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Adelaide skyline as seen from Victoria Square
Adelaide is the capital city of the Australian state of South Australia. It is a coastal city on the Southern Ocean and was named in honour of Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV. It is situated on the Fleurieu Peninsula overlooking the Gulf St. Vincent, bordered by the low lying Mt Lofty Ranges to the east giving the suburbs a roughly north-south rectangular layout. The population is 1,072,585 (census 2001). In terms of population, it is the fifth-largest of the Australian capital cities.
History
1888 German map of Adelaide
South Australia was officially settled as a new British province on December 28, 1836 (now commemorated as a public holiday, Proclamation Day) and the site of the new 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 freedom from religious persecution and civil liberties and as such does not share the convict history of other Australian cities, like Sydney and Hobart. Coincidental to that fact, the name Adelaide comes from the German words meaning “Noble Birth”.
Culture
Adelaide is often referred to as the 'City Of Churches', although this is a reflection more on Adelaide's past than its present. Rumour has it that for every church that was built in Adelaide, a public house was also built to serve the less pious.
From its earliest, Adelaide attracted immigrants from many countries, particularly German migrants escaping religious persecution. They brought with them the vine cuttings that founded the famous wineries of the Barossa Valley. After the Second World War Italians, Greeks, Dutch, Polish, and possibly every over European nationality came to make a new start. An influx of Asian immigrants following the Vietnam War added to the mix. These cultures have blended to form a rich and diverse cuisine and vibrant restaurant culture.
Much of the area around Adelaide was once used for wine grape production, so that large wine growing districts (such as the Barossa Valley, for which Adelaide and South Australia are well known) remain within a short drive of the city outskirts.
Adelaide's cultural life flourished in the 1970s under the leadership of premier Don Dunstan, removing some of the more puritanical restrictions on cultural activities then prevalent around Australia. Now the city is home to events such as the Barossa Music Festival, the Adelaide Festival of Arts, and the Fringe Festival, among others.
Womadelaide, Australia's premier world music event, is now annually held in the scenic surrounds of Botanic Park, emphasising Adelaide's dedication to the arts which has prevailed since the days of Don Dunstan.
Adelaide hosted the Formula 1 Grand Prix from 1985 on 1995 on a street circuit in the city's eastern parklands. The Formula 1 Grand Prix became a source of pride and losing the Grand Prix to arch-rival Melbourne under questionable circumstances left a void that has since been filled for the most part with the highly successful Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race event, held on a modified version of the same circuit.
Adelaide is the home of two Australian Football League (Australia's own football code) teams: the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power. It is also the host of the annual Tour Down Under bicycle race.
Many prominent artists, bands, and musicians come from Adelaide. They include film directors Scott Hicks and Rolf de Heer, actors Anthony LaPaglia and Jonathan LaPaglia, and musicians Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham, The Mark of Cain, The Superjesus, Undertone, Guy Sebastian, Testeagles, and Snap to Zero. Of recent note are the Hilltop Hoods who are one of the most respected Australian hip-hop outfits. Ben Folds who has been living in Adelaide since 1999, released a song titled "Adelaide" in August 2004, as part of the Super D EP.
Famous people who grew up in Adelaide include Alexander Downer (Australian foreign minister), Sir Mark Oliphant (physicist and Governor of South Australia), Nobel Prize winners William Lawrence Bragg and Howard Florey (honoured for his role in making penicillin readily available), Andy Thomas (astronaut), Lleyton Hewitt (number one-ranked tennis player), Ian, Greg, and Trevor Chappell (cricket players).
Adelaide was also home to pioneer Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson and Australia's first woman judge, Dame Roma Mitchell.
The local daily newspaper is The Advertiser.
Infrastructure
The city is also home to the
University of South Australia (UniSA), the
University of Adelaide and the
Flinders University, which are all well respected research and teaching institutions.
Adelaide O-Bahn
Adelaide has a comprehensive public transport system, known as the
Adelaide Metro, which includes the unique Adelaide O-Bahn, a
guided busway.
Adelaide is the midpoint of the Indian Pacific railway to Perth and Sydney, as well as the terminus of the Overland to Melbourne and The Ghan via Alice Springs to Darwin.
Adelaide is served by Adelaide International Airport.
Economy
Adelaide has large manufacturing and research centres. It contains car manufacturing plants for both General Motors Holden and Mitsubishi, as well as the major military research institution DSTO (the Defence Science and Technology Organisation) at Salisbury (a suburb 20kms north of the Adelaide City centre). Other industries include ore refining, defence, and electronic component production.
Adelaide is also the birthplace of News Corporation which expanded out of the former daily newspaper The News.
The collapse of the State Bank in 1992 resulted in huge levels of state debt, which have only recently been reduced. This has meant that successive governments have enacted lean budgets, cutting spending, which has been a large setback to the further development of the city and state.
External link
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