116-519: The Pensioner Guards were English military personnel who served on convict transportation ships en route to colonial Western Australia between 1850 and 1868, and were given employment and grants of land on arrival. Their initial employment lasted for six months, or the duration of the voyage, whichever was the longer time. After this they became "pensioners" and had to serve 12 days per year as well as whenever called upon. They paraded annually in Perth at
232-668: A Learning City . The number of international students studying in Adelaide has increased rapidly in recent years to 30,726 in 2015, of which 1,824 were secondary school students. Foreign institutions have been attracted to set up campuses to increase its attractiveness as an education hub. Adelaide is the birthplace of three Nobel laureates, more than any other Australian city : physicist William Lawrence Bragg and pathologists Howard Florey and Robin Warren , all of whom completed secondary and tertiary education at St Peter's College and
348-502: A well on the shore of the lake. This location was chosen as it lay on the main route from Fremantle to Albany, but was never popular and although a few cottages, gardens, and orchards were established the settlement did not flourish. John Hyland, James Cunningham, and John Gilbride were involved in this settlement. The site lies within the buffer zone of the Woodman Point wastewater treatment plant. After 1880, they were known as
464-497: A convict-supported settlement was established in Western Australia from 1826 to 1831, direct transportation of convicts did not begin until 1850. It continued until 1868. During that period, 9,668 convicts were transported on 43 convict ships . The first convicts to arrive were transported to New South Wales , and sent by that colony to King George Sound (Albany) in 1826 to help establish a settlement there. At that time
580-413: A four-yearly basis, are responsible for local roads and stormwater management, waste collection, planning and development, fire prevention and hazard management, dog and cat management and control, parking control, public health and food inspections, and other services for their local communities. Councils have the power to raise revenue for their activities, which is mostly achieved through "council rates",
696-489: A haystack - in order to escape homelessness. He was conditionally released in 1869 and was granted his certificate of freedom two years later. He worked in construction and was not convicted of any further crimes, dying in Perth in 1938. In 2010, UNESCO inscribed 11 Australian Convict Sites on its World Heritage List . The listing recognises the sites as "the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and
812-489: A number of guards were under 40 years of age and had young families when they came to Western Australia. As an incentive they were promised a two-roomed cottage and a plot of land sufficient to grow crops, vegetables and keep livestock. It was a chance for a new and better life and a large number of families remained as settlers. In 1858, many of the Enrolled Pensioner Guards in the colony contributed to
928-525: A penal colony. Although South Australia was constituted such that convicts could never be transported to the Province, some emancipated or escaped convicts or expirees made their own way there, both prior to 1836, or later, and may have constituted 1–2% of the early population. The plan for the province was that it would be an experiment in reform, addressing the problems perceived in British society. There
1044-609: A penal colony. At Moreton Bay, he found the Brisbane River , which Cook had guessed would exist, and explored the lower part of it. In September 1824, he returned with soldiers and established a temporary settlement at Redcliffe . On 2 December 1824, the settlement was transferred to where the Central Business District (CBD) of Brisbane now stands. The settlement was at first called Edenglassie . In 1839 transportation of convicts to Moreton Bay ceased and
1160-496: A province or provinces in southern Australia. The act stated that the land between 132° and 141° east longitude and from 26° south latitude to the southern ocean would be allotted to the intended colony, and it would be convict-free. In contrast to the rest of Australia, terra nullius did not apply to the new province. The Letters Patent , which used the enabling provisions of the South Australia Act 1834 to fix
1276-666: A punishment for both major and petty crimes since the 17th century. About 60,000 convicts were transported to the British colonies in North America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, under the terms of the Transportation Act 1717 . Transportation to the Americas ceased following Britain's defeat in the American Revolutionary War . (The number of convicts transported to North America
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#17327986444841392-715: A section of the coastline as far east as the Nuyts Archipelago . Thijssen named the whole of the country eastward of the Leeuwin "Nuyts Land", after a distinguished passenger on board; the Hon. Pieter Nuyts , one of the Councillors of India . The coastline of South Australia was first mapped by Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin in 1802, excepting the inlet later named the Port Adelaide River which
1508-410: A social stigma and, for some later Australians, being of convict descent instilled a sense of shame and cultural cringe . Attitudes became more accepting in the 20th century, and it is now considered by many Australians to be a cause for celebration to discover a convict in one's lineage. In 2007, it was estimated that approximately four million Australians are related to convicts that were deported from
1624-735: A tax based on property valuations. Council rates make up about 70% of council revenue, but account for less than 4% of total taxes paid by Australians. As at December 2021 the population of South Australia was 1,806,599. A majority of the state's population lives within Greater Adelaide 's metropolitan area which had an estimated population of 1,333,927 in June 2017. Other significant population centres include Mount Gambier (29,505), Victor Harbor - Goolwa (26,334), Whyalla (21,976), Murray Bridge (18,452), Port Lincoln (16,281), Port Pirie (14,267), and Port Augusta (13,957). At
1740-546: A theory espoused by Edward Gibbon Wakefield that was later employed by the New Zealand Company . The goal was to establish the province as a centre of civilisation for free immigrants, promising civil liberties and religious tolerance. Although its history has been marked by periods of economic hardship, South Australia has remained politically innovative and culturally vibrant. Today, it is known for its fine wine and numerous cultural festivals. The state's economy
1856-405: A visit to England in 1835. While there he was called upon by the government to give evidence before a Parliamentary Commission on the evils of transportation, and at their request wrote and submitted a tract on the subject. His views in conjunction with others in the end prevailed. The anti-transportation movement was seldom concerned with the inhumanity of the system, but rather the "hated stain" it
1972-478: Is also the world's fourth-largest remaining copper deposit, and the world's fifth largest gold deposit. There was a proposal to vastly expand the operations of the mine, making it the largest open-cut mine in the world, but in 2012 the BHP Billiton board decided not to go ahead with it at that time due to then lower commodity prices. The remote town of Coober Pedy produces more opal than anywhere else in
2088-653: Is dominated by the agricultural, manufacturing and mining industries. Evidence of human activity in South Australia dates back as far as 20,000 years, with flint mining activity and rock art in the Koonalda Cave on the Nullarbor Plain . In addition wooden spears and tools were made in an area now covered in peat bog in the South East. Kangaroo Island was inhabited long before the island
2204-602: Is flanked by the Southern Ocean , but official international consensus defines the Southern Ocean as extending north from the pole only to 60°S or 55°S, at least 17 degrees of latitude further south than the most southern point of South Australia. Thus the south coast is officially adjacent to the south-most portion of the Indian Ocean. See Southern Ocean: Existence and definitions . The southern part of
2320-470: Is not verified, although it has been estimated to be 50,000 by John Dunmore Lang and 120,000 by Thomas Keneally .) The British American colony of Maryland received a larger felon quota than any other province. Alternatives to the American colonies were investigated and the newly discovered and mapped East Coast of New Holland was proposed. The details provided by James Cook during his expedition to
2436-560: Is the Mount Lofty - Flinders Ranges system, which extends north about 800 kilometres (500 mi) from Cape Jervis to the northern end of Lake Torrens . The highest point in the state is not in those ranges; Mount Woodroffe (1,435 metres (4,708 ft)) is in the Musgrave Ranges in the extreme northwest of the state. The south-western portion of the state consists of the sparsely inhabited Nullarbor Plain , fronted by
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#17327986444842552-738: The Adelaide Hills . Tomatoes , capsicums , cucumbers , brassicas , lettuce and carrots are grown on the Northern Adelaide Plains at Virginia . Almonds , citrus and stone fruit are grown in the Riverland . Potatoes , onions and carrots are grown in the Murray Mallee region. Potatoes are grown on Kangaroo Island . South Australia produces more than half of all Australian wine, including almost 80% of Australia's premium wines. South Australia has
2668-659: The Australasian Anti-Transportation League was formed to lobby for the permanent cessation of transportation, its aims being furthered by the commencement of the Australian gold rushes the following year. The last convict ship to be sent from England, the St. Vincent , arrived in 1853, and on 10 August Jubilee festivals in Hobart and Launceston celebrated 50 years of European settlement with
2784-508: The Convict Establishment , the colony's convict prison, and misbehaviour was punished by stints there. The majority, however, were stationed in other parts of the colony. Although there was no convict assignment in Western Australia, there was a great demand for public infrastructure throughout the colony, so that many convicts were stationed in remote areas. Initially, most offenders were set to work creating infrastructure for
2900-645: The Founders and Survivors project. In 1803, two ships arrived in Port Phillip , which Lt. John Murray in the Lady Nelson had discovered and named the previous year. The Calcutta under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Collins transported 300 convicts, accompanied by the supply ship Ocean . Collins had previously been Judge Advocate with the First Fleet in 1788. He chose Sullivan Bay near
3016-680: The Governor of South Australia as his representative. It is a state of the Commonwealth of Australia . The bicameral Parliament of South Australia consists of the lower house known as the House of Assembly and the upper house known as the Legislative Council . General elections are held every four years, the last being the 2022 election . Initially, the Governor of South Australia held almost total power, derived from
3132-578: The Hornsdale Wind Farm in South Australia's Mid-North region. At the time of construction in late 2017, it was billed as the largest lithium-ion battery in the world. The Olympic Dam mine near Roxby Downs in northern South Australia is the largest deposit of uranium in the world, possessing more than a third of the world's low-cost recoverable reserves and 70% of Australia's. The mine, owned and operated by BHP , presently accounts for 9% of global uranium production. The Olympic Dam mine
3248-605: The Merthyr Tydfil rising of 1831 ; the Tolpuddle Martyrs (1834); Swing Rioters and Luddites (1828–1833); American and French-Canadian prisoners from the Upper Canada rebellion and Lower Canada Rebellion (1839), and Chartists (1842). With increasing numbers of free settlers entering New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) by the mid-1830s, opposition to the transportation of felons into
3364-544: The Pensioner Barracks . Part of their purpose was to fulfil a promise by the British government to send free settlers to the colony to dilute the convicts, and to maintain law and order in the colony. Many enlisted in the British Army as boys, around 15–17 years of age, and served in many parts of the world including India, Afghanistan, China, Crimea for about 21 years before being pensioned off. This meant
3480-744: The Riverland and the Adelaide Hills . See South Australian wine . South Australia has boundaries with every other Australian mainland state and territory except the Australian Capital Territory and the Jervis Bay Territory . The Western Australia border has a history involving the South Australian government astronomer, G.F. Dodwell, and the Western Australian Government Astronomer , H.B. Curlewis , marking
3596-544: The Seven Years' War were used as makeshift floating prisons . Four out of five prisoners were in jail for theft. In the 1800s the Bloody Code was gradually rescinded because judges and juries considered its punishments too harsh. Since lawmakers still wanted punishments to deter potential criminals, they increasingly used transportation as a more humane sentence to execution . Transportation had been employed as
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3712-466: The Swan River Colony in 1829 – initially was intended solely for free settlers, but commenced receiving convicts in 1850. South Australia and Victoria , established in 1836 and 1850 respectively, officially remained free colonies. However, a population that included thousands of convicts already resided in the area that became known as Victoria. Penal transportation to Australia peaked in
3828-525: The University of Adelaide . Adelaide is home to research institutes, including the Royal Institution of Australia , established in 2009 as a counterpart to the two-hundred-year-old Royal Institution of Great Britain. Most of the research organisations are clustered in the Adelaide metropolitan area: South Australia is a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III as sovereign, and
3944-488: The 1830s and dropped off significantly in the following decade, as protests against the convict system intensified throughout the colonies. In 1868, almost two decades after transportation to the eastern colonies had ceased, the last convict ship arrived in Western Australia. The majority of convicts were transported for petty crimes , particularly theft: thieves comprised 80% of all transportees. More serious crimes, such as rape and murder, became transportable offences in
4060-553: The 1830s, but since they were also punishable by death, comparatively few convicts were transported for such crimes. Approximately 1 in 7 convicts were women, while political prisoners , another minority group, comprised many of the best-known convicts . Once emancipated , most ex-convicts stayed in Australia and joined the free settlers, with some rising to prominent positions in Australian society. However, convictism carried
4176-534: The 2016 census, 78.2% of the population spoke only English at home. The other languages most commonly spoken at home were Italian (1.7%), Standard Mandarin (1.7%), Greek (1.4%), Vietnamese (1.1%), and Cantonese (0.6%). At the 2016 census , overall 53.9% of responses identified some variant of Christianity . 9% of respondents chose not to state a religion. The most commonly nominated responses were 'No Religion' (35.4%), Catholicism (18%), Anglicanism (10%) and Uniting Church (7.1%). South Australia
4292-417: The 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were: 28.9% of the population was born overseas at the 2016 census. The five largest groups of overseas-born were from England (5.8%), India (1.6%), China (1.5%), Italy (1.1%) and Vietnam (0.9%). 2% of the population, or 34,184 people, identified as Indigenous Australians ( Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders ) in 2016. At
4408-580: The 2020–21 financial year. This was the first time since the Australian Bureau of Statistics began collecting data in 1990 that South Australia had outperformed the other states. The recovery was driven in part by growth in the agricultural sector, which increased its production by almost 24% thanks to the end of a drought. Wheat , barley , oats , rye , peas , beans , chickpeas , lentils and canola are grown in South Australia. Apples , pears , cherries and strawberries are grown in
4524-464: The Australian population and ranks fifth in population among the six states and two territories. The majority of its people reside in greater Metropolitan Adelaide. Most of the remainder are settled in fertile areas along the south-eastern coast and River Murray . The state's colonial origins are unique in Australia as a freely settled, planned British province , rather than as a convict settlement. Colonial government commenced on 28 December 1836, when
4640-727: The Brisbane penal settlement was closed. In 1842 free settlement was permitted and people began to colonize the area voluntarily. On 6 June 1859 Queensland became a colony separate from New South Wales . In 2009 the Convict Records of Queensland, held by the Queensland State Archives and the State Library of Queensland was added to UNESCO's Australian Memory of the World Register. Although
4756-640: The British Empire. In 1830, the Port Arthur penal settlement was established to replace Macquarie Harbour, as it was easier to maintain regular communications by sea. Although known in popular history as a particularly harsh prison, in reality, its management was far more humane than Macquarie Harbour or the outlying stations of New South Wales. Experimentation with the so-called model prison system took place in Port Arthur. Solitary confinement
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4872-550: The British Isles to Australia. The convict era has inspired famous novels, films, and other cultural works, and the extent to which it has shaped Australia's national character has been studied by many writers and historians. According to Robert Hughes in The Fatal Shore , the population of England and Wales, which had remained steady at 6 million from 1700 to 1740, began rising considerably after 1740. By
4988-591: The British penal system transported about 162,000 convicts from Great Britain and Ireland to various penal colonies in Australia . The British Government began transporting convicts overseas to American colonies in the early 18th century. After trans-Atlantic transportation ended with the start of the American Revolution , authorities sought an alternative destination to relieve further overcrowding of British prisons and hulks . Earlier in 1770, James Cook had charted and claimed possession of
5104-541: The Commissioners' permission to send Company ships to South Australia, in advance of the surveys and ahead of the Commissioners' colonists. The company's settlement of seven vessels and 636 people was temporarily made at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island, until the official site of the capital was selected by William Light, where the City of Adelaide is currently located. The first immigrants arrived at Holdfast Bay (near
5220-537: The Enrolled Guards. Historical connections to pensioner guards include: The strength of the force was estimated at seventy souls. Membership included the following guardsmen when Disbanded March 31, 1887. In 1857, while the 12th Regiment were still present as Garrison, at least 130 pensioner guards paid to support a Crimean war nursing fund. Convicts in Australia Between 1788 and 1868
5336-597: The Imperial Parliament enacted the Australian Colonies Government Act , which allowed for the election of representatives to each of the colonial legislatures and the drafting of a constitution to properly create representative and responsible government in South Australia. Later that year, propertied male colonists were allowed to vote for 16 members on a new 24 seat Legislative Council. Eight members continued to be appointed by
5452-971: The Indian Relief Fund that had been set up in England following the Indian Mutiny of 1857 . Many of the EPGs had served in India with the British Army before their retirement. The mutiny led to the ending of the East India Company in 1858, and the establishment of the British Raj . A settlement for the Pensioners was established near Lake Coogee in 1876, and ruins of two stone cottages from this time are extant, along with
5568-534: The Probation System was employed, where convicts spent an initial period, usually two years, in public works gangs on stations outside of the main settlements. They were then freed to work for wages within a set district. Transportation to Tasmania ended in 1853 (see section below on Cessation of Transportation ). Records on the individual convicts transported to Van Diemen’s Land or born there between 1803 and 1900 were being digitised as of 2019 as part of
5684-573: The Risdon Cove site inadequate, and in 1804 he established an alternative settlement on the western side of the river at Sullivan's Cove, Tasmania . This later became known as Hobart , and the original settlement at Risdon Cove was abandoned. Collins was appointed as the first Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land. When the convict station on Norfolk Island was abandoned in 1807–1808, the remaining convicts and free settlers were transported to Hobart and allocated land for resettlement. However, as
5800-532: The South Pacific in 1770 made it the most suitable. On 18 August 1786, the decision was made to send a colonisation party of convicts, military, and civilian personnel to Botany Bay under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip , who was appointed as Governor of the new colony. There were 775 convicts on board six transport ships. They were accompanied by officials, members of the crew, marines,
5916-422: The arrival of the Second Fleet . The "Memorandoms" by James Martin provide a contemporary account of the events as seen by a convict from the first fleet. The second fleet was a disaster and provided little in the way of help. In June 1790 it delivered additional sick and dying convicts, affected by the rigors of the lengthy journey. The situation worsened in Port Jackson. Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Bourke
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#17327986444846032-434: The arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove, a group of convicts and free settlers were sent to take control of Norfolk Island , a small island 1,412 kilometres (877 mi) east of the coast of New South Wales. More convicts were sent, and many of them proved to be unruly. In early 1789 they made a failed attempt to overthrow Lieutenant Philip Gidley King , the island's commandant. There were other hazards: HMS Sirius
6148-441: The bay would not be suitable for the establishment of a colony due to "the openness of this bay, and the dampness of the soil, by which the people would probably be rendered unhealthy". Phillip decided to examine Port Jackson , a bay mentioned by Captain Cook, about three leagues to the north. On 22 January 1788 a small expedition led by Phillips sailed to Port Jackson, arriving in the early afternoon: Here all regret arising from
6264-440: The border on the ground in the 1920s. In 1863, that part of New South Wales to the north of South Australia was annexed to South Australia, by letters patent, as the "Northern Territory of South Australia", which became shortened to the Northern Territory on 6 July 1863 . The Northern Territory was handed to the federal government in 1911 and became a separate territory. According to Australian maps, South Australia's south coast
6380-436: The boundaries of the Province of South Australia, provided that "nothing in those our Letters Patent shall affect or be construed to affect the rights of any Aboriginal Natives of the said Province to the actual occupation and enjoyment in their own Persons or in the Persons of their Descendants of any Lands therein now actually occupied or enjoyed by such Natives." Although the patent guaranteed land rights under force of law for
6496-432: The city of Sydney . This date is celebrated as Australia Day . Initially the members of the first fleet suffered a high mortality rate , due mainly to starvation from shortages of food. The ships carried only enough food to provide for the settlers until they could establish agriculture in the region. There were an insufficient number of skilled farmers and domesticated livestock to achieve this. The colony had to await
6612-494: The cliffs of the Great Australian Bight . Features of the coast include Spencer Gulf and the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas that surround it. The Temperate Grassland of South Australia is situated to the east of Gulf St Vincent . The principal industries and exports of South Australia are wheat, wine and wool. More than half of Australia's wines are produced in the South Australian wine regions which principally include Barossa Valley , Clare Valley , McLaren Vale , Coonawarra ,
6728-411: The colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts." Convict George Barrington is (perhaps apocryphally) recorded as having written the prologue for the first theatrical play performed by convicts in Australia, one year after the First Fleet's arrival. It is known as "Our Country's Good", based on the now-famous closing stanza: The poems of Frank the Poet are among
6844-444: The colonies grew. The most influential spokesmen were newspaper proprietors who were also members of the Independent Congregational Church such as John Fairfax in Sydney and the Reverend John West in Launceston, who argued against convicts both as competition to honest free labourers and as the source of crime and vice within the colony. Bishop Bernard Ullathorne , a Catholic prelate who had been in Australia since 1832 returned for
6960-581: The community and enforce government regulations. Their principal role was to run the first temporary gaol, a two-room hut. The current flag of South Australia was adopted on 13 January 1904, and is a British blue ensign defaced with the state badge. The badge is described as a piping shrike with wings outstretched on a yellow disc. The state badge is believed to have been designed by Robert Craig of Adelaide's School of Design . The terrain consists largely of arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low mountain ranges . The most important (but not tallest)
7076-424: The continent, early settlements were all on the eastern coast and only a few intrepid explorers ventured this far west. It took more than forty years before any serious proposal to establish settlements in the south-western portion of New South Wales were put forward. On 15 August 1834, the British Parliament passed the South Australia Act 1834 ( Foundation Act ), which empowered His Majesty to erect and establish
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#17327986444847192-411: The convict system, including the construction of the Convict Establishment itself. In 1852 a Convict Depot was built at Albany, but closed 3 years later. When shipping increased the Depot was re-opened. Most of the convicts had their Ticket-of-Leave and were hired to work by the free settlers. Convicts also crewed the pilot boat, rebuilt York Street and Stirling Terrace; and the track from Albany to Perth
7308-576: The crown against this interference with their legal rights, fearing that a reduction in punishments would cease to provide enough deterrence to the convicts. Bourke, however, was not dissuaded from his reforms. He continued to combat the inhumane treatment of convicts, and limited the number of convicts assigned to each employer to seventy. There was limited oversight of treatment of assigned convicts. Bourke granted rights to convicts who were freed after serving their sentences, such as allowing them to acquire property and serve on juries. It has been argued that
7424-528: The east coast of Australia for Britain . Seeking to pre-empt the French colonial empire from expanding into the region, Britain chose Australia as the site of a penal colony, and in 1787, the First Fleet of eleven convict ships set sail for Botany Bay , arriving on 20 January 1788 to found Sydney , New South Wales , the first European settlement on the continent. Other penal colonies were later established in Van Diemen's Land ( Tasmania ) in 1803 and Queensland in 1824. Western Australia – established as
7540-406: The end of a convict's sentence, seven years in most cases, the convict was issued with a Certificate of Freedom . He was free to become a settler or to return to England. Convicts who misbehaved, however, were often sent to a place of secondary punishment, such as Port Arthur, Tasmania , or Norfolk Island , where they would suffer additional punishment and solitary confinement . Within a month of
7656-405: The existing small population was already having difficulties producing enough food, the sudden doubling of the population was almost catastrophic. Starting in 1816, more free settlers began arriving from Great Britain. On 3 December 1825 Tasmania was declared a colony separate from New South Wales , with a separate administration. The Macquarie Harbour penal colony on the West Coast of Tasmania
7772-414: The families thereof, and their own children who together totaled 645. In all, eleven ships were sent in what became known as the First Fleet . Other than the convict transports, there were two naval escorts and three storeships. The fleet assembled in Portsmouth and set sail on 13 May 1787. The eleven ships arrived at Botany Bay over the three-day period of 18 - 20 January 1788. It soon became clear that
7888-422: The few surviving literary works done by a convict while still incarcerated. His best-known work is "A Convict's Tour of Hell". A version of the convict ballad " Moreton Bay ", detailing the brutal punishments meted out by commandant Patrick Logan and his death at the hands of Aborigines, is also attributed to Frank. Other convict ballads include " Jim Jones at Botany Bay ". The ballad " Botany Bay ", which describes
8004-405: The first general laws against child labour (the Factory Acts ) passed in the United Kingdom. Crime had become a major problem. In 1784, a French observer noted that "from sunset to dawn the environs of London became the patrimony of brigands for twenty miles around." Each parish had a watchman, but British cities did not have police forces in the modern sense. Jeremy Bentham strongly promoted
8120-424: The first in the world to allow women to stand for election. In 1897 Catherine Helen Spence was the first woman in Australia to be a candidate for political office when she was nominated to be one of South Australia's delegates to the conventions that drafted the constitution. South Australia became an original state of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Although the lower house had universal suffrage,
8236-407: The former disappointments was at once obliterated; and Governor Phillip had the satisfaction to find one of the finest harbours in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line might ride in perfect security. The different coves of this harbour were examined with all possible expedition, and the preference was given to one which had the finest spring of water, and in which ships can anchor so close to
8352-501: The government is the party or coalition that exerts a majority in the House of Assembly. The Legislative Council remained a predominantly conservative chamber elected by property owners. Women's suffrage in Australia took a leap forward – enacted in 1895 and taking effect from the 1896 colonial election , South Australia was the first government in Australia and only the second in the world after New Zealand to allow women to vote, and
8468-469: The government or on hire from penal depots, the Exiles were free to work for pay, but could not leave the district to which they were assigned. The Port Phillip District was still part of New South Wales at this stage. Victoria separated from New South Wales and became an independent colony in 1851. In 1823 John Oxley sailed north from Sydney to inspect Port Curtis and Moreton Bay as possible sites for
8584-475: The governor. The main responsibility of this body was to draft a constitution for South Australia. The body drafted the most democratic constitution ever seen in the British Empire and provided for universal manhood suffrage . It created the bicameral Parliament of South Australia . For the first time in the colony, the executive was elected by the people, and the colony used the Westminster system , where
8700-471: The idea of a circular prison , but the penitentiary was seen by many government officials as a peculiar American concept. Virtually all malefactors were caught by informers or denounced to the local court by their victims. Pursuant to the so-called " Bloody Code ", by the 1770s some 222 crimes in Britain carried the death penalty . Almost all of these were crimes against property, including such offences as
8816-730: The indigenous inhabitants, it was ignored by the South Australian Company authorities and squatters. Despite strong reference to the rights of the native population in the initial proclamation by the Governor, there were many conflicts and deaths in the Australian Frontier Wars in South Australia. Survey was required before settlement of the province, and the Colonization Commissioners for South Australia appointed William Light as
8932-403: The lead over other Australian states for its commercialisation and commitment to renewable energy . It is now the leading producer of wind power in Australia. Renewable energy is a growing source of electricity in South Australia, and there is potential for growth from this particular industry of the state's economy. The Hornsdale Power Reserve is a bank of grid-connected batteries adjacent to
9048-409: The leader of its 'First Expedition', tasked with examining 1500 miles of the South Australian coastline and selecting the best site for the capital, and with then planning and surveying the site of the city into one-acre Town Sections and its surrounds into 134-acre Country Sections. Eager to commence the establishment of their whale and seal fisheries, the South Australian Company sought, and obtained,
9164-461: The least amount of federal funding for its local road network of all states on a per capita and a per kilometre basis. During 2019-20: South Australia's gross state product (GSP) fell 1.4% in chain volume (real) terms (nationally, gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.3%). South Australia came out of the COVID-19 recession better than the other Australian states, with the economy growing by 3.9% in
9280-683: The letters patent of the imperial government to create the colony. He was accountable only to the British Colonial Office , and thus democracy did not exist in the colony. A new body was created to advise the governor on the administration of South Australia in 1843 called the Legislative Council. It consisted of three representatives of the British Government and four colonists appointed by the governor. The governor retained total executive power. In 1851,
9396-488: The members of the council were sworn in near the Old Gum Tree . As with the rest of the continent, the region has a long history of human occupation by numerous tribes and languages. The South Australian Company established a temporary settlement at Kingscote , Kangaroo Island , on 26 July 1836, five months before Adelaide was founded. The guiding principle behind settlement was that of systematic colonisation ,
9512-404: The most arid parts of the continent, and with 1.8 million people it is the fifth-largest of the states and territories by population. This population is the second-most highly centralised in the nation after Western Australia , with more than 77% of South Australians living in the capital Adelaide or its environs. Other population centres in the state are relatively small; Mount Gambier ,
9628-412: The official end of transportation. Transportation continued in small numbers to Western Australia. The last convict ship, Hougoumont , left Britain in 1867 and arrived in Western Australia on 10 January 1868. In all, about 164,000 convicts were transported to the Australian colonies between 1788 and 1868 onboard 806 ships. Convicts were made up of English and Welsh (70%), Irish (24%), Scottish (5%), and
9744-479: The present day Glenelg ) in November 1836. The commencement of colonial government was proclaimed on 28 December 1836, now known as Proclamation Day . South Australia is the only Australian state to have never received British convicts. Another free settlement, Swan River colony was established in 1829 but Western Australia later sought convict labour, and in 1849 Western Australia was formally constituted as
9860-433: The present-day Sorrento, Victoria for the first settlement - some 90 km south of present-day Melbourne . About two months later the settlement was abandoned due to poor soil and water shortages and Collins moved the convicts to Hobart. Several convicts had escaped into the bush and were left behind to unknown fates with the local aboriginal people. One such convict, the subsequently celebrated William Buckley , lived in
9976-530: The remaining 1% from the British outposts in India and Canada, Maoris from New Zealand, Chinese from Hong Kong, and slaves from the Caribbean. Samuel Speed, who died 150 years after the arrival of the First Fleet, is believed to have been the last surviving transported convict. Born in Birmingham in 1841, he was transported to Western Australia in 1866 after deliberately committing a crime - setting fire to
10092-480: The rise of a well-coordinated anti-transportation movement, especially following a severe economic depression in the early 1840s. Transportation was temporarily suspended in 1846 but soon revived with overcrowding of British gaols and clamour for the availability of transportation as a deterrent. By the late 1840s most convicts being sent to Van Diemen's Land (plus those to Victoria ) were designated as "exiles" and were free to work for pay while under sentence. In 1850
10208-445: The sadness felt by convicts forced to leave their loved ones in England, was written at least 40 years after the end of transportation. South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA ) is a state in the southern central part of Australia . With a total land area of 984,321 square kilometres (380,048 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which includes some of
10324-548: The second-largest centre, has a population of 26,878. South Australia shares borders with all the other mainland states. It is bordered to the west by Western Australia , to the north by the Northern Territory , to the north-east by Queensland , to the east by New South Wales , to the south-east by Victoria , and to the south by the Great Australian Bight . The state comprises less than 8% of
10440-563: The settlement was transferred to the Swan River Colony, and the troops and convicts were withdrawn. In April 1848, Charles Fitzgerald , Governor of Western Australia , petitioned Britain to send convicts to his state because of labour shortages. Britain rejected sending fixed-term convicts, but offered to send first offenders in the final years of their terms. Most convicts in Western Australia spent very little time in prison. Those who were stationed at Fremantle were housed in
10556-510: The shore, that at a very small expence quays may be constructed at which the largest vessels may unload. This cove is about half a mile in length and a quarter of a mile across at the entrance. In honour of Lord Sydney, the Governor distinguished it by the name of Sydney Cove. There they established the first permanent European colony on the Australian continent, within New South Wales , on 26 January 1788. The area has since developed as
10672-547: The state has a Mediterranean climate , while the rest of the state has either an arid or semi-arid climate . South Australia's main temperature range is 29 °C (84 °F) in January and 15 °C (59 °F) in July. The highest maximum temperature ever recorded was 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) at Oodnadatta on 2 January 1960, which is the highest official temperature recorded in Australia. The lowest minimum temperature
10788-603: The state's upper house with the balance of power controlled by a variety of minor parties and independents. Local government in South Australia is established by the Constitution Act 1934 (SA), the Local Government Act 1999 (SA), and the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 (SA). South Australia contains 68 councils and 6 Aboriginal and outback communities . Local councils, elected on
10904-489: The stealing of goods worth over 5 shillings, the cutting down of a tree, the theft of an animal, even the theft of a rabbit from a warren . Because the Industrial Revolution economically displaced much of the working class, there was an increase in petty crime. The government was under pressure to find an alternative to confinement in overcrowded gaols . The situation was so dire that hulks left over from
11020-436: The suspension of convict transportation to New South Wales in 1840 can be attributed to the actions of Bourke and other like-minded men, such as Australian-born lawyer William Charles Wentworth . It took another 10 years, but transportation to the colony of New South Wales was finally officially abolished on 1 October 1850. If a convict was well behaved, the convict could be given a ticket of leave , granting some freedom. At
11136-402: The time of the American Revolution , London was overcrowded, filled with the unemployed, and flooded with cheap gin . Poverty , social injustice , child labour , harsh and dirty living conditions and long working hours were prevalent in 19th-century Britain . Dickens 's novels perhaps best illustrate this; many government officials were horrified by what they saw. Only in 1833 and 1844 were
11252-529: The upper house, the Legislative Council, remained the exclusive domain of property owners until the Labor government of Don Dunstan managed to achieve reform of the chamber in 1973. Property qualifications were removed and the Council became a body elected via proportional representation by a single state-wide electorate. Since the following 1975 South Australian state election , no one party has had control of
11368-541: The western side of Port Phillip for the next 32 years before approaching the new settlers and assisting as an interpreter for the indigenous peoples. A second settlement was established at Westernport Bay , on the site of present-day Corinella , in November 1826. It comprised an initial 20 soldiers and 22 convicts, with another 12 convicts arriving subsequently. This settlement was abandoned in February 1828, and all convicts returned to Sydney. The Port Phillip District
11484-437: The western third of Australia was unclaimed land known as New Holland . Fears that France would lay claim to the land prompted the Governor of New South Wales , Ralph Darling , to send Major Edmund Lockyer , with troops and 23 convicts, to establish a settlement at King George Sound. Lockyer's party arrived on Christmas Day, 1826. A convict presence was maintained at the settlement for over four years. On 7 March 1831 control of
11600-447: The world. Opal was first discovered near the town in 1915, and the town became the site of an opal rush, enticing immigrants from southern and eastern Europe in the aftermath of World War II . Higher education and research in Adelaide forms an important part of South Australia's economy. The South Australian Government and educational institutions have attempted to position Adelaide as Australia's education hub and have marketed it as
11716-551: The years 1865, 1866, and 1867, after which transportation would cease. In accordance with this, the last convict ship to Western Australia, Hougoumont , left Britain in 1867 and arrived in Western Australia on 10 January 1868. Between 1788 and 1852, about 24,000 transportees were women, one in seven. 80% of women had been convicted of theft, usually petty. For protection, many quickly attached themselves to male officers or convicts. Although they were routinely referred to as courtesans , no women were transported for prostitution, as it
11832-516: Was believed to inflict on the free (non- emancipist ) middle classes. Transportation to New South Wales temporarily ended 1840 under the Order-in-Council of 22 May 1840, by which time some 150,000 convicts had been sent to the colonies. The sending of convicts to Brisbane in its Moreton Bay district had ceased the previous year, and administration of Norfolk Island was later transferred to Van Diemen's Land. Opposition to transportation
11948-547: Was cut off by rising sea levels . According to mitochondrial DNA research, Aboriginal people reached Eyre Peninsula 49,000-45,000 years ago from both the east (clockwise, along the coast, from northern Australia) and the west (anti-clockwise). The first recorded European sighting of the South Australian coast was in 1627 when the Dutch ship the Gulden Zeepaert , captained by François Thijssen , examined and mapped
12064-723: Was established in 1820 to exploit the valuable timber Huon Pine growing there for furniture making and shipbuilding. Macquarie Harbour had the added advantage of being almost impossible to escape from. Most attempts ended with fugitive convicts either drowning, dying of starvation in the bush, or (on at least three occasions) turning cannibal. Convicts sent to this settlement had usually re-offended during their sentence of transportation. They were treated very harshly, labouring in cold and wet weather, and subjected to severe corporal punishment for minor infractions. Several hundred non-indigenous black convicts were transported to Van Diemen's Land, most as punishment for speaking or acting against
12180-599: Was first discovered in 1831 by Captain Collet Barker and later accurately charted in 1836–37 by Colonel William Light , leader of the South Australian Colonization Commissioners' 'First Expedition' and first Surveyor-General of South Australia. The land which now forms the state of South Australia was claimed for Britain in 1788 as part of the colony of New South Wales . Although the new colony included almost two-thirds of
12296-400: Was made into a good road. An Albany newspaper noted their commendable behaviour and wrote, "There were instances in which our free settlers might take an example". Western Australia's convict era came to an end with the cessation of penal transportation by Britain. In May 1865, the colony was advised of the change in British policy, and told that Britain would send one convict ship in each of
12412-613: Was not a transportable offence. Approximately 3,600 political prisoners were transported to the Australian colonies, many of whom arrived in waves corresponding to political unrest in Britain and Ireland. They included the First Scottish Martyrs in 1794; British Naval Mutineers (from the Nore Mutiny) in 1797 and 1801; Irish rebels in 1798 , 1803 , 1848 and 1868 ; Cato Street Conspirators (1820); Scots Rebels (1820); Yorkshire Rebels (1820 and 1822); leaders of
12528-568: Was not unanimous; wealthy landowner, Benjamin Boyd , for reasons of economic self-interest, wanted to use transported convicts from Van Diemen's Land as a source of free or low-cost labour in New South Wales, particularly as shepherds. The final transport of convicts to New South Wales occurred in 1850, with some 1,400 convicts transported between the Order-in-Council and that date. The continuation of transportation to Van Diemen's Land saw
12644-528: Was officially sanctioned in 1837 following the landing of the Henty brothers in Portland Bay in 1834, and John Batman settled on the site of Melbourne . Between 1844 and 1849 about 1,750 convicts arrived there from England. They were referred to either as "Exiles" or the "Pentonvillians" because most of them came from Pentonville Probationary Prison. Unlike earlier convicts who were required to work for
12760-468: Was the first Australian colony not to have an official state religion, and the colony became attractive to people who had experienced religious discrimination, including Methodists and Unitarians . South Australia also had thousands of Prussian Old Lutheran immigrants, some of whom established their own form of Lutheranism. As a result, the Lutheran Church of Australia remains separate from
12876-480: Was the ninth Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, serving between 1831 and 1837. Appalled by the excessive punishments doled out to convicts during their imprisonment and work assignments, Bourke passed 'The Magistrates Act', which limited the sentence a magistrate could pass to fifty lashes (previously there was no such limit). Bourke's administration was controversial. Furious magistrates and employers petitioned
12992-458: Was the preferred method of punishment. Many changes were made to the manner in which convicts were handled in the general population, largely responsive to British public opinion on the harshness of their treatment. Until the late 1830s, most convicts were either retained by the Government for public works or assigned to private individuals as a form of indentured labour. From the early 1840s
13108-474: Was to be religious freedom and no established religion. Sales of land to colonists created an Emigration Fund to pay the costs of transferring a poor young labouring population to South Australia. In early 1838 the colonists became concerned after it was reported that convicts who had escaped from the eastern states may make their way to South Australia. The South Australia Police was formed in April 1838 to protect
13224-570: Was upgraded to AAA by Standard & Poor's in September 2004 and to AAA by Moody's in November 2004, the highest credit ratings achievable by any company or sovereign. The state had previously lost these ratings in the State Bank collapse. However, in 2012 Standard & Poor's downgraded the state's credit rating to AA+ due to declining revenues, new spending initiatives and a weaker than expected budgetary outlook. South Australia receives
13340-563: Was wrecked on one of the island's reefs while attempting to land stores. In 1803, a British expedition was sent from Sydney to Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land ) to establish a new penal colony there. The small party, led by Lt. John Bowen, established a settlement at Risdon Cove, on the eastern side of the Derwent River. Originally sent to Port Philip, but abandoned within weeks, another expedition led by Lieutenant-Colonel David Collins arrived soon after. Collins considered
13456-786: Was −8.2 °C (17.2 °F) at Yongala on 20 July 1976. The region's overall dry weather is owed to the Australian High on the Great Australian Bight. As of 2016, South Australia had 746,105 people employed out of a total workforce of 806,593, giving an unemployment rate of 7.5%. South Australia's largest employment sector is health care and social assistance, making up 14.8% of the state's total employment, followed by retail (10.7%), education and training (8.6%), manufacturing (8%), and construction (7.6%). South Australia's economy relies on exports more than any other state in Australia. South Australia's credit rating
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