'In South Australia I was born, heave away, haul away. In South Australia round Cape Horn, bound for South Australia.'

Old English folk song

Index

Introduction

South Australia and its capital Adelaide (around which most of its population lives) are quite different to the rest of the country. For one it was a planned city, designed by this guy pointing the finger, Col William Light. As the Lonely Planet site says about our fair city:

'When the early colonists began building Adelaide they built with stone, constructing a solid, dignified city that is civilised and calm in a way that no other Australian state capital can match.'

And what's more we had no convicts! Our state was settled only by free settlers from England and Scotland, and later Germany, a fact we constantly like to remind those persons from the eastern states. In fact SA transported a number of its own convicts in the early days. Then, like now, we don't tolerate any riff raff ;-)

We have also been known for some time as the City of Churches although many of these now have been turned into restaurants and entertainment complexes. This has conveyed the image that Adelaide is a sleepy back water populated by wowsers, an image which is far from the truth. We host one of the worlds great Arts festivals, The Adelaide Festival, earning us the nickname "The Festival State", and in more recent years have become known the wining and dining capital of Australia - well at least in our adverts. 

I always used to say that Adelaide was a great place to live but I wouldn't want to visit there. My opinion has changed dramatically since I moved back to this fair state in 1996 and bought a house in North Adelaide. In fact late last year (1999) I co-hosted an international meeting and had visitors raving about everything the state had to offer. Now I would encourage anybody to come visit who has the time and motivation to break beyond the well-worn tourist trail of Sydney, northern Queensland and Ayers Rock.

For more information on the state of South Australia, visit this SA site.

Attractions

Here are just a few of the many things South Australia has to offer. You'll find out more about some of these areas by visiting these links:

Visiting SA

These sites will get you started, then check out the specific areas listed below:

Adelaide

Fleurieu Peninsular

Southern Vales

The premier wine growing district in the country in my oh so humble opinion. 

Adelaide Hills

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Revised:24/09/02