Source: users.chariot.net.au

South Australia was proclaimed a State on 28th December, 1836 and in the year 2000 it will be 164 years old. It’s floral Emblem is the Sturt Desert Pea. The flower is named after Captain Charles Sturt who discovered the flower near Cooper’s Creek in 1845.

South Australia’s faunal and Gem-stone emblems are The Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat, (Lasiorbinus Latifrons) and the Opal.

The State’s Official colours are red, blue and gold and the Coat of Arms depicts citrus fruit, grape vines, cereal crop sheaves, manufacturing industry and mining.

The State’s capital city is known as Adelaide, and was named in honour of Queen Adelaide, wife of King William IV.

The native Aboriginies of the Adelaide Plains called the area where Adelaide stands Tandanya, which means "the place of the red kangaroo".

Eighty percent of the State is less than 300 metres above sea level.

Adelaide’s sister cities are Christchurch in New Zealand, Georgetown in Penang, Austin in Texas and Himeji in Japan.

Adelaide and Austin were both incorporated in 1840 and are both capitals of States which were founded in 1836.

Adelaide and Georgetown were founded by the Light family. Captain Francis Light founded Georgetown and he was the father of Colonel William Light who was the surveyor and founder of Adelaide.

Colonel Light’s vision for Adelaide was a fully planned city with wide roads, squares and gardens.

South Australian Firsts:

South Australia’s Police Force was the first in the British Commonwealth to introduce women police officers.

In 1896 South Australia was the first State to pass equal voting rights for Women.

Adelaide’s municipality was incorporated in 1840 and is the oldest in Australia.

Donald Campbell broke the land speed record on 17 July, 1964 in his Bluebird car, traveling at 648 kilometres per hour, on the dry salt pan of Lake Eyre in the far north of South Australia.

The Justices’ Association of South Australia was formed in 1898 and made its headquarters in Adelaide ten years before any similar body came into existence in the British Empire.

The Port Germein jetty, which is used for recreation purposes, is the longest timber jetty in the southern hemisphere.

South Australian Attractions:

Adelaide has 32 kilometres of white sandy beaches.

Hahndorf, which is 28 km east of Adelaide is the oldest surviving German settlement in Australia.

The Flinders Ranges, which is a great wilderness area rich in native animal and bird life and features abandoned mining towns and Aboriginal rock paintings.

Over forty four percent of Australia’s vineyard area is located in South Australia. Major wine growing areas of South Australia are the Barossa, Riverland, Clare, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale and Adelaide.

Cactus Beach on Eyre Peninsula is known for its marvelous surf. Three perfect breaks, Castles and Cactus, left-hand surfs, and Caves, a powerful right hand surf, are all within a few hundred metres of the coast. Visitors camp informally behind the sand dunes for easy access to the beach.

The world’s largest rocking horse is situated at the Toy Factory at Gumeracha in the Adelaide Hills and stand 18.3 metres high.

Mt Gambier and its Blue Lake, a volcanic crater holding Mt Gambier’s water supply. South Australia has three major opal mining areas - Mintabie (famous for the precious black opal), Andamooka, and Coober Pedy, which by the way was where the scenes from the movie ‘Mad Max - Beyond Thunderdome’ was filmed.

Sunglasses developed in South Australia by the company Solar Optical Pty Ltd were worn by the first American astronauts on the moon.

Adelaide has two major motor vehicle building industries - Holdens Limited (GMH) and Mitsubishi Australia.