State Records of South Australia

State Records of South Australia Capturing the heritage of South Australians, we're the official custodian for archival records created by State and Local Government within the state.

State Records of South Australia is the government archives of South Australia and holds a large part of our state's official documentary heritage. We hold records covering almost every facet of state and local government administration within South Australia. As a result, our records provide valuable insight and knowledge about the lives of South Australians. The State Records collection holds ma

ny maps, plans, registers, films and photographs, in addition to thousands of documents dating from the earliest days of European settlement to recent times. We would like to share with your our collection and events through Facebook, and encourage your comments and participation.

Flashback to the 1964 . This exhibit in 1964 is promoting the apprentice program by the Islington Railway Workshops. ...
03/09/2026



Flashback to the 1964 . This exhibit in 1964 is promoting the apprentice program by the Islington Railway Workshops.

The Islington Railway Workshops were established in 1883, when the manufacture and maintenance of steam engines and carriages was moved from the Adelaide Railway Station.

For many decades the Islington Workshops trained young South Australians in trades like fitting and turning, boiler making, machining and electrical work.

The workshops were a major employer in South Australia and made significant contribution to the interstate rail network.

The workshops were decommissioned, and the site redeveloped, by 2010.
Several of the Islington Railway Workshop buildings, including the Apprentice School, are protected under the Heritage Places Act 1993.

Do you have a connection to the Islington Railway Workshop apprentice program?

State Records holds some employee records for the South Australian Railways, State Transport Authority and their successor agencies.

Find out more here:

https://www.archives.sa.gov.au/finding-information/discover-our-collection/education-and-employment/railway-employees.

Image reference: Photographic images relating to public transport (album set) – South Australian Railway Commissioners. SRSA GRS13684/1/11/Album61/20.

In celebrating Rundle Mall turning 50 this week, we are sharing this fisheye lens view of shoppers enjoying the transfor...
02/09/2026

In celebrating Rundle Mall turning 50 this week, we are sharing this fisheye lens view of shoppers enjoying the transformed western end of Rundle Street, taken in 1976 shortly after the change.

See more archival photos and video of the precinct in our Stories from the Archive article here:

www.archives.sa.gov.au/finding-information/discover-our-collection/stories-from-the-archive/adelaides-rundle-mall-when-it-was-a-street

Photo: SRSA GRS 886/1/22 - Rundle Mall (1976).

City of Adelaide Rundle Mall History Council of South Australia History Trust of South Australia Adelaide Economic Development Agency

We are getting excited at the Royal Adelaide Show opening on Saturday, September 5.We’ve delved into the archive to find...
01/09/2026

We are getting excited at the Royal Adelaide Show opening on Saturday, September 5.

We’ve delved into the archive to find moments of magic, exceptional produce and of course, cute animals, from shows gone by.

Images:
SRSA GRG7/70/21/1335, Wood cutting at the Royal Adelaide Show, 1950
SRSA GRG7/120/3/3 A garden display at the Royal Adelaide Show in 1936
SRSA GRG7/70/21/1338 A grand parade of animals at the show, date unknown
SRSA GRG7/70/21/1334 Meandering through the showgrounds, date unknown

This month marks the 80th anniversary of the Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA) being established.The managemen...
01/09/2026

This month marks the 80th anniversary of the Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA) being established.

The management of the electricity supply in South Australia was first legislated in 1882, allowing a private company to provide electricity to Corporations and private persons in the state.

The first project of the Company was in 1889 to supply electric streetlights in Port Adelaide.

A Royal Commission in 1945 investigated the electricity supply in South Australia and recommended a government take-over to ensure supply was extended throughout the State, prioritising access over profitability.

A new act passed in 1946, establishing the South Australian Electricity Trust, who acquired the assets of the privately-run supplier into its Trust.

The electricity supply in South Australia remained the responsibility of the Government until the partial-privatisation of the service in the late-1990s.

This image is the front page of the first staff magazine of the Adelaide Electric Supply Company (AESC), published 100 years ago in June 1926.

For much of the 20th century this staff magazine was published two to four times per year and documented the work and social lives of AESC and ETSA employees.

Image reference: 'Adelect' staff magazine - Adelaide Electric Supply Company and successors. SRSA GRS 2650/1/1 - Volume 1, June 1926.

50 years ago Adelaide’s shopping precinct Rundle Mall opened as a pedestrian-only thoroughfare.Archival videos and pho...
01/09/2026

50 years ago Adelaide’s shopping precinct Rundle Mall opened as a pedestrian-only thoroughfare.

Archival videos and photos reveal what the space looked like when it was still Rundle Street.

It had seen horses and carts, numerous bicycles, and even trolley buses at one point.

See these sights and more in our package of photos and video here:

https://www.archives.sa.gov.au/finding-information/discover-our-collection/stories-from-the-archive/adelaides-rundle-mall-when-it-was-a-street

Images:

SRSA GRS/8271/1/1/DP9
A still from a traffic management video in 1945.

SRSA GRS/17240/1/1/1
Traffic plan in the Report into the Traffic and Transport Aspects of Converting Rundle Street to a Pedestrian Mall, 1973.

SRSA GRG24/140/36/72 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip during the 1954 Royal Visit.

SRSA GRG35/58/7/208
Rundle Street’s west side in the 1930s, before the trolley buses were installed.

City of Adelaide Rundle Mall History Council of South Australia History Trust of South Australia Keith Conlon

The current Adelaide Railway Station's foundation stone was laid on August 24, 1926.Railways Commissioner W.A. Webb was...
23/08/2026



The current Adelaide Railway Station's foundation stone was laid on August 24, 1926.

Railways Commissioner W.A. Webb was responsible for building the station, replacing the previous English covered all-weather facility - opened in 1856 - with an American-style one.

The image of North Terrace was taken in 1935 Frank Hurley, the official photographer for Douglas Mawson and Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic explorations in the 1910s.

There are also images of the laying of the Foundation Stone for the Adelaide Railway Station 24 August, 1926 by Premier John Gunn with SAR Commissioner William Webb in attendance.

Find out more about the station's history and South Australian Railways at the link

https://catalogue.archives.sa.gov.au/agency?id=GRG42

📸SRSA GRG35/342/1/311/box698/GN05620 Panoramic view of Adelaide via North Terrace - Adelaide Railway Station in midground, 1935, Frank Hurley
📸 SRSA GRG35/342/1/4/box11/GN12099 and GRG35/342/1/4/box11/GN12108
Laying of the Foundation Stone for the Adelaide Railway Station 24 August, 1926 by Premier John Gunn with SAR Commissioner William Webb in attendance.

Adelaide Metro Adelaide Economic Development Agency Adelaide Yesterday and Today Adelaide Remember When. South Australian Railway Enthusiasts National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide

Dr JW Yeatman (pictured right) was a Brisbane-born doctor in areas including Koolunga, Naracoorte and Auburn. This image...
20/08/2026

Dr JW Yeatman (pictured right) was a Brisbane-born doctor in areas including Koolunga, Naracoorte and Auburn.

This image of him with his wife in 1922 comes from a collection of photographs owned by the District Council of Upper Wakefield, now part of Clare & Gilbert Valleys Council.

Our records document interactions between your ancestors and the State.
Find out how we can help you with your family history search


📸 SRSA MRG8/19/6 Photographs and other images of Auburn, Kapunda and local inhabitants

Genealogy South Australia Australian Society of Archivists

Happy State Records is involved in the ongoing preservation of our gelatin dry plate negative collection. Gelatin dry...
18/08/2026

Happy

State Records is involved in the ongoing preservation of our gelatin dry plate negative collection.

Gelatin dry plate negatives have a gelatin emulsion and a glass support.
The emulsion contains suspended light sensitive silver salts. The gelatin dry plate was placed inside a camera where it was exposed to light.

The plate was then developed and fixed using chemicals to create the negative image. Only one negative image could be taken with each plate.

This type of photographic negative was most popular between ca.1875 and ca1925 but was still used into the 1940s.

This photo shows sheep at Cresswell Gardens in 1935. It was taken by Australian photographer Frank Hurley when he was employed by the South Australian Government to take photographs for the State’s Centenary Celebrations in 1936.

See more photos of the collection in this Flickr gallery flickr.com/photos/state-records-sa/albums/72157636822036786/



Image Reference: Glass plate and other negatives - Photolithographic Branch, Department of Lands, Creswell Gardens with Saint Peter’s Cathedral in the background, 1935, by Frank Hurley. GRG35/342/1/318/box705/GN05679.

City of Port Adelaide Enfield
City of Adelaide

Many enquiries State Records receives relate to Aboriginal family history requests.During Family History Month this Augu...
16/08/2026

Many enquiries State Records receives relate to Aboriginal family history requests.
During Family History Month this August, we are focusing on how we deliver services to the community and provide better access to records.

Senior Aboriginal Access Officer Tara (second from right) represented State Records at the Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities (CAARA) stall at the AIATSIS Summit 26 on the Gold Coast in June.

It was a way to speak with community in-person about their Aboriginal family history and where records about them might be in government institutions in different parts of Australia.

For support about accessing government records, contact the Aboriginal Access team at [email protected] or phone 08 7322 7077.

With thanks to our colleagues from National Archives of Australia, ACT Territory Records, Public Record Office Victoria, State Records Office of Western Australia and Queensland State Archives.

Pic: Supplied

Leo Leonard Scott was just a teenager when he came to Australia from England in the late 1920s, destined for farm work. ...
14/08/2026

Leo Leonard Scott was just a teenager when he came to Australia from England in the late 1920s, destined for farm work. His mother “thought it would be good for him”.

He could not have predicted the life skills he’d learn to then lead a team in the Army as a sergeant during World War II and change the course of his family’s life.

His daughter Natalie and granddaughter Joanne discovered his file as a young migrant in our collections recently and have ordered copies of its letters and documents within.

“We didn’t know there were handwritten letters by him about what was happening in his life - letters we could read from State Records. Having these documents from his first three years in South Australia is priceless for our family,” Joanne said.

Read Leo’s story here: archives.sa.gov.au/finding-information/discover-our-collection/stories-from-the-archive/priceless-little-brothers-letters-reveal-farm-life-before-becoming-a-world-war-ii-pow



District Council of Yankalilla Yankalilla and District Historical Society Inc. Yankalilla District Historical Museum Australian Army

Photos: SRSA, supplied by the Scott family, GRG7/77 file 1595 SCOTT Leo Leonard

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