Editing Adelaide (section)

=== 19th century ===
[[File:Beechey, William - Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen - NPG 1533.jpg|upright|thumb|alt= Painting of person|Queen Adelaide, after whom the city was named]]
[[File:Adelaide supplement to the Illustrated Sydney News.png|thumb|right|alt= Refer to caption|In July 1876, the ''Illustrated Sydney News'' published a special supplement that included an early aerial view of the City of Adelaide: (South) Adelaide (the CBD), River Torrens, and portion of North Adelaide from a point above Strangways Terrace, [[North Adelaide]]]]

Based on the ideas of [[Edward Gibbon Wakefield]] about colonial reform, [[Robert Gouger]] petitioned the British government to create a new colony in Australia, resulting in the passage of the [[South Australia Act 1834]]. Physical establishment of the colony began with the arrival of the first British colonisers in February 1836. The first [[Governor of South Australia|governor]] 
proclaimed the commencement of colonial government in South Australia on 28 December 1836, near [[The Old Gum Tree]] in what is now the suburb of [[Glenelg North]]. The event is commemorated in South Australia as [[Proclamation Day (South Australia)|Proclamation Day]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.holdfast.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=1463 |title=City of Holdfast Bay – Proclamation Day |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713121428/http://www.holdfast.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=1463 |archive-date=13 July 2012 }}</ref> The site of the colony's capital was surveyed and laid out by Colonel [[William Light]], the first surveyor-general of South Australia, with his own original, unique, topographically sensitive design. The city was named after [[Queen Adelaide]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Rodney|last=Cockburn|title=South Australia: What's in a Name?|publisher=Axiom|edition=3rd|date=1990|page=3|url=http://www.gastonrenard.com.au/Short%20List%2068.pdf|access-date=29 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416185434/http://www.gastonrenard.com.au/Short%20List%2068.pdf|archive-date=16 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Adelaide was established as a planned colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution, based upon the ideas of [[Edward Gibbon Wakefield]]. Wakefield had read accounts of Australian settlement while in prison in London for attempting to abduct an heiress,<ref>Wakefield cites:
* Edward Curr, ''An Account of the Colony of Van Diemen's Land, principally designed for the use of emigrants'', George Cowie & Co., London, 1824;
* Henry Widdowson, ''Present State of Van Diemen's Land; comprising an account of its agricultural capabilities, with observations on the present state of farming, &c. &c. pursued in that colony: and other important matters connected with Emigration'', S. Robinson, W. Joy and J. Cross, London, and J. Birdsall, Northampton, 1829; and
* James Atkinson, ''An Account of the State of Agriculture & Grazing in New South Wales; Including Observations on the Soils and General Appearance of the Country, and some of its most useful natural productions; with an account of the Various Methods of Clearing and Improving Lands, Breeding and Grazing Live Stock, Erecting Buildings, the System of employing Convicts, and the expense of Labour generally; the Mode of Applying for Grants of Land; with Other Information Important to those who are about to emigrate to that Country: The result of several years' residence and practical experience in those matters in the Colony''., J. Cross, London, 1826</ref> and realised that the eastern colonies suffered from a lack of available labour, due to the practice of giving land grants to all arrivals.<ref>Wakefield, ''Letter from Sydney'', December 1829, pp. 99–185, written from Newgate prison. Editor Robert Gouger.</ref> Wakefield's idea was for the Government to survey and sell the land at a rate that would maintain land values high enough to be unaffordable for labourers and journeymen.<ref>Wakefield wrote about this under a pseudonym, purporting to be an Australian settler. His subterfuge was so successful that he confused later writers, including [[Karl Marx]], who wrote "It is the great merit of E.G. Wakefield to have discovered not anything new about the Colonies, but to have discovered in the Colonies the truth of as to the condition of capitalist production in the mother-country.' ''Das Kapital'', Moscow, 1958, p 766"</ref> Funds raised from the sale of land were to be used to bring out working-class emigrants, who would have to work hard for the monied settlers to ever afford their own land.<ref>''Plan of a Company to be Established for the Purpose of Founding a Colony in Southern Australia, Purchasing Land Therein, and Preparing the Land so Purchased for the Reception of Immigrants'', 1832; in Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, Prichard, M. F., (ed.) ''The Collected Works of Edward Gibbon Wakefield'', Collins, London, 1968, p 290.</ref> As a result of this policy, Adelaide does not share [[Convictism in Australia|the convict settlement history]] of other Australian cities like [[Sydney]], [[Brisbane]] and [[Hobart]].

[[File:North Terrace, 1841.jpg|thumb|alt= Painting of a town near a river with woodlands and hills in the background|[[North Terrace, Adelaide|North Terrace]] in 1841]]

As it was believed that in a colony of free settlers there would be little crime, no provision was made for a [[Prison|gaol]] in Colonel Light's 1837 plan. But by mid-1837 the ''[[South Australian Register]]'' was warning of escaped convicts from New South Wales and tenders for a temporary gaol were sought. Following a burglary, a murder, and two attempted murders in Adelaide during March 1838, Governor Hindmarsh created the South Australian Police Force (now the [[South Australia Police]]) in April 1838 under 21-year-old [[Henry Inman (police commander)|Henry Inman]].<ref>[[John Wrathall Bull|J. W. Bull]]; [[Early Experiences of Colonial Life in South Australia]] (Adelaide, 1878) p.67</ref> The first sheriff, Samuel Smart, was wounded during a robbery, and on 2 May 1838 one of the offenders, Michael Magee, became the first person to be hanged in South Australia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Free Settlement |url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/adelaidegaol/free-settlement.html |work=History of Adelaide Gaol |publisher=Environment.sa.gov.au |access-date=7 September 2010 |archive-date=24 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091024014707/http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/adelaidegaol/free-settlement.html}}</ref> William Baker Ashton was appointed governor of the temporary gaol in 1839, and in 1840 George Strickland Kingston was commissioned to design Adelaide's new gaol.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gaol Founders |url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/adelaidegaol/History/Gaol_founders |work=History of Adelaide Gaol |publisher=Environment.sa.gov.au |access-date=14 August 2012 |archive-date=25 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025022018/http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/adelaidegaol/goal-founders.html}}</ref> Construction of [[Adelaide Gaol]] commenced in 1841.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/adelaidegaol/lights-vision.html |title=Light's Vision |work=History of Adelaide Gaol |publisher=Environment.sa.gov.au |access-date=7 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025021816/http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/adelaidegaol/lights-vision.html |archive-date=25 October 2009}}</ref>

Adelaide's early history was marked by economic uncertainty and questionable leadership.{{Dubious|date=October 2015}} The first governor of South Australia, [[John Hindmarsh]], clashed frequently with others, in particular the Resident Commissioner, [[James Hurtle Fisher]]. The rural area surrounding Adelaide was surveyed by Light in preparation to sell a total of over {{convert|405|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of land. Adelaide's early economy started to get on its feet in 1838 with the arrival of livestock from [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]], [[New South Wales]] and [[Tasmania]]. Wool production provided an early basis for the South Australian economy. By 1860, wheat farms had been established from [[Encounter Bay]] in the south to [[Clare, South Australia|Clare]] in the north.

[[File:Karte Adelaide MKL1888.png|thumb|left|upright|alt= Refer to caption|1888 map of Adelaide, showing the gradual development of its urban layout]]
[[George Gawler]] took over from Hindmarsh in late 1838 and, despite being under orders from the ''Select Committee on South Australia'' in Britain not to undertake any public works, promptly oversaw construction of a governor's house, the [[Adelaide Gaol]], police barracks, a hospital, a customs house and a wharf at [[Port Adelaide]]. Gawler was recalled and replaced by [[George Edward Grey]] in 1841. Grey slashed public expenditure against heavy opposition, although its impact was negligible at this point: silver was discovered in [[Glen Osmond]] that year, agriculture was well underway, and other mines sprung up all over the state, aiding Adelaide's commercial development. The city exported meat, wool, wine, fruit and wheat by the time Grey left in 1845, contrasting with a low point in 1842 when one-third of Adelaide houses were abandoned.

Trade links with the rest of the Australian states were established after the [[Murray River]] was successfully navigated in 1853 by [[Francis Cadell (explorer)|Francis Cadell]], an Adelaide resident. South Australia became a [[self-governing colony]] in 1856 with the ratification of a new constitution by the British parliament. [[Secret ballot]]s were introduced, and a [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] parliament was elected on 9 March 1857, by which time 109,917 people lived in the province.<ref>{{cite web |author=Blair, Robert D. |year=2001 |title=Events in South Australian History 1834–1857 |work=Pioneer Association of South Australia |url=http://www.users.on.net/~rdblair/events-sa.htm |access-date=10 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607150032/http://www.users.on.net/~rdblair/events-sa.htm |archive-date=7 June 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1860, the [[Thorndon Park Reserve|Thorndon Park reservoir]] was opened, providing an alternative water source to the now turbid River Torrens. [[Gas lighting|Gas street lighting]] was implemented in 1867, the [[University of Adelaide]] was founded in 1874, the [[South Australian Art Gallery]] opened in 1881 and the [[Happy Valley Reservoir]] opened in 1896. In the 1890s Australia was affected by a severe economic depression, ending a hectic era of land booms and tumultuous expansionism. Financial institutions in Melbourne and banks in Sydney closed. The national fertility rate fell and immigration was reduced to a trickle.<ref name="Guide">{{Cite web|url=https://clickacity.com/history-of-adelaide/|title=History of Adelaide, Australia. A short overview of the city history|last=Guide|first=Airport|date=6 January 2019|website=clickAcity|access-date=14 June 2019|archive-date=10 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810001633/https://clickacity.com/history-of-adelaide/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The value of South Australia's exports nearly halved. Drought and poor harvests from 1884 compounded the problems, with some families leaving for Western Australia.<ref name="Guide"/> Adelaide was not as badly hit as the larger gold-rush cities of Sydney and Melbourne, and silver and lead discoveries at [[Broken Hill]] provided some relief. Only one year of deficit was recorded, but the price paid was retrenchments and lean public spending. Wine and copper were the only industries not to suffer a downturn.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.australian-travel-directory.com/page21.html|title=Adelaide & Suburbs|website=australian-travel-directory.com|access-date=14 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928013231/http://australian-travel-directory.com/page21.html|archive-date=28 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>