Several institutions have been clustered along Adelaide’s North Terrace, giving it the nickname “Adelaide’s Cultural Boulevard.” Among them is the official State Library of Southern Australia. This is the largest public research library in the state and is home to the “South Australiana Collection” (documenting the history of the area from pre-European settlement to the present day). Unlike most of the libraries with which we’re familiar, none of this library’s collections can be loaned out. They have to be used on site.
Before leaving England in 1836, a group of educated settlers formed the “South Australia Literary and Scientific Association” with a collection of books to start a library in the new settlement. During unloading, the trunk fell into the Port River, necessitating the books having to be left to dry in a warehouse for two years. This collection formed the nucleus of South Australia’s first Library, but not as we know it today. This was a “subscription” library of 120 people who paid an annual fee in order to access the books. By 1856, the South Australia parliament passed legislation for the creation of the South Australia Institute for increased public access to the collection. Four years later, the library was housed in the Institutes Building (the first of the library complex) while a new building was being constructed. However, this took 18 years to complete, as several delays resulted in some of the earlier work being condemned and needing to be removed. One investor, John Andrew Tennant Mortlock, made a substantial donation to the library. As a result, the Board of Directors decided to name a wing of the building after him and place a portion of the South Australiana collection in it. In 1884, the Mortlock Wing was opened as a public library, museum, and art gallery for the colony. At that time, the collections numbered some 23,000 books and the library had a staff of three. Today, the Mortlock Wing is one of the most visited (and photographed) parts of the library.