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South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent and with a total land area of 984 377 km² (380 070 sq mi), it is the fourth largest of Australia's states and territories. It is bordered to the west by Western Australia, to the north by the Northern Territory and Queensland, to the east by Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and along the south by the Great Australian Bight and the Southern Ocean. With 1.5 million people, the state comprises less than 10 per cent of the Australian population and ranks fifth in population among the states and territories. The majority of its people reside in the capital city Adelaide, with most of the remainder settled in fertile areas along the south-eastern coast and River Murray.

The state's origins were unique in Australia as a freely-settled, planned British province. Official settlement began on 28 December 1836 when the state was proclaimed at The Old Gum Tree by Governor Hindmarsh. The guiding principle behind settlement was that of systematic colonisation, a theory espoused by Edward Gibbon Wakefield that was later employed by New Zealand. The aim was to establish the province as a centre of civilisation for free immigrants, promising civil liberties and religious tolerance. Although its history is marked by economic hardship, South Australia has remained politically innovative and culturally vibrant. Today, the state is known as as a state of festivals, and of fine wine.

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Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1.1 million. It is a coastal city beside the Southern Ocean, and is situated on the Adelaide Plains, north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, between the Gulf St. Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges. It is a roughly linear city: it is 20 km from the coast to the foothills, but it stretches 90 km from Gawler at its northern extent to Aldinga in the south. Named in honour of Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for the only freely-settled British province in Australia. Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens. Inspired by William Penn and the garden city movement, Light's design set out Adelaide in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parkland. Early Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom and a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties, which led to world-first reforms. Adelaidean society remained largely puritan up until the 1970s, when a set of social reforms under the premiership of Don Dunstan resulted in a cultural revival. Today Adelaide is known for its many festivals as well as for its wine, arts and sports revelry.

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Australia

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