The City of Adelaide a Thematic History
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THE CITY OF ADELAIDE A THEMATIC HISTORY August 2006 McDougall & Vines Conservation and Heritage Consultants 27 Sydenham Road, Norwood, South Australia 5067 Ph (08) 8362 6399 Fax (08) 8363 0121 Email: [email protected] CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 1 1.0 THE ADELAIDE ENVIRONMENT 2 1.1 The Site of the City and its Planning 1.2 The Effects of Geology and Topography 2.0 PEOPLING A CAPITAL CITY 5 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Aborigines: Tradition and Displacement 2.3 Immigration 2.3.1 Early Colonial Settlement 2.3.2 Jewish Settlers 2.3.3 German Settlers 2.3.4 Irish Settlers 2.3.5 Chinese Settlers 2.3.6 Middle Eastern (Afghan/Lebanese) Settlers 2.3.7 Greek Settlers 2.3.8 Italian Settlers 3.0 DEVELOPING A CITY ECONOMY 14 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Economic Cycles 3.2.1 Introduction 3.2.2 Early Development Patterns 3.2.3 Recession 3.2.4 Discovery of Copper 3.2.5 Discovery of Gold in Victoria 3.2.6 Farming Boom 3.2.7 Mid-1880s Recession 3.2.8 Effects of Interstate Mining Ventures 3.2.9 New Technology and City Development 3.2.10 Post World War Two Development 3.3 Utilising Natural Resources 3.3.1 Timber 3.3.2 Limestone 3.3.4 Clay Bricks 3.3.5 Water 3.4 Financing Adelaide 3.4.1 Land Speculation 3.4.2 Banking 3.4.3 Other Financial Institutions 3.4.4 Stock and Station Companies 3.4.5 Company Headquarters 3.5 Manufacturing 3.5.1 Background 3.5.2 Milling 3.5.3 Foundries and Ironworks 3.5.4 Factories 3.5.5 Coachbuilders 3.5.6 Breweries and Drink Manufacturers • McDougall & Vines, Conservation and Heritage Consultants, 27 Sydenham Road, Norwood, SA, 5067 • CONTENTS (cont) Page 3.6 Commercial, Marketing & Retail 3.6.1 A City of Pubs 3.6.2 Retail and Wholesale Industry 3.6.3 Department Stores 3.6.4 Smaller Retail Establishments 3.7 Professional Services 3.7.1 Background 3.7.2 Surveyors, Engineers and Early Architects 3.7.3 Early Hospitals and the Medical Profession 3.7.4 Lawyers and the Legal Profession 3.8 Working Men and Women 3.8.1 Background 3.8.2 Working Conditions and Trade Unions 3.8.3 Working Women 3.8.4 Government Administrative Work 3.8.5 Making Crime Pay: Prostitution 3.8.6 Bookmakers 3.8.7 Dealing with Unemployment and Homelessness 4.0 BUILDING ADELAIDE 53 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Development of City Services 4.2.1 Water Supply 4.2.2 Public Health 4.2.3 Public Transport 4.2.4 Horse Drawn Tramway System 4.2.5 Electric Tramway System 4.2.6 Street Lighting 4.3 City Planning 4.3.1 Introduction 4.3.2 Building Regulations 4.3.3 Health Regulations for Housing 4.3.4 Town Planning 4.4 Development of the Building Industry, Architecture and Construction 4.4.1 Architects and Builders 4.4.2 Twentieth Century Architects 4.4.3 Building Materials 4.5 Residential Development, Building Types and Living Conditions 4.5.1 Background 4.5.2 Subdivision and Residential Development 4.5.3 Other Forms of Accommodation 4.5.4 Post War Housing Shortage 4.5.5 Philanthropic Housing 4.6 Housing Styles in Adelaide 4.6.1 Early Victorian Houses (1840s to 1860s) 4.6.2 Victorian Houses (1870s to 1890s) 4.6.3 Edwardian House Styles (1900 to 1920s) 4.6.4 Inter War Residential Housing Styles (1920s to 1942) 4.6.5 Inter War and Post War Housing Styles (1945 plus) 4.7 Memorable Development Eras 4.8 Civic and Heritage Consciousness 4.8.1 Background 4.8.2 Visitor's Observations of Adelaide 4.8.3 City Improvements 4.8.4 Building Conservation, or Lack of It • McDougall & Vines, Conservation and Heritage Consultants, 27 Sydenham Road, Norwood, SA, 5067 • CONTENTS (cont) Page 5.0 GOVERNMENT 81 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Local Government 5.2.1 Formation of a City Administration 5.2.2 Activities of Local Government in Adelaide 5.3 State Government 5.3.1 Background 5.3.2 Creation of State Government Institutions and Facilities 5.3.3 Police 5.3.4 Transport 5.3.5 Health 5.3.6 Education 5.3.7 Social Welfare 5.4 Federal Government 5.4.1 Introduction 5.4.2 Government Employment and the Public Service 6.0 DEVELOPING ADELAIDE'S SOCIAL & CULTURAL LIFE 90 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Living and Dying in Adelaide 6.2.1 Births 6.2.2 Playgrounds 6.2.3 Death and Dying in Adelaide 6.2.4 Notable Deaths and Funerals 6.3 Remembering the Fallen 6.4 Recreation 6.4.1 Background 6.4.2 Theatres 6.4.3 Theatres in Hotels 6.4.4 Cinemas 6.4.5 Hotels 6.4.6 Eating and Drinking in Hotels 6.4.7 Hotel Hours 6.4.8 Cafes and Restaurants 6.4.9 Other Amusements 6.5 Worshipping 6.5.1 Introduction 6.5.2 Other Religious Buildings 6.6 Forming Associations 6.6.1 Background 6.6.2 Nationality-based Clubs 6.6.3 Philanthropic Associations 6.6.4 Community and Service Organisations 6.7 Significant Events 6.7.1 Background 6.7.2 Remembering Disasters 6.7.3 Remembering Significant Spectacles 6.8 Arts and Sciences • McDougall & Vines, Conservation and Heritage Consultants, 27 Sydenham Road, Norwood, SA, 5067 • CONTENTS (cont) Page 7.0 EDUCATING 117 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Schooling 7.2.1 Generally 7.2.2 Special Schools 7.3 Pre-schools and Kindergartens 7.4 Further Education 7.5 Libraries, Institutions and Museums 8.0 CITY PLACES REFERRED TO IN THE THEMATIC HISTORY 123 9.0 HISTORICAL THEMES CHRONOLOGY 135 10.0 GLOSSARY Authors: Patricia Sumerling Katrina McDougall • McDougall & Vines, Conservation and Heritage Consultants, 27 Sydenham Road, Norwood, SA, 5067 • Page 1 INTRODUCTION Most histories of the City of Adelaide emphasize the dominant position and major role that the City has played in the development of the State. As stated in the 1990 publication Heritage in the City of Adelaide: Adelaide is the seat of power, the financial and cultural centre, and the headquarters of organizations [in South Australia]. It is the departure point and terminus of roads and railways, shipping and air routes, which together enmesh the State … More recently in Adelaide: A Brief History, prepared for Council in 1996, the authors Kathy Gargett and Susan Marsden, note that: The City's heritage reflects Adelaide's varied roles in Colonial and State history, as well as the sequences of land use, building construction, and social and economic pursuits since the first year of formal British settlement in South Australia. Indeed, the built environment mirrors all of the major historical forces which have helped to shape South Australia. South Australia was a planned colony for free settlers, following a system devised by Edward Gibbon Wakefield in England in 1830, which emphasised three elements for success: land, capital and labour. Different from other British colonies in Australia, settlement in South Australia was based on the sale of land and not land grants for prospective free settlers. No convicts were transported to South Australia; rather emigration of a young reliable workforce was to be funded by land sales held in London prior to the establishment of the colony. Even before the site of the colony had been precisely determined, the plan for its main town was drawn up and Town Acres and country sections of eighty acres were being sold. Once the first settlers arrived in late 1836, the colony’s Surveyor General, Colonel William Light, was given the task of locating the city - the creation of the colonial capital in a new British province. This process was fraught with difficulties: and in very direct ways the topography of the countryside affected the location of Adelaide and the placement of the town plan within the physical setting of the area. In addition, the geology of the Torrens Valley determined the immediately available building stones for early masonry construction in the city. However, once surveyed and established on the ground, the proposed plan created a well ordered city divided into Town Acres separated by major thoroughfares and surrounded by parklands. The parklands have continued to provide an important ring of natural and cultural heritage around the city. The following document analyses the development of Adelaide under a series of themes which reflect the elements of its evolution through the years since it was first settled. The emphasis of this thematic history is on the resultant built environment and those historic elements of each stage which remain. It is intended that these themes and the identification of places which reflect them should serve as a guide for the continued identification and assessment of the heritage assets of the City. It will also serve as a record of those places which were once indicative of Adelaide's story, but are no longer in existence, having been demolished to make way for more modern development. [ACA - Light’s Plan] • McDougall & Vines, Conservation and Heritage Consultants, 27 Sydenham Road, Norwood, SA, 5067 • Page 2 1.0 THE ADELAIDE ENVIRONMENT 1.1 The Site of the City and its Planning Colonel William Light, as Surveyor General for the new colony, was instructed by the British Government to find a site which had a number of attributes: a harbour, fresh water and effective drainage, ready internal and external communications and easily obtained building materials. When the site of the new city was chosen, sites such as Port Lincoln, Kangaroo Island and the Murray Mouth region were rejected because of limited water supplies, inaccessibility, restricted hinterlands and poor soil and vegetation for agriculture.