South Australia

{{Main|History of South Australia}}

File:Alexander Schramm - A scene in South Australia - Google Art Project.jpg

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 was cut off by rising sea levels.R.J. Lampert (1979): Aborigines. In Tyler, M.J., Twidale, C.R. & Ling, J.K. (Eds) Natural History of Kangaroo Island. Royal Society of South Australia Inc. {{ISBN|0-9596627-1-5}} 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).Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2020), Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond, [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/revivalistics-9780199812790 Oxford University Press]. {{ISBN|9780199812790}} / {{ISBN|9780199812776}}{{rp|189}}

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 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.{{Citation

| author1=Australian Geographical Society.

| author2=Australian National Publicity Association.

| author3=Australian National Travel Association.

| title=Walkabout

| date=1934

| publisher=Australian National Travel Association

| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-714111795

| access-date=7 January 2019

}}

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 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 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 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/sa1_doc_1834.pdf |title=Transcript of the South Australia Act, 1834 |publisher=Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House|access-date=27 December 2018}}

File:S. T. Gill - Sturt's Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, 10th August, 1844 - Google Art Project.jpg's expedition leaving Adelaide for central Australia, 1844]]

In contrast to the rest of Australia, terra nullius did not apply to the new province. The Letters Patent,{{Cite web | url=https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-38.html | title=Documenting Democracy}} which used the enabling provisions of the South Australia Act 1834 to fix 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 the indigenous inhabitants, it was ignored by the South Australian Company authorities and squatters.{{Cite book| last = Ngadjuri Walpa Juri Lands and Heritage Association | date = n.d. | title = Gnadjuri | publisher=SASOSE Council Inc | isbn = 978-0-646-42821-5 }} 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.

File:Nicolas Baudin 2.jpeg, who mapped the coastline of South Australia, along with Matthew Flinders]]

Survey was required before settlement of the province, and the Colonization Commissioners for South Australia appointed William Light as 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, 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 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 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.Sendziuk, P. (2012): No convicts here: reconsidering South Australia's foundation myth. In: Foster, R. & Sendziuk, P. (Eds.) Turning points: chapters in South Australian history. Wakefield Press. {{ISBN|978 1 74305 119 1}}

The plan for the province was that it would be an experiment in reform, addressing the problems perceived in British society. There 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 the community and enforce government regulations. Their principal role was to run the first temporary gaol, a two-room hut.{{Cite web|url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/adelaidegaol/free-settlement.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091024014707/http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/adelaidegaol/free-settlement.html|url-status=dead|title=History of Adelaide Gaol|archive-date=24 October 2009|access-date=19 November 2020}}

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.

{{Main|Geography of South Australia}}

File:Eastern South Australia Satellite Photo.jpg

The terrain consists largely of arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low mountain ranges. The most important (but not tallest) is the Mount Lofty-Flinders Ranges system, which extends north about {{convert|800|km|mi}} from Cape Jervis to the northern end of Lake Torrens. The highest point in the state is not in those ranges; Mount Woodroffe ({{convert|1435|m|ft|0}}) is in the Musgrave Ranges in the extreme northwest of the state.{{cite web |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/landforms/highmtns.htm#state |title=Highest Mountains |publisher=Geoscience Australia |access-date=28 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060421195512/http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/landforms/highmtns.htm#state |archive-date = 21 April 2006}}

The south-western portion of the state consists of the sparsely inhabited Nullarbor Plain, fronted by 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.

File:Vignoble barossa automne.jpg, northeast of Adelaide. South Australia's wine industry is the largest in Australia.{{cite web |title=South Australia |url=http://www.wineaustralia.com/australia/Default.aspx?tabid=176 |publisher=Wine Australia |access-date=24 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409203807/http://www.wineaustralia.com/Australia/Default.aspx?tabid=176 |archive-date=9 April 2011 |url-status=dead }}]]

File:South Australia Köppen.svg in South Australia]]

The principal industries and exports of South Australia are wheat, wine and wool.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNj-OKU4CFwC&q=South+Australia+are+wheat%2C+wine+and+wool.|title=Australian Agriculture: Its History and Challenges|last=Henzell|first=Ted|date=2007|publisher=Csiro Publishing|isbn=9780643993426|language=en}} 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, the Riverland and the Adelaide Hills. See South Australian wine.

{{Further|South Australian borders}}

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 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.Territorial evolution of Australia – 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 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.

File:Flinders ranges pastoral land.JPG|Arid land in the Flinders Ranges

File:Second Valley 2.JPG|The rugged coastline of Second Valley, located on the Fleurieu Peninsula

The southern part of the state has a Mediterranean climate, while the rest of the state has either an arid or semi-arid climate.{{cite web | title = Climate and Weather | work = Government of South Australia | publisher = Atlas South Australia | date = 28 April 2004 | url = http://www.atlas.sa.gov.au/go/resources/atlas-of-south-australia-1986/environment-resources/climate-and-weather | access-date = 6 December 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100315233707/http://www.atlas.sa.gov.au/go/resources/atlas-of-south-australia-1986/environment-resources/climate-and-weather | archive-date = 15 March 2010 | df = dmy-all }} South Australia's main temperature range is {{convert|29|C|F|0}} in January and {{convert|15|C|F|0|abbr=on}} in July.

The highest maximum temperature ever recorded was {{convert|50.7|C|F|1|abbr=on}} at Oodnadatta on 2 January 1960, which is the highest official temperature recorded in Australia. The lowest minimum temperature was {{convert|-8.2|C|F|1|abbr=on}} at Yongala on 20 July 1976.{{cite web |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/extreme/records/national.pdf |title=Rainfall and Temperature Records: National |publisher=Bureau of Meteorology |access-date=14 November 2009 }} The region's overall dry weather is owed to the Australian High on the Great Australian Bight.

{{Weather box

|width=auto

|location = South Australia

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 50.7

|Feb record high C = 48.2

|Mar record high C = 46.5

|Apr record high C = 42.1

|May record high C = 36.5

|Jun record high C = 34.0

|Jul record high C = 34.2

|Aug record high C = 39.4

|Sep record high C = 41.5

|Oct record high C = 45.4

|Nov record high C = 47.9

|Dec record high C = 49.9

|year record high C = 50.7

|Jan record low C = 0.2

|Feb record low C = 0.8

|Mar record low C = -2.2

|Apr record low C = -3.5

|May record low C = -6.6

|Jun record low C = -8.1

|Jul record low C = -8.2

|Aug record low C = -6.6

|Sep record low C = -4.5

|Oct record low C = -4.4

|Nov record low C = -2.4

|Dec record low C = -0.5

|year record low C = -8.2

|source 1 = Bureau of Meteorology{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/extremes/daily_extremes.cgi?period=%2Fcgi-bin%2Fclimate%2Fextremes%2Fdaily_extremes.cgi&climtab=tmax_high&area=tas&year=2013&mon=1&day=11|title=Official records for Australia in January|date=1 July 2017|work=Daily Extremes|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date=7 July 2017}}

|date=March 2012

}}

{{See also|Economy of Australia}}

File:Flindersmed.jpg. The health care sector is a major employer in South Australia's economy]]

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%).{{cite web|url=https://dbr.abs.gov.au/region.html?lyr=ste&rgn=4|title= Region summary: South Australia|access-date=10 October 2022|website=Australian Bureau of Statistics}} South Australia's economy relies on exports more than any other state in Australia.{{Cite news|url=https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Documents/australias-trade-by-state-and-territory-2013-14.pdf|title=Australia's Trade by State and Territory 2013–14|date=February 2015|work=Australia Unlimited|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106014726/http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Documents/australias-trade-by-state-and-territory-2013-14.pdf|archive-date=6 November 2015|url-status=dead}}

South Australia's credit rating 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.{{cite news|last1=Puddy|first1=Rebecca|title=South Australia loses AAA rating in credit rating downgrade|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/return-to-surplus-deferred-in-lean-south-australian-budget/story-e6frgczx-1226377225636|access-date=1 September 2015|newspaper=The Australian|date=31 May 2012}}

South Australia receives the least amount of federal funding for its local road network of all states on a per capita and a per kilometre basis.{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/efpa/localgovt/submissions/sub308.pdf |title=Inquiry into Local Government and Cost Shifting |access-date=11 June 2007 |publisher=Australian House of Representatives |year=2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710045501/http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/efpa/localgovt/submissions/sub308.pdf |archive-date=10 July 2007}}

File:Twilight Upon Wheat Fields (139677885).jpeg. Agriculture is a large industry for the state.]]

File:CSIRO ScienceImage 4438 Sunflower crop.jpg

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%).{{Cite web|title=Gross State Product|url=https://www.treasury.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/322966/GSP-GDP,-2019-20.pdf|url-status=dead|website=Treasury South Australia|access-date=28 October 2021|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818215419/https://www.treasury.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/322966/GSP-GDP,-2019-20.pdf}} South Australia came out of the COVID-19 recession better than the other Australian states, with the economy growing by 3.9% in 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-little-economies-that-could-sa-and-tasmania-lead-the-nation-20211119-p59afd.html|title=The little economies that could: SA and Tasmania lead the nation|last=Wright|first=Shane|date=19 November 2021|access-date=10 October 2022|website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}

Wheat, barley, oats, rye, peas, beans, chickpeas, lentils and canola are grown in South Australia.{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Dave |title="Crop and Pasture Report South Australia, 2021-22 Harvest" |url=https://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/406815/attachment-a-pirsa-crop-and-pasture-report-harvest-2021-22-jan.pdf |website=Government of South Australia, Department of Primary Industries and Regions |publisher=South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) |access-date=17 November 2022}}

Apples, pears, cherries and strawberries are grown in 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.{{cite web |title=Horticulture in South Australia |url=https://pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/340376/Horticulture_in_South_Australia.pdf |website=Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) |publisher=The Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) |access-date=15 January 2023}}

{{main|South Australian wine}}

South Australia produces more than half of all Australian wine, including almost 80% of Australia's premium wines.{{cite web |title=Grape and wine |url=https://www.pir.sa.gov.au/primary_industry/grape_and_wine |website=Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) |date=14 May 2022 |publisher=The Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) |access-date=16 January 2023}}

{{main|Energy in South Australia}}

South Australia has 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.{{cite web|title=Wind Energy – How it works|url=http://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/cec/technologies/wind.html|publisher=Clearenergycouncil|access-date=6 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110621044310/http://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/cec/technologies/wind.html|archive-date=21 June 2011}} 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 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.{{cite web |url=http://hornsdalepowerreserve.com.au/ |title=Hornsdale Power Reserve |access-date=4 December 2017}}

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aPGvMTxVcp2k&refer=australia | title = Australia, China Sign Agreements for Uranium Trade (Update5) | author1 = Gemma Daley | author2 = Tan Hwee Ann | publisher = Bloomberg | date = 3 April 2006 | access-date = 27 April 2012 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/ausgeonews/ausgeonews200512/uranium.jsp | publisher = AusGeo News | date = December 2005 | title = Why Australia has so much uranium | author1 = Ian Lambert | author2 = Subhash Jaireth | author3 = Aden McKay | author4 = Yanis Miezitis | access-date = 27 April 2012}} The Olympic Dam mine is also the world's fourth-largest remaining copper deposit, and the world's fifth largest gold deposit.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/bhpbilliton-olympicdam-idUSSYD52655220091021|title=FACTBOX-BHP Billiton's huge Olympic Dam mine|date=21 October 2009|work=Reuters|access-date=24 May 2019|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524154213/https://www.reuters.com/article/bhpbilliton-olympicdam/factbox-bhp-billitons-huge-olympic-dam-mine-idUSSYD52655220091021|archive-date=24 May 2019|url-status=live}} There was a proposal to vastly expand the operations of the mine, making it the largest open-cut mine in the world,[https://archive.today/20120910000234/http://www.skynews.com.au/finance/article.aspx?id=736400&vId= Sky News Australia – Finance Article] but in 2012 the BHP Billiton board decided not to go ahead with it at that time due to then lower commodity prices.[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-22/bhp-billiton-profit-falls-a-third/4215638 BHP shelves Olympic Dam as profit falls a third]. ABC News, 22 August 2012. Retrieved on 16 July 2013.

The remote town of Coober Pedy produces more opal than anywhere else in 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.gemsociety.org/article/opal-mining-coober-pedy/|title=Opal Mining in Coober Pedy: History and Methods|last=Shang|first=Phoebe|access-date=16 October 2022|website=IGS}}

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 a Learning City.{{cite news |first=Verity |last=Edwards |title=Education attracts record numbers |work=The Weekend Australian |date=3 May 2008}} 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.{{cite news |first=Amelia |last=Broadstock |title=International Uni student numbers a billion dollar boom for Adelaide |work=The City Messenger |date=6 May 2015}} Foreign institutions have been attracted to set up campuses to increase its attractiveness as an education hub.{{cite news |first=Lucy |last=Hodges |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/brave-new-territory-university-college-london-to-open-a-branch-in-australia-835571.html |title=Brave new territory: University College London to open a branch in Australia |work=The Independent (UK) |date=29 May 2008 |access-date=23 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317175924/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/brave-new-territory-university-college-london-to-open-a-branch-in-australia-835571.html |archive-date=17 March 2011 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://www.heinz.cmu.edu.au/about-heinz-australia/index.aspx |title=About Heinz Australia: Carnegie Mellon Heinz College |publisher=Carnegie Mellon University |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410081304/http://www.heinz.cmu.edu.au/about-heinz-australia/index.aspx |archive-date=10 April 2011 }} 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 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.{{cite news |first=Verity |last=Edwards |title=RI Australia plugs into world science |work=The Weekend Australian |date=3 May 2008}} Most of the research organisations are clustered in the Adelaide metropolitan area:

• The east end of North Terrace: SA Pathology;[http://www.imvs.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/SA+Pathology+Internet+Content/IMVS/About+Us/History/ History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116192755/http://www.imvs.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/SA+Pathology+Internet+Content/IMVS/About+Us/History/ |date=16 January 2011 }}, [http://www.imvs.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/SA+Pathology+Internet+Content/IMVS/About+Us/Our+Research/ Our research] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116192806/http://www.imvs.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/SA+Pathology+Internet+Content/IMVS/About+Us/Our+Research/ |date=16 January 2011 }}, Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science Hanson Institute;[http://www.hansoninstitute.sa.gov.au/ About us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725031302/http://www.hansoninstitute.sa.gov.au/ |date=25 July 2008 }}, [http://www.hansoninstitute.sa.gov.au/aboutus/history.php History] , Hanson Institute National Wine Centre.
• The west end of North Terrace: South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), located next to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
• The Waite Research Precinct: SARDI Head Office and Plant Research Centre; AWRI;[http://www.awri.com.au/ The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225174859/https://www.awri.com.au/ |date=25 December 2010 }}, awri.com.au ACPFG;[http://www.acpfg.com.au/ Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218142922/http://www.acpfg.com.au/ |date=18 December 2010 }}, acpfg.com.au CSIRO research laboratories.{{cite web | title=Waite Campus, Urrbrae | website=CSIRO | date=6 September 2019 | url=https://www.csiro.au/en/Locations/SA/Urrbrae | access-date=6 September 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906061825/https://www.csiro.au/en/Locations/SA/Urrbrae | archive-date=6 September 2019 | url-status=live }} SARDI also has establishments at Glenside{{cite web |url=http://www.sardi.sa.gov.au/about_us_2/facilities/glenside_laboratories |title=Livestock – Glenside Laboratories |access-date=6 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219151446/http://www.sardi.sa.gov.au/about_us_2/facilities/glenside_laboratories |archive-date=19 February 2011 |url-status=live }} and West Beach.{{cite web |url=http://www.sardi.sa.gov.au/about_us_2/facilities/sa_aquatic_sciences_centre/sa_aquatic_sciences_centre |title=SARDI |access-date=6 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219154303/http://www.sardi.sa.gov.au/about_us_2/facilities/sa_aquatic_sciences_centre/sa_aquatic_sciences_centre |archive-date=19 February 2011 |url-status=live }}
• Edinburgh, South Australia: DSTO; BAE Systems (Australia); Lockheed Martin Australia Electronic Systems.
• Technology Park (Mawson Lakes): BAE Systems; Optus; Raytheon; Topcon; Lockheed Martin Australia Electronic Systems.
• Research Park at Thebarton: businesses involved in materials engineering, biotechnology, environmental services, information technology, industrial design, laser/optics technology, health products, engineering services, radar systems, telecommunications and petroleum services.
• Science Park (adjacent to Flinders University): Playford Capital.
• The Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research{{cite web |title=A great of the SA science world |url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/a-great-of-the-sa-science-world/news-story/9338949922d55092230a3a77e2b749c9 |website=The Advertiser|location=Adelaide |date=24 May 2012 |access-date=9 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215223914/https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/a-great-of-the-sa-science-world/news-story/9338949922d55092230a3a77e2b749c9 |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=live }} in Woodville the research arm of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide
• The Joanna Briggs Institute, a global research collaboration for evidence-based healthcare with its headquarters in North Adelaide.

File:Bonython Hall.jpg| The Mitchell Building and Bonython Hall, University of Adelaide

File:Hawke Building, UniSA.jpg| The Hawke Building, part of the UniSA, City West Campus

File:Flinders from hill 3.jpg| Flinders University buildings from the campus hills

File:Torrens Building, Victoria Square.jpg| Torrens University

File:SAHMRI.jpg|The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)

{{Main|Government of South Australia}}

File:Parliament House, South Australia.jpg]]

South Australia is a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III as sovereign, and the Governor of South Australia as his

representative.{{cite AustLII|HCA|31|1907|litigants=R v Governor of South Australia; Ex parte Vardon |parallelcite=[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1907/31.pdf (1907) 4 CLR 1497] |courtname=auto}}. 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 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/about/1_1_1_legcouncil.shtm |title=Legislative Council 1843–1856 |access-date=28 May 2006 |publisher=Parliament of South Australia |year=2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060825143657/http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/about/1_1_1_legcouncil.shtm |archive-date=25 August 2006 }} It consisted of three representatives of the British Government and four colonists appointed by the governor. The governor retained total executive power.

In 1851, 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 the governor.

File:Old Parliament House Adelaide 1872.jpg

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.{{cite web|author=Change name |url=http://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/australian_electoral_history/righttovote.htm |title=The Right to Vote in Australia |publisher=Australian Electoral Commission |date=28 January 2011 |access-date=17 July 2016}} 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 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 the first in the world to allow women to stand for election.{{cite web |url=https://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/education/teachers/Documents/Women's%20Petition%20Photograph.pdf |title=Women's Suffrage Petition 1894: parliament.sa.gov.au |access-date=17 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110329160732/http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/education/teachers/Documents/Women%27s%20Petition%20Photograph.pdf |archive-date=29 March 2011 |url-status=dead }} 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, 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.{{cite book|last=Dunstan |first=Don |year=1981 |title=Felicia: The political memoirs of Don Dunstan |publisher=Griffin Press Limited |pages=214–215 |isbn=0-333-33815-4}}

Since the following 1975 South Australian state election, no one party has had control of the state's upper house with the balance of power controlled by a variety of minor parties and independents.

{{Further|Local government areas of South Australia}}

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).{{cite web|url=https://www.lga.sa.gov.au/sa-councils/about-local-government/local-government-in-sa|title=Local government in SA|access-date=6 October 2022|website=Local Government Association of South Australia|date=6 February 2020 }} South Australia contains 68 councils and 6 Aboriginal and outback communities.{{cite web|url=https://www.lga.sa.gov.au/sa-councils/councils-listing|title=SA councils list & map|access-date=6 October 2022|website=Local Government Association of South Australia|date=15 August 2022 }} Local councils, elected on 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", 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.lga.sa.gov.au/sa-councils/sa-council-services/council-rates|title=Council rates|access-date=6 October 2022|website=Local Government Association of South Australia|date=11 July 2022 }}

{{See also|Demographics of Australia|List of places in South Australia by population}}

File:Adelaide skyline, December 2022.jpg is the largest metropolitan area in the state]]

File:ABS-3101.0-AustralianDemographicStatistics-EstimatedResidentPopulationStatesTerritories-EstimatedResidentPopulation-Persons-SouthAustralia-A2060846R.svg

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.{{cite web|title=3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2016–17: Main Features|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3218.0Main+Features12016-17|website=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=24 April 2018|access-date=13 October 2018}} Estimated resident population, 30 June 2017. Other significant population centres include Mount Gambier (29,505),{{cite web|title=3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2016–17: Population Estimates by Significant Urban Area, 2007 to 2017|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3218.02016-17|website=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=24 April 2018|access-date=12 October 2018}} Estimated resident population, 30 June 2017. 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 the 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:{{refn|group="N"|As a percentage of 1,227,355 persons who nominated their ancestry at the 2016 census.}}{{Cite web|url=https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/communityprofile/4GADE?opendocument|title=2016 Census Community Profiles: Greater Adelaide|website=quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au|access-date=19 November 2020|archive-date=22 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622062053/https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/communityprofile/4GADE%3Fopendocument|url-status=dead}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=13em|

• English (40.5%)
• Australian (35.5%){{refn|group="N"|The Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry are part of the Anglo-Celtic group.{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/49f609c83cf34d69ca2569de0025c182!OpenDocument|title=Feature Article – Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Australia (Feature Article)|first=c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of|last=Statistics|website=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=January 1995}}}}
• Scottish (8.9%)
• Irish (8.5%)
• German (8.2%)
• Italian (6.1%)
• Chinese (3.3%)
• Greek (2.4%)
• Indian (2.1%)
• Indigenous (2%){{refn|group="N"|name=censusquirk|Of any ancestry. Includes those identifying as Aboriginal Australians or Torres Strait Islanders. Indigenous identification is separate to the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.}}
• Dutch (1.7%)
• Vietnamese (1.3%)
• Polish (1.2%)
• Filipino (1%)

}}

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.{{refn|group="N"|name=censusquirk}}

At 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 was the first Australian colony not to have an official state religion,{{cite web|url=https://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1452|title=Religion : Beginnings|access-date=14 October 2022|website=SA Memory|date=23 May 2006 }} 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 the German Lutheran church to this day.{{cite web|url=https://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1455|title=Religion : Diversity|access-date=14 October 2022|website=SA Memory|date=7 December 2005 }} South Australia was the location of the first Muslim mosque in Australia.

Most of the state's original colonists were Christian, but of many denominations, most with their own meeting place in the city square. Adelaide has been known as the "City of Churches" since at least 1868.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158931161 |title=The Week's News |newspaper=Adelaide Observer |volume=XXVI |issue=1389 |location=South Australia |date=16 May 1868 |access-date=12 April 2023 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}} Earlier instances may be found without capital "C"s. Some of the oldest remaining buildings in the city are churches.{{cite web|url=https://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1454|title=Religion : City of churches|access-date=14 October 2022|website=SA Memory|date=7 December 2005 }}

{{See also|Education in South Australia}}

{{See also|List of schools in South Australia}}

On 1 January 2009, the school leaving age was raised to 17 (having previously been 15 and then 16).{{Cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19215505-1246,00.html |access-date=28 May 2006 |publisher=News Corp |work=The Advertiser |date=22 May 2006 |title=School leaving age to be raised |first=Michael |last=Owen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914172408/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C10117%2C19215505-1246%2C00.html |archive-date=14 September 2007 |url-status=dead }} Education is compulsory for all children until age 17, unless they are working or undergoing other training. The majority of students stay on to complete their South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). School education is the responsibility of the South Australian government, but the public and private education systems are funded jointly by it and the Commonwealth Government.

The South Australian Government provides, to schools on a per student basis, 89% of the total Government funding while the Commonwealth contributes 11%. Since the early 1970s, it has been an ongoing controversy{{cite web |url=http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Debates/ReidPaper.html |title = The Redefinition of Public Education |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215174248/http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Debates/ReidPaper.html |archive-date = 15 February 2008 |access-date =12 July 2010}} that 68% of Commonwealth funding (increasing to 75% by 2008) goes to private schools that are attended by 32% of the states students.{{cite web |url=http://cms.curriculum.edu.au/anr2008/ch2_student.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016092136/http://cms.curriculum.edu.au/anr2008/ch2_student.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 October 2013 |work=Ministerial Council National Report on Schooling in Australia |title=Chapter 2: Resourcing Australia's schools }} Private schools often counter this by saying that they receive less State Government funding than public schools, and in 2004 the main private school funding came from the Australian government, not the state government.{{cite web |url=http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=2119 |title=Government funding should encourage private schools not penalise them |author=Bill Daniels |date=12 April 2004 |access-date=16 February 2010}}

On 14 June 2013, South Australia became the third Australian state to sign up to the Australian Federal Government's Gonski Reform Program. This will see funding for primary and secondary education to South Australia increased by $1.1 billion before 2019.{{cite web|title=South Australia signs up to Federal Government's Gonski education reforms|website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-14/sa-signs-up-to-gonski-education-reforms/4753742|date=14 June 2013}}

The academic year in South Australia generally runs from the end of January until mid-December for primary and secondary schools. The SA schools operate on a four-term basis. Schools are closed for the South Australia public holidays.{{Cite web |title=SA School Holidays, Public Holidays & School Terms 2022 - 2023 |url=https://schoolholidays.com.au/school-holiday-dates-in-sa |access-date=12 March 2022 |website=School Holidays |language=en}}

File:Adelaideunientrance.jpg]]

There are three public and four private universities in South Australia. The three public universities are the University of Adelaide (established 1874, third oldest in Australia), Flinders University (est. 1966) and the University of South Australia (est. 1991). The four private universities are Torrens University Australia (est. 2013), Carnegie Mellon University - Australia (est. 2006), University College London's School of Energy and Resources (Australia), and Cranfield University. All six have their main campus in the Adelaide metropolitan area: Adelaide and UniSA on North Terrace in the city; CMU, UCL and Cranfield are co-located on Victoria Square in the city, and Flinders at Bedford Park.

The University of Adelaide is part of the Group of Eight, a company of Australia's eight leading research universities.{{cite web|url=https://insiderguides.com.au/universities-in-adelaide/|title=A Guide to Universities in Adelaide|last=Craddock|first=Alex|date=30 September 2019|access-date=14 October 2022|website=Insider Guides}} As of 2022, it is ranked by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings as one of the top 100 universities in the world.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-12/times-higher-education-world-university-rankings-list-australian/101529166|title=What's the best university in the world? What's the best Australian uni? Here's what the World University Rankings list says|date=12 October 2022|access-date=14 October 2022|website=ABC News}} It was the first university in Australia to admit women to academic courses, doing so in 1881. In 2018, the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia announced plans to merge, but these plans did not at that time come to fruition due in part to disagreements over what to name the new university and which of the university's vice-chancellors would become the vice-chancellor of the amalgamated university. The two institutions have since agreed merger terms. {{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-21/documents-shed-light-on-university-of-adelaide-sa-failed-merger/12960276|title=University of Adelaide, UniSA merger proposal failed after uncertainty over name and leadership|last=Siebert|first=Bension|website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=21 January 2021|access-date=14 October 2022}}

{{main|TAFE South Australia}}

Tertiary vocational education is provided by a range of Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) which are regulated at Commonwealth level. The range of RTOs delivering education include public, private and 'enterprise' providers i.e. employing organisations who run an RTO for their own employees or members.

The largest public provider of vocational education is TAFE South Australia which is made up of colleges throughout the state, many of these in rural areas, providing tertiary education to as many people as possible. In South Australia, TAFE is funded by the state government and run by the South Australian Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology (DFEEST). Each TAFE SA campus provides a range of courses with its own specialisation.

{{Main|Transport in South Australia}}

{{More citations needed section|date=October 2022}}

File:SouthAustraliaRoads.png

After settlement, the major form of transport in South Australia was ocean transport. Limited land transport was provided by horses and bullocks. In the mid 19th century, the state began to develop a widespread rail network, although a coastal shipping network continued until the post war period.

Roads began to improve with the introduction of motor transport. By the late 19th century, road transport dominated internal transport in South Australia.

South Australia has four interstate rail connections, to Perth via the Nullarbor Plain, to Darwin through the centre of the continent, to New South Wales through Broken Hill, and to Melbourne–which is the closest capital city to Adelaide.

Rail transport was important for many mines in the north of the state.

The capital Adelaide has a commuter rail network made of electric and diesel electric powered multiple units, with 7 lines between them.

File:Nullarbor warning signs, 2012.jpg west of the Nullarbor, South Australia]]

South Australia has extensive road networks linking towns and other states. Roads are also the most common form of transport within the major metropolitan areas with car transport predominating. Public transport in Adelaide is mostly provided by buses and trams with regular services throughout the day.

Adelaide Airport provides regular flights to other capitals, major South Australian towns and many international locations. The airport also has daily flights to several Asian hub airports. Adelaide Metro{{Cite web|url=https://adelaidemetro.com.au/timetables/buses|title=Adelaide Metro|date=12 February 2020|publisher=Service SA|access-date=19 November 2020|work=adelaidemetro.com.au}} buses J1 and J1X connect to the city (approx. 30 minutes travel time), as well as other services to other parts of Adelaide. Standard fares apply and tickets may be purchased from a ticket machine at the airport bus stop. Maximum charge (September 2016) for Metroticket is $5.30; off-peak and seniors discounts may apply.

File:Waikerie ferry, Riverland 1.JPG]]

The River Murray was formerly an important trade route for South Australia, with paddle steamers linking inland areas and the ocean at Goolwa.

South Australia has a container port at Port Adelaide. There are also numerous important ports along the coast for minerals and grains.

The passenger terminal at Port Adelaide intermittently plays host to an array of cruise liners.

Kangaroo Island is dependent on the Sea Link ferry service between Cape Jervis and Penneshaw.

{{see also|Adelaide#Cultural life|Department of the Premier and Cabinet (South Australia)#Arts and culture|List of festivals in Australia#South Australia}}

South Australia has been known as "the Festival State" for many years, for its abundance of arts and gastronomic festivals.{{cite web|publisher=The Adelaide Review|url=https://www.adelaidereview.com.au/features/is-south-australia-still-festival-state-festival-flux-flow/|title=Is South Australia still the Festival State?|first=Ilona|last=Wallace|date=31 March 2015|access-date=4 September 2019}} While much of the arts scene is concentrated in Adelaide, the state government has supported regional arts actively since the 1990s. One of the manifestations of this was the creation of Country Arts SA, created in 1992.{{cite web|url=https://www.michellelensink.com/laidlaw_hon_diana|website=Hon. Michelle Lensink MLC|title=Laidlaw, Hon. Diana|date=26 November 2003|first=Michelle|last=Lensink|access-date=4 September 2019|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807102548/https://www.michellelensink.com/laidlaw_hon_diana|url-status=dead}}

Diana Laidlaw did much to further the arts in South Australia during her term as Arts Minister from 1993 to 2002, and after Mike Rann assumed government in 2002, he created a strategic plan in 2004 (updated 2007) which included furthering and promoting the arts in South Australia under the topic heading "Objective 4:

Fostering Creativity and Innovation".{{cite document|title=South Australia'S Strategic Plan 2007|publisher=Government of South Australia|date=2007}}{{cite web|url=https://history.sa.gov.au/blog/finding-the-next-wave-innovation-and-its-discontent/|title= Finding the Next Wave: Innovation and its Discontents|series= University of Adelaide Cultural Oration 2017|first=Greg |last=Mackie|author-link=Greg Mackie|date=13 July 2017|access-date=4 September 2019}}

In September 2019, with the arts portfolio now subsumed within the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC) after the election of Steven Marshall as Premier, and the 2004 strategic plan having been deleted from the website in 2018,{{cite news|publisher=The Advertiser|website=AdelaideNow|url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/expremier-mike-ranns-vision-for-south-australia-purged-after-14-years-by-new-ruling-liberals/news-story/7426eeab1f56078a971d5a823b411971|title=Ex-premier Mike Rann's vision for South Australia purged after 14 years by new ruling Liberals|date=9 June 2018|first=Matt|last=Smith|access-date=4 September 2019}} the "Arts and Culture Plan, South Australia 2019–2024" was created by the department.{{cite web|url=https://www.dpc.sa.gov.au/responsibilities/arts-and-culture/arts-plan|title=Arts and Culture Plan South Australia 2019–2024|access-date=4 September 2019|archive-date=2 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902215804/https://www.dpc.sa.gov.au/responsibilities/arts-and-culture/arts-plan|url-status=dead}} Marshall said when launching the plan: “The arts sector in South Australia is already very strong but it's been operating without a plan for 20 years”.{{cite news|publisher=InDaily|url=https://indaily.com.au/arts-and-culture/2019/09/02/marshall-considering-concert-hall-as-part-of-new-arts-plan/|title=Marshall "considering" concert hall as part of new arts plan|date=2 September 2019|first=Stephanie|last=Richards|access-date=4 September 2019}} However the plan does not signal any new government support, even after the government's {{AUD|31.9 million}} cuts to arts funding when Arts South Australia was absorbed into DPC in 2018. Specific proposals within the plan include an “Adelaide in 100 Objects” walking tour, a new shared ticketing system for small to medium arts bodies, a five-year-plan to revitalise regional art centres, creation of an arts-focussed high school, and a new venue for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.{{cite journal|url=https://www.adelaidereview.com.au/arts/south-australia-arts-plan-review/|title=New Arts Plan and review suggest arts sector learns to live with less government support|journal=The Adelaide Review|date=2 September 2019|first=Walter |last=Marsh|access-date=7 September 2019}}

South Australia has a public library system, and state library. Some public libraries in South Australia in rural areas are joint school and community libraries.

{{cite web |last1=KPPM Organisational Strategists |first1=KPPM |date=2012 |title=Review of School Community Libraries Future Models of Service Delivery |url=http://www.libraries.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/School%20Community%20Libraries%20Review%202012.pdf |access-date=11 February 2018 |publisher=State Library of South Australia |archive-date=23 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323113113/http://www.libraries.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/School%20Community%20Libraries%20Review%202012.pdf |url-status=dead }}

{{Main|Sport in South Australia}}

File:McLeodMarkcrop.jpg, a local derby between South Australia's two AFL teams {{AFL Ade}} and {{AFL PA}}]]

Australian rules football is the most popular spectator sport in South Australia. In 2006, South Australians had the highest attendance rate for the sport of any state, with 31% of South Australians attending a match in the previous twelve months.{{cite web|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4174.0Main+Features12005-06?OpenDocument=|title=4174.0 - Sports Attendance, Australia, 2005-06|date=25 January 2007|access-date=1 October 2022|website=Australian Bureau of Statistics}} South Australia fields two teams in the Australian Football League (AFL): the Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club. The two teams have an intense rivalry called the Showdown.{{cite web|url=https://indaily.com.au/sport/football/2021/08/06/culture-war-getting-the-lowdown-on-showdown/|title=Culture war: getting the lowdown on Showdown|last=Rucci|first=Michelangelo|date=6 August 2021|access-date=1 October 2022|website=InDaily}} The traditional home of Australian rules football in South Australia was Football Park in the western suburb of West Lakes, which was the home ground of both AFL teams until 2013. Since 2014, both teams have used Adelaide Oval, near the city centre, as their home ground.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-29/adelaide-oval-success-boosts-afl-crowd-figures/5777552|title=Adelaide Oval success boosts AFL crowd figures|date=29 September 2014|access-date=1 October 2022|website=ABC.net.au}}

The South Australian National Football League (SANFL), which was the premier league in the state before the advent of the Australian Football League, is a popular local league comprising ten teams: Sturt, Port Adelaide, Adelaide, West Adelaide, South Adelaide, North Adelaide, Norwood, Woodville/West Torrens, Glenelg and Central District.

The Adelaide Footy League comprises 68 member clubs playing over 110 matches per week across ten senior divisions and three junior divisions. It is one of Australia's largest and strongest Australian rules football associations.{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.saafl.asn.au/ |title=South Australian Amateur Football League |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090702020422/http://www.saafl.asn.au/ |archive-date=2 July 2009 |access-date=5 July 2009}}

Cricket has a long history in South Australia, with the first matches being played in 1839. Regular club matches were organised following the establishment of the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) in 1871.{{cite web |last1=Whimpress |first1=Bernard |title=Cricket |url=https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/subjects/cricket |website=SA History Hub |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=en |date=14 February 2022}} Presently, SACA governs the South Australian Premier Cricket competition in addition to all forms of domestic cricket in the state. Cricket is the most popular summer sport in South Australia, with 39,000 club players at both junior and senior levels in 2023.{{cite web |title=ANNUAL REPORT 2022/23 |url=https://resources.saca.pulselive.com/saca/document/2023/08/31/6aa66a65-9329-4b41-8085-1779eaac6f71/SACA-Annual-Report-2022_23-A4-102513-Web.pdf |website=SACA |access-date=22 February 2024 |date=31 August 2023}}

At the professional level, the South Australia cricket team represent the state in men's competitions including the Sheffield Shield and One-Day Cup. The South Australia women's cricket team represent the state in the Women's National Cricket League. South Australia also hosts the Adelaide Strikers in the Twenty20 Big Bash League and their women's team in the Women's Big Bash League. Matches are held at Adelaide Oval and Karen Rolton Oval in the Adelaide Parklands.

International cricket is also held in South Australia, with matches being played at Adelaide Oval. The venue was used to host matches in both the men's 1992 Cricket World Cup and 2015 Cricket World Cup. Adelaide Oval also saw use during the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Outside of Adelaide, international cricket has also been played in Berri, South Australia with Berri Oval hosting a singular match during the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

Adelaide United represents South Australia in soccer in the men's A-League and women's W-League. The club's home ground is Hindmarsh Stadium (Coopers Stadium), but previously played occasional games at Adelaide Oval.

The club was founded in 2003 and are the 2015–16 season champions of the A-League. The club was also premier in the inaugural 2005–06 A-League season, finishing 7 points clear of the rest of the competition, before finishing 3rd in the finals. Adelaide United was also a Grand Finalist in the 2006–07 and 2008–09 seasons. Adelaide is the only A-League club to have progressed past the group stages of the Asian Champions League on more than one occasion.{{cite web |url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/adelaideunited/news-display/Reds-finalise-squad-for-ACL-Knockout-Stage/48711 |title=Reds finalise squad for ACL Knockout Stage – Adelaide United FC 2013 |website=Football Australia |access-date=16 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203151635/http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/adelaideunited/news-display/Reds-finalise-squad-for-ACL-Knockout-Stage/48711 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |date=24 August 2012}}

Adelaide City remains South Australia's most successful club, having won three National Soccer League titles and three NSL Cups. City was the first side from South Australia to ever win a continental title when it claimed the 1987 Oceania Club Championship and it has also won a record 17 South Australian championships and 17 Federation Cups.

West Adelaide became the first South Australian club to be crowned Australian champion when it won the 1978 National Soccer League title. Like City, it now competes in the National Premier Leagues South Australia and the two clubs contest the Adelaide derby.

Basketball also has a big following in South Australia, with the Adelaide 36ers playing in the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. The 36ers have won four championships in the last 20 years in the National Basketball League. The Adelaide Entertainment Centre, located in Hindmarsh, is the home of basketball in the state.

Mount Gambier also has a national basketball team – the Mount Gambier Pioneers. The Pioneers play at the Icehouse (Bern Bruning Basketball Stadium), which seats over 1,000 people and is also home to the Mount Gambier Basketball Association. The Pioneers won the South Conference in 2003 and the Final in 2003; this team was rated second in the top five teams to have ever played in the league. In 2012, the club entered its 25th season, with a roster of 10 senior players (two imports) and three development squad players.

Australia's premier motorsport series, the Supercars Championship, has visited South Australia each year since 1999. South Australia's Supercars event, the Adelaide 500, is staged on the Adelaide Street Circuit, a temporary track laid out through the streets and parklands to the east of the Adelaide city centre. Attendance for the 2022 event totalled 258,200.{{cite web |date=3 March 2023 |title=Adelaide 500 drives all-time record |url=https://www.premier.sa.gov.au/media-releases/news-items/adelaide-500-drives-all-time-record |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103025148/https://www.premier.sa.gov.au/media-releases/news-items/adelaide-500-drives-all-time-record |archive-date=3 November 2023 |access-date=13 January 2024 |website=Premier of South Australia}} An earlier version of the Adelaide Street Circuit played host to the Australian Grand Prix, a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, each year from 1985 to 1995.

Mallala Motor Sport Park, a permanent circuit located near the town of Mallala, 58 km north of Adelaide, caters for both state and national level motor sport throughout the year.

The Bend Motorsport Park, is another permanent circuit, located just outside of Tailem Bend.{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=https://www.murrayvalleystandard.com.au/story/3777170/park-named-the-bend/ |title=The Bend Motorsport Park: Tailem Bend raceway, former SA Motorsport Park and Mitsibushi test track, has new official name |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629131149/https://www.murrayvalleystandard.com.au/story/3777170/park-named-the-bend/ |archive-date=29 June 2018 |website=Murray Valley Standard |date=8 March 2016 |first=Peri |last=Strathearn}}

{{main|Rugby league in South Australia}}

The state rugby league federation is the South Australian Rugby League.{{cite web|url=http://sarl.leaguenet.com.au/|title=LeagueNet - South Australian Rugby League|access-date=3 December 2023|archive-date=9 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909060911/http://sarl.leaguenet.com.au/|url-status=dead}} The game traces its roots in the state back to the 1940s, when the Port Adelaide rugby union team split in four, and defected to rugby league.

South Australia's only professional rugby league team, the Adelaide Rams, had a short but eventful existence. After debuting in the Super League competition in 1997, in 1998 they were selected to join the 20-team National Rugby League; however they were to be axed from the 1999 season as part of a rationalisation of teams (from 20 to 14) in the competition.

At present however, the South Australian Rugby League still operates a local semi-professional competition consisting of both junior and adult teams from across Adelaide.

Adelaide Oval hosted State of Origin series games in both 2020 and 2023, with the latter drawing a state record rugby league attendance of 48,613.

File:Be active tour.jpg at Angaston. South Australia has hosted the event since 1999.]]

Sixty-three percent of South Australian children took part in organised sports in 2002–2003."[http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4901.0Apr%202003?OpenDocument Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities]", April 2003, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 14 January 2013.

The ATP Adelaide was a tennis tournament held from 1972 to 2008 that then moved to Brisbane. Since 2020, South Australia has hosted the Adelaide International tennis tournament. Also, the Royal Adelaide Golf Club has hosted nine editions of the Australian Open, with the most recent being in 1998.

The state has hosted the Tour Down Under cycle race since 1999.{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-11/what-sa-gained-by-losing-the-grand-prix/6288836 |title=Victoria may gloat about poaching the Grand Prix, but SA gained a lot by losing it |last=Keane |first=Daniel |date=12 March 2015 |website=ABC News |access-date=21 January 2017}}

File:SouthAustraliaRoads.png]]

{{main|Crime in South Australia}}Crime in South Australia is managed by the South Australia Police (SAPOL), various state and federal courts in the criminal justice system and the state Department for Correctional Services, which administers the prisons and remand centre.

Crime statistics for all categories of offence in the state are provided on the SAPOL website, in the form of rolling 12-month totals.{{Cite web |title=Crime statistics|url=https://www.police.sa.gov.au/about-us/crime-statistics-map|access-date=20 December 2020|website=South Australia Police|language=en-au}} Crime statistics from the 2017–18 national ABS Crime Victimisation Survey show that between the years 2008–09 and 2017–18, the rate of victimisation in South Australia declined for assault and most household crime types.{{Cite web|date=13 February 2019|title=Main Features - South Australia|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4530.0~2017-18~Main%20Features~South%20Australia~27|access-date=20 December 2020|website=Australian Bureau of Statistics|language=en}}

In 2013, Adelaide was ranked the safest capital city in Australia.{{Cite web|title=Adelaide's nation's safest city, according to Suncorp study - Adelaide Now|url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/adelaides-nations-safest-city-according-to-suncorp-survey/story-e6frea83-1226554685466|access-date=20 December 2020|archive-date=10 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710232616/http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/adelaides-nations-safest-city-according-to-suncorp-survey/story-e6frea83-1226554685466|url-status=dead}}

{{Portal bar|South Australia|Australia|Oceania|Geography}}

• Australia
• Outline of Australia
• Index of Australia-related articles
• Adelaide
• Country Fire Service
• Proclamation Day: 28 December 1836
• South Australian Ambulance Service
• South Australian English
• Symbols of South Australia

• Farmers Union Iced Coffee
• Pie floater
• South Australian food and drink
• South Australian wine

• List of amphibians of South Australia
• List of cities and towns in South Australia
• List of festivals in Australia#South Australia
• List of films shot in Adelaide
• List of highways in South Australia
• List of people from Adelaide
• Local Government Areas of South Australia
• List of public art in South Australia
• Tourist attractions in South Australia

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{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book| last = Bull| first = John Wrathall| title = Early Experiences of Life in South Australia and an Extended Colonial History| publisher = E.S. Wigg & son, pub.| place = Adelaide| year = 1884| url = https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5Qacgkl5I-4oeqdPld0nPuKy5RAsxTWH_pg6cCDSx3vx54rdMZVzlJeCAFfCD0KudmuAoldpcNU6A1OnkBjhKHQRM2Lq2iNV0VzHxOT9Mw0gvP29Fyy8L0bXqKLnzesF7ZpQjffpoItnD1lBjvTGRj2F4ohc63mcii4hiLeHhxrGk6Ern8nIUaqxaXKEq5KdrKy5bsLZWVCO8iWQk-WNW2ORioEbnqFiZeEPcjE1LYWedXz5u9QWTPryjgOgS3v1pTzmfWD8qngUG4CtdAeqEHA7zriK_-X5e67ZBmCAlXWonccI_Alg}}
• {{cite book| last = Stow| first = Jefferson Pickman| title = South Australia: Its History, Productions, and Natural Resources| publisher = E. Spiller, government printer| place = Adelaide| year = 1884| url = https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QadS4ZFNc_9F7N771hvsXlcgYHRvZc5H4Bf6hiR0l5CrrBUtGQfnHdUQVYF5jk7gkFtKyhlRcwyznwHE3JnmyGW08bqhaqweEl5e3BpxDZ2ZXgHhgFRvByDyIvkacL_G2tgEHhX2bwgpP9eNgPWtjKZyvyHDIRp_BIXWiV-qQ-p3CJEoJ02cqn4wrmIaRkTFGWxAWUKS3Q9Vnc9vhtEXVOIFlHFabT8gpGnyXQBnJhlHBwujbQMawM3LWZcijZd_OSxyHTLZdft5Ro42q6SrazIFGoQVBeE2oJmvH5zlVflX0KoMT5w}}
• {{cite book| last = Finniss| first = B.T.| title = The Constitutional History of South Australia During Twenty-One Years from the Foundation of the Settlement in 1836 to the Inauguration of Responsible Government in 1857| publisher = W.C. Rigby| place = Adelaide| year = 1886| url = http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AUColLawMon/1886/1.pdf}}
• {{cite book| last = Hodder| first = Edwin| title = The history of South Australia from its foundation to the year of its jubilee: Vol I| publisher = S. Low, Marston & Company, Limited| place = London| year = 1893| url = https://archive.org/download/historysouthaus01hoddgoog/historysouthaus01hoddgoog.pdf}}
• {{cite book| last = Hodder| first = Edwin| title = The history of South Australia from its foundation to the year of its jubilee: Vol II| publisher = S. Low, Marston & Company, Limited| place = London| year = 1893| url = https://archive.org/download/historysouthaus02hoddgoog/historysouthaus02hoddgoog.pdf}}
• {{cite book| last = Pascoe| first = J.J.| title = History of Adelaide and vicinity : with a general sketch of the province of South Australia and biographies of representative men| publisher = Hussey & Gillingham| place = Adelaide| year = 1901| isbn = 9780858720329| url = https://archive.org/details/historyofadelaid00pascuoft}}
• {{cite book| last = Blacket| first = John| title = History of South Australia: a romantic and successful experiment in colonization| publisher = Hussey & Gillingham Limited| place = Adelaide| year = 1911| url = https://archive.org/download/historyofsouthau00blaciala/historyofsouthau00blaciala.pdf}}
• Pike, Douglas. (1967) Paradise of Dissent: South Australia 1829-1857 (Melbourne UP, 2nd edition)
• {{cite book |url=https://historicalsocietysa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/A-GLOSSARY-OF-LOCAL-GOVERNMENT-AREAS-IN-SA-1840-1985.pdf |title=A Glossery of Local Government Areas in South Australia, 1840-1985 |first1=E. Jane |last1=Robbins |first2=John R. |last2=Robbins |date=1987 |publisher=Historical Society of South Australia |access-date=2 March 2021 }}
• Dorothy Jauncey, Bardi Grubs and Frog Cakes – South Australian Words, Oxford University Press (2004) {{ISBN|0-19-551770-9}}
• {{cite news| last = Jaensch| first = Dean| title = Community access to the electoral processes in South Australia since 1850| year = 2002| publisher = South Australian State Electoral Office| url = https://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/component/edocman/community-access-to-the-electoral-processes-in-south-australia-since-1850/download}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• {{cite book| last1 = Sendziuk| first1 = Paul| last2 = Foster| first2 = Robert |title = A History of South Australia | year = 2018 |publisher= Cambridge University Press| isbn =9781107623651}}

{{refend}}

• {{Commons-inline}}
• {{wikivoyage inline|South Australia}}
• {{osmrelation|2316596}}
• [http://www.sa.gov.au/ sa.gov.au]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150122233030/http://www.sa.gov.au/about-sa/state-emblems-and-insignia Official Insignia and Emblems Page]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20141013113231/http://www.sa.gov.au/topics/water-energy-and-environment/climate-change/tackling-climate-change/south-australia-s-greenhouse-strategy South Australia's greenhouse (climate change) strategy (2007–2020)]
• [http://www.chariot.net.au/~littoral/index.htm Ground Truth – towards an Environmental History of South Australia]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011007103642/http://www.chariot.net.au/~littoral/index.htm |date=7 October 2001 }}.

{{South Australia}}

{{Government of South Australia}}

{{States and territories of Australia}}

{{Australia topics}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}

Category:States and territories of Australia

Category:States and territories established in 1836

Category:1836 establishments in Australia