt today. Recent years have seen the V8 Supercar race make use of the former Formula One circuit and renewed economic confidence under the Rann Government.
Notes and References
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