Founded in 1836 by Colonel William Light as a planned city for free immigrants, Adelaide is the fifth most populous city in Australia and one of only a few cities in the country not to have been built by convict labor. Surrounded by the Mount Lofty Range, the area had been inhabited by the Kaurna indigenous peoples prior to European settlement and was mostly bushland. Colonel Light designed the colony in a grid pattern and promoted it as a place “...for religious freedoms and civil liberties.” As such, the early settlers felt there would be no crime, so no plans were made for a “goal” (jail/prison). However, crime did happen, so by 1838 the South Australian Police Force was established and the city’s first jail was constructed in 1844. Adelaide’s early economy was based on wool production and wheat farms. When silver was discovered in nearby Glen Osmond, the city’s population soared. By 1856, it had become a self-governing colony with its own constitution. Surviving economic downturns during the 1890’s and the Great Depression of the 1930’s, Adelaide once again prospered from World War II onward. Because it’s original founding was based upon religious freedom, Adelaide became known as “The City of Churches.” This is one of the most active seismic regions in Australia, with its largest earthquake (5.6 magnitude) ever recorded occurring on March 1st, 1954. Having visited several cities in the U.K. and this being our fourth Australian city, one of the scary things is that I am actually beginning to understand the game of Cricket. OMG!
The city was named in honor of Adelaide, Queen Consort to King William IV.