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South Australia
The South Australian Colonization Act received the royal assent of King William IV on
15th August 1834, the first colonists arriving on 20th July 1836 and landing on Kangaroo
Island, the first place in South Australia to be settled.
The new Governor of South Australia, John Hindmarsh, arrived on 28th December 1836,
together with the Surveyor-General, Col. William Light, who first visited the present site
of Adelaide on 30th December 1836, soon choosing it for the new capital.
So began the history of the state. South Australia claims that it is the driest state in the
driest continent on earth. With such a record, it is no wonder that agricultural
development has always presented a problem here. However, wheat is grown in the
coastal areas, including the Eyre Peninsula to the west of Adelaide, and this region
extends almost as far west as the start of the Nullarbor Plain. However, it cannot continue
very far inland.
The most famous rural area of the state is the Barossa Valley, which attracted German
immigrants right from the start and soon became Australia’s first and most important
wine-growing region, a reputation which it maintains. The Barossa Valley is close to
Adelaide and can easily be reached as a day excursion from the capital.
South Australia also produces minerals. Copper was discovered at Burra in 1845 and gold
was also discovered in the same year. In recent times, however, it has been the iron ore
from Whyalla which has been the most important mineral product. In addition, the lead,
zinc and silver from Broken Hill is mainly transported by rail to Port Pirie, even though
Broken Hill lies geographically narrowly within the borders of New South Wales. At Port
Pirie, therefore, can be found the largest lead smelter in the world.
Towards the north of the state are two of Australia’s three main opal mining
communities. The better known is Coober Pedy, on the way to Alice Springs. A little less
famous is Andamooka, to the south-east of Coober Pedy. In terms of scenery, South
Australia offers some attractive coastal views all the way from the Eyre Peninsula in the
west to Mt. Gambier in the east. It offers Kangaroo Island with its history as well as
wildlife. It offers the European flavour of the Barossa Valley. It offers the stately Flinders
Ranges some seven hours north of Adelaide, and, for the really adventurous, it offers
outstanding outback travel to the huge Lake Eyre, or along the Birdsville, Strzelecki or
Oodnadatta Tracks, all of which can be covered with tours, although not with ordinary
public transport.
South Australia used to have its own state railway system. Indeed the state lays claim to
having had Australia’s first railway line, albeit a horse-drawn railway - between Goolwa
and Victor Harbor. Because of the desirability of connecting its lines with those of
Victoria, South Australia chose to copy the Victorian gauge of 5 feet 3 inches and that led
to problems later, especially as the state also used a 3 feet 6 inches gauge in rural areas to
save construction costs and then found itself linked to the west by the standard 4 feet 8½
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