Exhibition bays in state library's Mortlock wing present social-themes overview of South Australia's history
Nearly 1,000 items make up the social themes in the ground-floor chamber exhibition bays of the State library of South Australia's Mortlock Library.
The chamber exhibition bays in the Mortlock Library on North Terrace, Adelaide, showcase the richness and breadth of state library collections but also highlight historical and contemporary themes in South Australia’s social history. With nearly 1,000 items, themes are:
State Library history: South Australia’s first colonial secretary Robert Gouger brought with him a trunk full of books, the nucleus of the first public library. Opened in 1861, the South Australian Institute Building on North Terrace housed a developing range of cultural collections and services.
Communities: Beyond traditional ownership of Aboriginal communities came migration schemes of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Irish brides for lonely bushmen, Barwell boys sent as agricultural labourers and those from war-torn Europe and Asia.
Shipping: South Australia began with the immigrant ships in 1836. Exports of mineral ores, grain and wool built up. Steam took over, although sailing ships still took the grain harvest to Europe in the 1930s. River trade on the Murray was important.
Religion: Founding men and women believed South Australia, unlike other Australian colonies, was established by godly men and women; founded on the principles of religious and political liberty: “a great and free colony...under the Blessing of Divine Providence” as governor John Hindmarsh said in his proclamation address on December 28, 1836.
Exploration: The coast was charted in 1627 and 1802 but no more exploration occurred until Charles Sturt followed the River Murray from the Great Dividing Range in 1829-30. After Adelaide started in 1836, colonists pushed outwards in their search for pastures and minerals. The salt lakes of the arid interior barred progress but, 26 years after the first colonists landed at Glenelg, Australia’s north coast was reached by John McDouall Stuart.
Children's literature and games: Children's books displayed were nearly all been read or played with by South Australian children and donated to the State Library for safekeeping.
Social and political reform: Edward Gibbon Wakefield's experience of the English penal system convinced him of the need to alleviate overpopulation by emigration to the colonies. The social experiment of South Australia had high ideals not always achieved. When taken up, they’ve placed South Australia at the forefront of reforms such as women's suffrage, Aboriginal land rights and equal opportunity.
Sport: Some of South Australia's favourite sons and daughters are sporting icons, known around the world
Arts and culture. South Australian artists succeeded nationally and internationally, in visual arts, writing, filmmaking, music and dance. Adelaide and regional centres host about 500 festivals and special events each year, from the multi-arts Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Fringe, to the Barossa Vintage Festival, Kernewek Lowender, and Coober Pedy opal festival.
Wine: The State Library of South Australia has the largest collection of wine literature in the southern hemisphere – appropriate for a state whose wine industry is a major activity.
Architecture: South Australian architecture had six styles: Old Colonial to 1840, Victorian to 1890, Federation to 1915, Interwar, Postwar and Late Twentieth Century from 1960. Many beautiful buildings date from short periods of exceptional prosperity, such as the 1870s/80s wheat booms. Architects weren’t registered until 1939, but George Strickland Kingston, Thomas English, and Edmund Wright are well known. South Australia is noted for use of corrugated iron, underground
