The
first recorded European sighting of the South
Australian coast was in 1627 when the Dutch ship the
Gulden Zeepaert, captained by Francois Thijssen,
examined the coastline.
Thijssen named his discovery Pieter Nuyts Land,
after the highest ranking individual on board. The
coastline of South Australia was first mapped by
Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin in 1802. Baudin
referred to the land as Terre Napoléon.
Barossa
Valley:
The Barossa Valley takes its name
from the Barossa Ranges, which were named by Colonel
William Light in 1837. Light chose the name in
memory of the British victory over the French in the
Battle of Barrosa, in which he fought in 1811. The
area is approximately 13 km long by 14 km wide. The
three major towns of the Barossa each have a
distinctive personality.
Tanunda is generally recognised as the most German
of the three with long-standing traditions dating
back to the 1840s when the first German settlers
arrived in the area. Because many of them came from
Prussian Silesia, they called the Barossa
Neu-Schlesien, or New Silesia. The German influence
survives to this day . Angaston, in contrast, is
considered the English town as it was settled
predominantly by Cornish miners and others from
Britain.
The
third town, Nuriootpa, was influenced by both the
German and British settlers, and today is the
commercial hub of the Barossa where most of the
larger stores are located.
Lake Eyre:
Lake Eyre is the lowest point in
Australia, at approximately 15 m (49 ft) below sea
level, and, on the rare occasions that it fills, it
is the largest lake in Australia. It is the focal
point of the vast Lake Eyre Basin and is found some
700km north of Adelaide.
The
lake was named after Edward John Eyre who was the
first European to sight it in 1840. The lake is
located in the deserts of central Australia, in
northern South Australia. The Eyre Basin is a large
endorheic system surrounding the lakebed, the lowest
part of which is filled with the characteristic
playa salt pan caused by the seasonal expansion and
subsequent evaporation of the trapped waters. Even
in the dry season there is usually some water
remaining in Lake Eyre, usually collecting in a
number of smaller sub-lakes on the playa. During the
rainy season the rivers from the northeast (in
outback Queensland) flow towards the lake through
the Channel Country.
The
amount of water from the monsoon determines whether
water will reach the lake and if it does, how deep
the lake will get. In strong La Niña years the lake
can fill. Since 1885 this has occurred in 1886/1887,
1889/1890, 1916/1917, 1950, 1955, 1974-1976, with
the highest flood of 6m in 1974. Local rain can also
fill Lake Eyre to 3-4m as occurred in 1984 and 1989.
Wave
built shingle terraces on the shore suggest that
during the Medieval Warm Period and centuries
immediately prior Lake Eyre possibly held permanent
water at levels above those of 1974.
Coober Pedy:
Coober
Pedy is a town in northern South Australia, 846
kilometres north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway.
At the 2006 census its population was 1,916. The
town is known as the opal capital of the world
because of the quantity of precious opals that are
mined there.
It is
also famous for most of the residents living below
ground, mostly in old mines refurbished, due to the
scorching daytime heat. The name Coober Pedy comes
from the local Aboriginal term kupa-piti, which
means boys waterhole.
Adelaide
Town Hall:
Adelaide Town Hall is a landmark building on King
William Street in Adelaide, South Australia,
Australia. The hall was designed by Edmund Wright
and Edward Woods, with construction commencing in
1863 and completed in 1866. The tower is named after
Prince Albert and the clock was installed in 1935.
It is
famous for an appearance by The Beatles on the
balcony in 1964, which attracted an estimated
300,000 fans, their biggest crowd. It serves as the
seat of the Adelaide City Council, and has function
centre facilities available for hire. Adelaide Town
Hall is listed on the Register of the National
Estate.
St Peter’s
Cathedral:
St
Peter's Cathedral is an Anglican Cathedral in the
South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is situated
on one acre (4,000 m²) of land on King William Road
in North Adelaide.
The
foundation stone was laid on 29 June 1869 (St
Peter's day), the church was completed in 1901 and
officially opened in 1904 although a service was
held on St Peter's Day 1876. The cathedral measures
60 m in length and the width of the nave is 9 m.
The
south face has similar features to the Cathedral of
Notre Dame in Paris, including an ornate rose window
above the main entrance which depicts stories of
South Australia and the Bible. The building is
iconic among cricket fans as the namesake for
Adelaide Oval's Cathedral End.
