LibGuides: Architecture in South Australia: Public buildings

State Library resources

Choose from the Library's selections below for images and brief histories.

Adelaide Arcade - 2003
Brief history and photograph (2003) of Adelaide Arcade.
Adelaide Arcade - 1886
View of Adelaide Arcade from Rundle Street.
Adelaide Arcade cupola
View of the cupola and coat of arms above the Rundle Mall entrance, photographed in 2003.
Adelaide Gaol
View of the Adelaide Gaol, ca. 1843 (artwork)
Adelaide Gaol
Photograph and brief history of Adelaide Gaol
Adelaide Oval
Architectural drawing of the proposed 1889 pavilions at Adelaide Oval.
Adelaide Town Hall
Architectural drawing of the proposed town hall, and brief history.
Album of Adelaide
Includes images of the interior and history of the Adelaide Town Hall.
Art Gallery of South Australia - 1926
Photograph, October 1926 and brief history of the Art Gallery, North Terrace.
Art Gallery of South Australia - 2006
Photograph (2006) and brief history of the Art Gallery of South Australia
Bank of South Australia
Brief history and image (c1870) of the Bank of South Australia, North Terrace, established by the South Australian Company in 1836.
Barr Smith Library
The Reading Room Barr Smith Library, University of Adelaide photographed in 1932.
Barr Smith Library
Photograph (1937) and brief history of the Barr Smith Library, University of Adelaide.
Barr Smith Library
Architectural drawing by Walter Hervey Bagot for the Library of the University of Adelaide.
Central Market, Adelaide
Photograph (1922) and brief history of the Fish market.
Central Market: Grote Street facade
Architectural drawing of the Central Market: Grote Street facade
Exhibition Building
Photograph (1886) and brief history.
Exhibition Building, South Elevation
Architectural drawing of the Exhibition Building, North Terrace (now demolished).
Exhibition Building: pediment
The architectural drawing of the pediment for the principal entrance of the Exhibition Building by J.W. Barnes.
Fish markets: extensions
This architectural drawing shows the front and side views of proposed extensions to the fish markets (Adelaide Central Market).
G & R Wills & Co. Ltd.
Photo (1878) and brief history of G & R Wills & Co. Ltd. building on North Terrace, Adelaide.
General Post Office, Adelaide
Photograph (1880) and brief history of the General Post Office.
General Post Office, Adelaide
1874 cartoon by Alfred Clint showing a variety of people in the main hall of the General Post Office in Adelaide.
Government House, South Australia
Brief history and photograph (c1866) of Government House, South Australia.
Government House, South Australia
From a sketch by FR Nixon, 1846 of Government House and brief history.
Government offices
Government Offices, south view on the corner of Flinders and King William Streets and facing Victoria Square. From a sketch by FR Nixon, 1846.
Government offices (Treasury building)
Brief history and photograph (c1875) of the government offices currently known as the Treasury building.
Lunatic Asylum, Hackney
Photograph (1875) and history of the Asylum.
Lunatic Asylum, Hackney
Photograph (1869) and brief history of the Lunatic Asylum.
Lunatic Asylum, Hackney
An 1860 sketch of the Lunatic Asylum, North Terrace, Hackney by James Show.
Moore's Department Store
Photograph (1916) of the main staircase of the former Moore's Department store, plus a history.
Moore's Department Store
Architectural drawing and brief history of Moore's Department Store (now the Sir Samuel Way Building).
Museum of Economic Botany
Brief history and image (1889) of the Museum of Economic Botany at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.
Parliament House, Adelaide
Architectural plan by architects Woods Bagot and a brief history of Parliament House, Adelaide.
Parliament House, Adelaide
Photograph (1939) and brief history of Parliament House, Adelaide.
Parliament House, Adelaide
Architectural drawing by CA Irwin of Parliament House, plus a brief history.
Parliament House, Adelaide stage 1
West wing of Parliament House, North Terrace photographed in 1928, prior to the completion of the East wing.
Roma Mitchell Commonwealth Law Court Building
Brief history and photograph (2006) of the Roma Mitchell Commonwealth Law Court Building
SA School Society
Architectural drawing for the building originally on the south side, west corner of Gawler Place,
Silver trowel
Silver trowel used by Alfred Allen Simpson, Mayor of Adelaide, when laying the foundation stone of additions to the Adelaide Town Hall buildings, April 1915.
Sir Samuel Way Building (formerly Moore's Department Store)
Architectural plan and brief history of the Sir Samuel Way Building (see also Moore's Department Store in the Business section)
Supreme Court, Angas Street, Adelaide (formerly Magistrates Court)
Painting (c1850) and brief history of Supreme Court, Angas Street (formerly the Magistrates Court)
Torrens Lake from the City Bridge
View looking south-west over Torrens Lake from the City Bridge. Includes a brief history of the Festival Centre and the Adelaide Convention Centre.
Town hall and Institute at Unley, South Australia
Architectural plan of the proposed town hall and Institute at Unley.
Victoria Square, Adelaide
A 1905 sketch by EE Stuckey of King William Street, looking north from the centre of the square down King William Street. Includes a brief history of the General Post Office and Adelaide Town Hall

Public buildings

As the prosperity of the colony increased, many public buildings became symbolic of colonial, civic pride and achievement.

The classical style was a model used frequently as it combined elements of dignity and grandeur with monumental and impressive scale. You can see how this style has been adopted in the designs of the Art Gallery, Elder Hall, the Barr Smith Library and the Museum of Economic Botany.

In newly rich and growing manufacturing centres the town hall functioned as a symbol of wealth and newly acquired 'civil pomp'. The architecture of utilitarian public places such as the Adelaide railway station also contain a great deal of symbolism which in this example could include the dominance of the city over rural localities and the supremacy of the railway in the transportation of people and goods.

Similarly the new Adelaide Airport terminal has been designed to symbolise South Australia as a gateway to Australia, with the inclusion of large windows taking in panoramic vistas of the hills.

Quite often public buildings are designed to showcase the best of local materials and craftsmanship. For example the South Australian Parliament House was built of materials from within South Australia to reflect the state's pride in its own resources.

Architecture in South Australia: Public buildings

State Library resources

Public buildings

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