The 5 People That Have Left the Biggest Mark on Adelaide

Adelaide has a rich history of bold, convention breaking, individual and brilliant characters! But when you stroll through the streets of Adelaide regularly as I do there are 5 that really stand out as shaping the Adelaide that we enjoy and love today! I regularly talk about these characters on my Ultimate Adelaide Walking Tour and would like to briefly outline them below and the affect we still see they have had today.

Queen Adelaide

An obvious choice as the city is named after this German princess who married into the English royal family in 1818. Ironically her name wasn’t Adelaide and her full name was actually Amalie Adelheid Louise Therese Karolina Wilhelm. When she married King William they anglicised her 2nd name to Adelaide and that was the name that was used during her time in England. Then in 1836, when the colony of south Australia was being founded, King William requested that the main town founded be named after his wife.

Colonel William Light

The surveyor general of the colony of South Australia and the man that chose the spot of the main town of the colony, as well as designing its layout. He is the person that ensured Adelaide became one of the best designed 19th century cities in the world, not to mention Australia’s first deliberately planned city. He laid out Adelaide in a grid pattern with a large central square and 4 smaller surrounding squares, with streets running in a direction to ensure it was protected from hot northerly winds. Surrounding the city, Colonel light deemed that a parklands larger in size than Central Park and Hyde Park combined would surround it. And the last decision he made was to locate the city by the River Torrens. These thoughtful decisions have transformed Adelaide into one of the most aesthetically pleasing and inviting cities to explore, making it a standout destination within Australia today.

Thomas Elder

The man to whom we owe credit for the “cultural precinct” on North Terrace in Adelaide. The cultural precinct is an area made up of The South Australia State Library, The Museum of South Australia, The Art Gallery of South Australia, and The University of Adelaide. Thomas Elder played a pivotal role in the establishment of these educational, historical and cultural institutions, as they owe their existence to his generous donations, equivalent to approximately $12 million in today’s currency. This was a hugely generous sum to donate but when you consider he had amassed a fortune of over $200 million by his death, it really was just a small drop in his wealthy ocean. However, we still must recognise and thank him for it.

Constantine Polites

You can’t wander the streets of Adelaide without noticing the blue and white “Polites” signs everywhere. Many people accuse Adelaide for trying to be too European by referring to the local police as Polites! But the fact is these signs relate to a local man of Greek heritage called Constantine Polites. As a 16 year old growing up in Port Pirie, he started his own Deli before progressing on with his early entrepreneurs to amass a huge property empire by his mid 60s. Whenever he bought a building, he would put a large blue and white sign on it with his surname. This very much seems like an ego driven activity but when questioned about it he explained that “He always wanted to see his name up in light but it wasn’t an ego thing, rather a satisfaction that one has achieved success and to let people know you are around” We will let you be the judge of this when you wander around Adelaide and see the sheer volume of these signs that inform you of Costantine Polites’ undoubtful presence.

Don Dunstan

No influential characters of Adelaide post would be complete without including Don Dunstan, the charismatic and pioneering politician who was the premier of South Australia during the 1970s. Among his many achievements were pioneering Aboriginal rights, abolishing the death penalty, legalising homosexuality and supporting woman’s rights. For Adelaide he has helped fan the liberal and progressive fires but it was his support of the arts, dining, entertainment and retail that has had the biggest visual impact. Rundle mall was established under Don Dunstan’s leadership, which is the major retail centre of Adelaide. He was also responsible for opening The Festival Centre which was the first multipurpose arts centre opened in Australia (it beat the Sydney Opera house by 3 months) and has indirectly led to the Arts Festival and Fringe festival dominating the month of March in Adelaide. His loosening of drinking laws and encouragement of dining has led Adelaide to have one of the best food, drink and entertainment scenes in Australia. Don Dunstan himself opened his own restaurant upon retiring from politics in 1979.

If you’re keen to hear, learn and explore so much more about the thriving history and beautiful culture of Adelaide please contact us now so we can get you into one of our tours, you won’t regret it!