Stories by author "The Adelaide City Explorer Team": 27
Stories
Mary MacKillop: A Continuing Presence
From 1872-1883, Mary lived at Kensington and established a school in that suburb. In 1883, Bishop Reynolds banished her from Adelaide and she moved to Sydney. She spent time in Victoria and New Zealand establishing the Order’s presence there, and…
Mary MacKillop: King William Street South Orphanage
The St Vincent de Paul's Orphanage for Catholic children was established at Walkerville in 1866. By 1868, issues of overcrowding saw the need for expansion. Accommodation was found at the southern end of King William Street. The Sisters of St Joseph…
Mary MacKillop: West Terrace Cemetery
Within West Terrace Cemetery are the graves of a number of prominent South Australians who were an important part of Mary’s time in Adelaide. Located in the Catholic section of the cemetery is Smyth Memorial Chapel. The octagonal-shaped chapel was…
Mary MacKillop: Russell Street School
A Catholic school known as St Romuald’s was established on Russell Street in 1876. Housed in what were originally the stables for a nearby soap and candle factory, this school was conducted by a lay teacher. In 1877, the Sisters of St Joseph took…
Mary MacKillop: West Terrace House of Providence
Father Woods and Mary established the first House of Providence in 1868. Located in a small rented cottage on the corner of West Terrace and Franklin Street, the House of Providence - also known as St Joseph's Providence - was the first charitable…
Mary MacKillop: The Archbishop's House
The 'Archbishop’s House', on the corner of West Terrace and Grote Street, is one of the earliest surviving Roman Catholic buildings in South Australia. Following his arrival in 1844, Adelaide's first bishop, Francis Murphy, organised the…
Mary MacKillop: Franklin Street Convent and School Wing
In November 1871, the Franklin Street Convent, Schoolroom and Chapel were transferred to the Dominican Sisters. By 1897, over 200 students were enrolled at the school, and plans began for a new wing to accommodate the growing enrolment numbers.…
Mary MacKillop: Franklin Street Convent, Schoolroom and Chapel
In 1869, Mary and the Sisters of St Joseph moved from Pelham Cottage on Grote Street to a small dwelling known as ‘Franklin Cottage’. This cottage was located on Franklin Street, a short distance from Gray Street. Within a few short years of…
Mary MacKillop: St Patrick's Church
For the first four years of European settlement in South Australia, there was no Catholic priest or permanent place of worship for the colony’s Catholic settlers. The first resident priest was Father William Benson, who arrived in 1841. Father…
Mary MacKillop: Adelaide's First Convent
Following her arrival in the city in June 1867, Mary and another Sister took up residence in Pelham Cottage. This was the home of Miss Ellen McMullen, one of the first women to join the Sisters of St Joseph. Although its exact location is unknown,…
Mary MacKillop: Assisting Those Most in Need
Under Father Woods' guidance, schools were established throughout the Colony. The work of the Sisters expanded to include caring for the city's aged, homeless and destitute. Mary and the Sisters of St Joseph regularly visited the residents of the…
Mary MacKillop: The City's First Josephite School
Mary MacKillop arrived in Adelaide in June 1867. She and the Sisters of St Joseph assumed responsibility for the city’s first Josephite school on Wakefield Street. Over the next ten years, three further Josephite schools were established in the city…
Alice in Adelaide's Wonderland
This playful sculpture depicts the heroine of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. Characters from both books, including Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Duchess and the Gryphon,…
The Apron
Apron by South Australian artist Karen Genoff is a tribute to the markets that were once such an important part of Adelaide’s East End. The installation was commissioned by the State Government and it was installed in 1997.
The sculpture’s focal…
Daubist mural no. 1
This mural is the result of four artists, 14 years and one controversial art movement.
It first came to life in 1984 through the work of artists Carol Ruff and Barbary O’Brien. The scene showed an old man and a child on a bicycle, expressing the…
Spheres: The Malls Balls
Along with the bronze pigs, Rundle Mall is defined by Bert Flugelman’s larger than life steel sculpture 'Spheres'. The Hindmarsh Building Society donated it in 1977 to the City of Adelaide to mark the society’s centenary. Originally dubbed 'On…
Reclining Connected Figures
This modern abstract work is by renowned British artist Henry Moore, one of the greatest sculptors of the 20th century. This is one of his few pieces in Australia.
Moore’s sculptures are often of abstract, organic and interconnected figures. Many…
'Untitled': A controversial piece
American artist Donald Judd’s installation Untitled is a clear example of the challenging nature of much contemporary art. A grey, discoloured mould of a triangle in reinforced concrete, it is stark, bold and minimalist. It was commissioned by the…
14 Pieces
14 Pieces is a collaboration between two artists, husband and wife Hossein and Angela Valamanesh. It was commissioned by the Adelaide City Council and stands where the former fountain honouring Sir John Lavington Bonython once was.
The work’s…
Statue of Dr John Dowie AM
The noted Adelaide artist and sculptor Dr. John Dowie AM is immortalised in this statue by John Woffinden.
Dowie’s sculptures are found throughout South Australia and the world, from Windsor Castle to the University of Papua New Guinea in Port…
Statue of Robert Burns
This statue of the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns is evidence of South Australia’s strong ties to Scotland.
As early as 1838, Scottish migrants in South Australia were meeting and in 1881 they founded the Caledonian Society of South…
Venus: A Victorian scandal
Venere di Canova, or Venus as she is known, was the first public artwork to be erected in the city. It is a direct copy of a work by the 18th-century Italian sculptor Antonio Canova. (The title Venere di Canova means “Canova’s Venus”).
The statue is…
A Day Out: the Rundle Mall pigs
The four charismatic and charming pigs that appear to roam Rundle Mall are a favourite with both children and adults. They provide their admirers with rides, hugs and even a place to sit. The pigs seem indifferent to their celebrity as they enjoy a…
Statue of Roy Rene
Roy Rene was a great Australian vaudeville performer and radio broadcaster. Born Henry van der Sluys in 1891, he grew up in Adelaide in a family of nine. His Jewish Dutch migrant father worked as a cigar maker on Hindley Street.
Rene won a singing…
City Sign Sculpture Garden
This is one of the most controversial artworks in the Adelaide Festival Centre precinct. A colourful, geometric and interactive installation, it adorns the plaza at the Festival Centre’s southern entrance. The space is commonly known as Hajek’s…
Pioneer Women's Memorial and Garden
This garden and its sculpture form a meaningful and peaceful art installation.
The Pioneer Women’s Memorial Trust was set up in 1935. It was given this space behind Government House for a site to honour South Australian women pioneers. The garden is…
"Talking our way home"
Talking our way home, by noted Adelaide artist Shaun Kirby, is an installation of five glass and steel boats on the River Torrens. The origami-like boats appear translucent and fragile. It suggests movement and transport, and the idea of a…