87-643: The principles of the current Constitution of South Australia , also known as the South Australian Constitution , which includes the rules and procedures for the government of the State of South Australia , are set out in the Constitution Act 1934 . Its long title is "An Act to provide for the Constitution of the State; and for other purposes". The Act provides for certain sections to be altered by
174-659: A Learning City . The number of international students studying in Adelaide has increased rapidly in recent years to 30,726 in 2015, of which 1,824 were secondary school students. Foreign institutions have been attracted to set up campuses to increase its attractiveness as an education hub. Adelaide is the birthplace of three Nobel laureates, more than any other Australian city : physicist William Lawrence Bragg and pathologists Howard Florey and Robin Warren , all of whom completed secondary and tertiary education at St Peter's College and
261-552: A colony called the 'Province of South Australia' and to provide for a government for the province. The new colony would consist of a Governor to make laws and Colonisation Commissioners, the later being responsible for the sale of land to free settlers. However it was not until the 19th of February 1836, by letters-patent, that the King officially exercised that power. Empowered by the King, the First Fleet of South Australia that had arrived in
348-708: A constitutional guarantee of the continuity of local government. This part was the result of an amendment in 2003. This part deals with the Executive Government of the state. Which include the appointment of the Premier and their ministers, as well as Parliamentary Secretaries. This part also deals with the Governor, the Executive Council and the appointment of the Lieutenant-Governor. The Governor may also appoint
435-477: A deputy, a deputy to the Lieutenant Governor or an administrator to act in absence of the Governor. The role and function of the Governor as well as the Executive Council are further detailed by the letters-patent issued by Queen Elizabeth in 1986. Section 68 also deals with the appointment of public servants This part is short and contains three sections, that deal with the tenure and removal of judges of
522-413: A four-yearly basis, are responsible for local roads and stormwater management, waste collection, planning and development, fire prevention and hazard management, dog and cat management and control, parking control, public health and food inspections, and other services for their local communities. Councils have the power to raise revenue for their activities, which is mostly achieved through "council rates",
609-515: A penal colony. Although South Australia was constituted such that convicts could never be transported to the Province, some emancipated or escaped convicts or expirees made their own way there, both prior to 1836, or later, and may have constituted 1–2% of the early population. The plan for the province was that it would be an experiment in reform, addressing the problems perceived in British society. There
696-487: A province or provinces in southern Australia. The act stated that the land between 132° and 141° east longitude and from 26° south latitude to the southern ocean would be allotted to the intended colony, and it would be convict-free. In contrast to the rest of Australia, terra nullius did not apply to the new province. The Letters Patent , which used the enabling provisions of the South Australia Act 1834 to fix
783-467: A referendum of the majority of the people in the state. An amendment in 1990 proposed by the Labor Government of Premier John Bannon , altered this part as to require a redrawing of the electoral boundaries before every election. As such a move required approval of the people of the state, South Australia held its first (and to date only) State Constitutional referendum in 1991, since the enactment of
870-684: A section of the coastline as far east as the Nuyts Archipelago . Thijssen named the whole of the country eastward of the Leeuwin "Nuyts Land", after a distinguished passenger on board; the Hon. Pieter Nuyts , one of the Councillors of India . The coastline of South Australia was first mapped by Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin in 1802, excepting the inlet later named the Port Adelaide River which
957-723: A tax based on property valuations. Council rates make up about 70% of council revenue, but account for less than 4% of total taxes paid by Australians. As at December 2021 the population of South Australia was 1,806,599. A majority of the state's population lives within Greater Adelaide 's metropolitan area which had an estimated population of 1,333,927 in June 2017. Other significant population centres include Mount Gambier (29,505), Victor Harbor - Goolwa (26,334), Whyalla (21,976), Murray Bridge (18,452), Port Lincoln (16,281), Port Pirie (14,267), and Port Augusta (13,957). At
SECTION 10
#17328488816451044-537: A theory espoused by Edward Gibbon Wakefield that was later employed by the New Zealand Company . The goal was to establish the province as a centre of civilisation for free immigrants, promising civil liberties and religious tolerance. Although its history has been marked by periods of economic hardship, South Australia has remained politically innovative and culturally vibrant. Today, it is known for its fine wine and numerous cultural festivals. The state's economy
1131-533: A two-thirds majority was required to pass it into law. The bill was introduced for the third time by John Cockburn on 17 December and debate went on long into the night, with conservative members stonewalling . The bill was eventually passed in the House of Assembly on 18 December 1894, 31 votes to 14, with about 200 women present watching and cheering. It was given royal assent by Queen Victoria in March 1895. The Act
1218-517: A unique and irreplaceable contribution to the State; and (c) acknowledges that the Aboriginal peoples have endured past injustice and dispossession of their traditional lands and waters. The Constitution is divided into six parts This part is relatively short and deals with the Constitution's long title, as well includes an amendment that recognises Aboriginal Australians as the First Nations of
1305-472: Is also the world's fourth-largest remaining copper deposit, and the world's fifth largest gold deposit. There was a proposal to vastly expand the operations of the mine, making it the largest open-cut mine in the world, but in 2012 the BHP Billiton board decided not to go ahead with it at that time due to then lower commodity prices. The remote town of Coober Pedy produces more opal than anywhere else in
1392-626: Is dominated by the agricultural, manufacturing and mining industries. Evidence of human activity in South Australia dates back as far as 20,000 years, with flint mining activity and rock art in the Koonalda Cave on the Nullarbor Plain . In addition wooden spears and tools were made in an area now covered in peat bog in the South East. Kangaroo Island was inhabited long before the island
1479-582: Is flanked by the Southern Ocean , but official international consensus defines the Southern Ocean as extending north from the pole only to 60°S or 55°S, at least 17 degrees of latitude further south than the most southern point of South Australia. Thus the south coast is officially adjacent to the south-most portion of the Indian Ocean. See Southern Ocean: Existence and definitions . The southern part of
1566-547: Is the Mount Lofty - Flinders Ranges system, which extends north about 800 kilometres (500 mi) from Cape Jervis to the northern end of Lake Torrens . The highest point in the state is not in those ranges; Mount Woodroffe (1,435 metres (4,708 ft)) is in the Musgrave Ranges in the extreme northwest of the state. The south-western portion of the state consists of the sparsely inhabited Nullarbor Plain , fronted by
1653-447: Is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which includes some of the most arid parts of the continent, and with 1.8 million people it is the fifth-largest of the states and territories by population. This population is the second-most highly centralised in the nation after Western Australia , with more than 77% of South Australians living in the capital Adelaide or its environs. Other population centres in
1740-529: The 1918 state election : both stood as independents and were unsuccessful. Ironically, South Australia was the last state in Australia to have a woman elected to state parliament, with the election in 1959 of Jessie Cooper to the Legislative Council and Joyce Steele to the House of Assembly. Nancy Buttfield had been elected to the federal Senate representing South Australia four years earlier at
1827-710: The Adelaide Hills . Tomatoes , capsicums , cucumbers , brassicas , lettuce and carrots are grown on the Northern Adelaide Plains at Virginia . Almonds , citrus and stone fruit are grown in the Riverland . Potatoes , onions and carrots are grown in the Murray Mallee region. Potatoes are grown on Kangaroo Island . South Australia produces more than half of all Australian wine, including almost 80% of Australia's premium wines. South Australia has
SECTION 20
#17328488816451914-707: The Commonwealth Constitution on 1 January 1901, the Province of South Australia was transformed into a state of the Commonwealth. Sections 106, 107 and 108 of the Commonwealth Constitution preserved the application of the Colonial Constitution of 1856, which became a State constitution along with all the laws of the Parliament that previously existed (so far as they were not inconsistent with
2001-595: The Governor of South Australia as his representative. It is a state of the Commonwealth of Australia . The bicameral Parliament of South Australia consists of the lower house known as the House of Assembly and the upper house known as the Legislative Council . General elections are held every four years, the last being the 2022 election . Initially, the Governor of South Australia held almost total power, derived from
2088-569: The Hornsdale Wind Farm in South Australia's Mid-North region. At the time of construction in late 2017, it was billed as the largest lithium-ion battery in the world. The Olympic Dam mine near Roxby Downs in northern South Australia is the largest deposit of uranium in the world, possessing more than a third of the world's low-cost recoverable reserves and 70% of Australia's. The mine, owned and operated by BHP , presently accounts for 9% of global uranium production. The Olympic Dam mine
2175-699: The Riverland and the Adelaide Hills . See South Australian wine . South Australia has boundaries with every other Australian mainland state and territory except the Australian Capital Territory and the Jervis Bay Territory . The Western Australia border has a history involving the South Australian government astronomer, G.F. Dodwell, and the Western Australian Government Astronomer , H.B. Curlewis , marking
2262-601: The South Australian House of Assembly to give women the vote was introduced by Sir Edward Charles Stirling in 1885, and was passed but not acted upon. Six bills were introduced unsuccessfully into Parliament over the subsequent decade. The campaign for women's right to vote in South Australia was led by the Women's Suffrage League , formed in 1888, with key suffragettes including Mary Lee , Mary Colton and Catherine Helen Spence . They collected signatures from across
2349-676: The Supreme Court of South Australia . The role, powers, structure and function of the Supreme Court is further detailed by the Supreme Court Act 1935. This part deals with the Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission , which is an independent non-partisan body responsible for redrawing the boundaries of the 47 single member districts of the House of Assembly. This section was introduced in an amendment in 1975 by
2436-511: The University of Adelaide . Adelaide is home to research institutes, including the Royal Institution of Australia , established in 2009 as a counterpart to the two-hundred-year-old Royal Institution of Great Britain. Most of the research organisations are clustered in the Adelaide metropolitan area: South Australia is a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III as sovereign, and
2523-563: The electoral roll by 1901 were specifically excluded from voting after federation by the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 , a right that was not restored until the Commonwealth Electoral Act was amended in 1962. South Australian Premier Charles Kingston called the legislation the colony's "greatest constitutional reform", but Queen Victoria called it a "mad, wicked folly." South Australian women voted for
2610-534: The 2016 census, 78.2% of the population spoke only English at home. The other languages most commonly spoken at home were Italian (1.7%), Standard Mandarin (1.7%), Greek (1.4%), Vietnamese (1.1%), and Cantonese (0.6%). At the 2016 census , overall 53.9% of responses identified some variant of Christianity . 9% of respondents chose not to state a religion. The most commonly nominated responses were 'No Religion' (35.4%), Catholicism (18%), Anglicanism (10%) and Uniting Church (7.1%). South Australia
2697-417: The 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were: 28.9% of the population was born overseas at the 2016 census. The five largest groups of overseas-born were from England (5.8%), India (1.6%), China (1.5%), Italy (1.1%) and Vietnam (0.9%). 2% of the population, or 34,184 people, identified as Indigenous Australians ( Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders ) in 2016. At
Constitution of South Australia - Misplaced Pages Continue
2784-572: The 2020–21 financial year. This was the first time since the Australian Bureau of Statistics began collecting data in 1990 that South Australia had outperformed the other states. The recovery was driven in part by growth in the agricultural sector, which increased its production by almost 24% thanks to the end of a drought. Wheat , barley , oats , rye , peas , beans , chickpeas , lentils and canola are grown in South Australia. Apples , pears , cherries and strawberries are grown in
2871-517: The Australian population and ranks fifth in population among the six states and two territories. The majority of its people reside in greater Metropolitan Adelaide. Most of the remainder are settled in fertile areas along the south-eastern coast and River Murray . The state's colonial origins are unique in Australia as a freely settled, planned British province , rather than as a convict settlement. Colonial government commenced on 28 December 1836, when
2958-530: The Commissioners' permission to send Company ships to South Australia, in advance of the surveys and ahead of the Commissioners' colonists. The company's settlement of seven vessels and 636 people was temporarily made at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island, until the official site of the capital was selected by William Light, where the City of Adelaide is currently located. The first immigrants arrived at Holdfast Bay (near
3045-495: The Commonwealth Constitution or federal acts of the new Commonwealth Parliament , as per section 109. The Constitution of 1856 continued to be in force until it was repealed and replaced by a new State Constitution in 1934. The Constitution Act 1934 ( long title "An Act to provide for the Constitution of the State; and for other purposes") repealed a number of older acts, including the 1856 Act and several Constitution Amendment Acts. It has since been amended on many occasions, with
3132-675: The German Lutheran church to this day. South Australia was the location of the first Muslim mosque in Australia. Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894 The Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of South Australia to amend the South Australian Constitution Act 1856 to include women's suffrage . It was the seventh attempt to introduce voting rights for women and received widespread public support including
3219-574: The Imperial Parliament enacted the Australian Colonies Government Act , which allowed for the election of representatives to each of the colonial legislatures and the drafting of a constitution to properly create representative and responsible government in South Australia. Later that year, propertied male colonists were allowed to vote for 16 members on a new 24 seat Legislative Council. Eight members continued to be appointed by
3306-647: The Imperial Parliament passed the South Australia Act 1842 , which further reformed the structure of government in South Australia. The act repealed the South Australian Colonisation Act of 1834 and 1838, and empowered the Queen-in-Council to establish a Legislative Council to make laws for the province. The council was to consist of the Governor and seven other members (three appointed and four chosen by certain colonists). In addition to this,
3393-472: The Imperial Parliament. The Governor was appointed Resident Commissioner and the power of the other Commissioners were redefined. Additional powers were also conferred upon three or more appointed residents of the province that would act in conjunction with the Governor to pass new laws. This body can be considered South Australia's first legislature and a precursor to the Legislative Council. In 1842,
3480-429: The State's first peoples and nations; and (b) recognises Aboriginal peoples as traditional owners and occupants of land and waters in South Australia and that— (i) their spiritual, social, cultural and economic practices come from their traditional lands and waters; and (ii) they maintain their cultural and heritage beliefs, languages and laws which are of ongoing importance; and (iii) they have made and continue to make
3567-669: The act also abolished the Colonisation Commissioners. In 1850, the Imperial Parliament passed the Australian Constitutions Act 1850 , to separate the District of Port Phillip from the Colony of New South Wales and create the Colony of Victoria . This act also had implications for the governments of the other existing colonies as well, by amending the structures of their governments. South Australia's Legislative Council
Constitution of South Australia - Misplaced Pages Continue
3654-501: The border on the ground in the 1920s. In 1863, that part of New South Wales to the north of South Australia was annexed to South Australia, by letters patent, as the "Northern Territory of South Australia", which became shortened to the Northern Territory on 6 July 1863 . The Northern Territory was handed to the federal government in 1911 and became a separate territory. According to Australian maps, South Australia's south coast
3741-486: The boundaries of the Province of South Australia, provided that "nothing in those our Letters Patent shall affect or be construed to affect the rights of any Aboriginal Natives of the said Province to the actual occupation and enjoyment in their own Persons or in the Persons of their Descendants of any Lands therein now actually occupied or enjoyed by such Natives." Although the patent guaranteed land rights under force of law for
3828-604: The cliffs of the Great Australian Bight . Features of the coast include Spencer Gulf and the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas that surround it. The Temperate Grassland of South Australia is situated to the east of Gulf St Vincent . The principal industries and exports of South Australia are wheat, wine and wool. More than half of Australia's wines are produced in the South Australian wine regions which principally include Barossa Valley , Clare Valley , McLaren Vale , Coonawarra ,
3915-416: The colony, resulting in the largest petition ever presented to the South Australian parliament, 400 feet (120 m) long with over 11,600 signatures, which was presented to the parliament by George Stanley Hawker . The Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Bill was first presented to the Legislative Council by John Hannah Gordon on 23 August 1894. John Warren noted the common objection that
4002-581: The community and enforce government regulations. Their principal role was to run the first temporary gaol, a two-room hut. The current flag of South Australia was adopted on 13 January 1904, and is a British blue ensign defaced with the state badge. The badge is described as a piping shrike with wings outstretched on a yellow disc. The state badge is believed to have been designed by Robert Craig of Adelaide's School of Design . The terrain consists largely of arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low mountain ranges . The most important (but not tallest)
4089-484: The continent, early settlements were all on the eastern coast and only a few intrepid explorers ventured this far west. It took more than forty years before any serious proposal to establish settlements in the south-western portion of New South Wales were put forward. On 15 August 1834, the British Parliament passed the South Australia Act 1834 ( Foundation Act ), which empowered His Majesty to erect and establish
4176-424: The first in the world to allow women to stand for election. In 1897 Catherine Helen Spence was the first woman in Australia to be a candidate for political office when she was nominated to be one of South Australia's delegates to the conventions that drafted the constitution. South Australia became an original state of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Although the lower house had universal suffrage,
4263-526: The first time the year after the Act was passed, with a higher percentage of eligible women than men turning out to vote in the 1896 South Australian colonial election . The first female political candidate in South Australia was Catherine Helen Spence , who was a candidate for the Federal Convention in 1897. The first women to stand for election to the parliament were Selina Siggins and Jeanne Young in
4350-449: The government is the party or coalition that exerts a majority in the House of Assembly. The Legislative Council remained a predominantly conservative chamber elected by property owners. Women's suffrage in Australia took a leap forward – enacted in 1895 and taking effect from the 1896 colonial election , South Australia was the first government in Australia and only the second in the world after New Zealand to allow women to vote, and
4437-427: The government of former Premier Don Dunstan , to ensure fair and competitive elections for the Parliament. This undid the gerrymandering of Australia's longest serving Premier Thomas Playford , which kept his Liberal and Country League Government in power for almost 32 years. Section 88 of this part provides that specific amendments that would alter the Constitution's democratic protections in this part would require
SECTION 50
#17328488816454524-526: The governor. The main responsibility of this body was to draft a constitution for South Australia. The body drafted the most democratic constitution ever seen in the British Empire and provided for universal manhood suffrage . It created the bicameral Parliament of South Australia . For the first time in the colony, the executive was elected by the people, and the colony used the Westminster system , where
4611-643: The indigenous inhabitants, it was ignored by the South Australian Company authorities and squatters. Despite strong reference to the rights of the native population in the initial proclamation by the Governor, there were many conflicts and deaths in the Australian Frontier Wars in South Australia. Survey was required before settlement of the province, and the Colonization Commissioners for South Australia appointed William Light as
4698-453: The largest petition ever presented to the South Australian parliament. The proposed legislation was amended during debate to include the right of women to stand for parliament after an opponent miscalculated that such a provision would cause the bill to be defeated. Once passed, South Australia become the fourth state in the world to give women the vote and the first to give women the right to be elected to parliament. The first resolution in
4785-621: The latest amendment as of March 2022 having been published on 4 November 2021. In March 2013 an amendment was introduced to include a statement of recognition of Aboriginal Australians , via the Constitution (Recognition of Aboriginal Peoples) Amendment Act 2013 . Wording was included in Part 1 includes: (2) Following the Apology given on 28 May 1997, the Parliament, on behalf of the people of South Australia — acknowledges and respects Aboriginal peoples as
4872-403: The lead over other Australian states for its commercialisation and commitment to renewable energy . It is now the leading producer of wind power in Australia. Renewable energy is a growing source of electricity in South Australia, and there is potential for growth from this particular industry of the state's economy. The Hornsdale Power Reserve is a bank of grid-connected batteries adjacent to
4959-409: The leader of its 'First Expedition', tasked with examining 1500 miles of the South Australian coastline and selecting the best site for the capital, and with then planning and surveying the site of the city into one-acre Town Sections and its surrounds into 134-acre Country Sections. Eager to commence the establishment of their whale and seal fisheries, the South Australian Company sought, and obtained,
5046-406: The least amount of federal funding for its local road network of all states on a per capita and a per kilometre basis. During 2019-20: South Australia's gross state product (GSP) fell 1.4% in chain volume (real) terms (nationally, gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.3%). South Australia came out of the COVID-19 recession better than the other Australian states, with the economy growing by 3.9% in
5133-467: The letters patent of the imperial government to create the colony. He was accountable only to the British Colonial Office , and thus democracy did not exist in the colony. A new body was created to advise the governor on the administration of South Australia in 1843 called the Legislative Council. It consisted of three representatives of the British Government and four colonists appointed by the governor. The governor retained total executive power. In 1851,
5220-428: The members of the council were sworn in near the Old Gum Tree . As with the rest of the continent, the region has a long history of human occupation by numerous tribes and languages. The South Australian Company established a temporary settlement at Kingscote , Kangaroo Island , on 26 July 1836, five months before Adelaide was founded. The guiding principle behind settlement was that of systematic colonisation ,
5307-430: The new State Constitution in 1934. The referendum passed with 74% in favour of the amendment. This part provides for the continuity of the South Australian government in the advent of the death of the monarch. South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA ) is a state in the southern central part of Australia . With a total land area of 984,321 square kilometres (380,048 sq mi), it
SECTION 60
#17328488816455394-453: The powers of the Legislative Council, would require a referendum of the majority of the people in the state. Other notable sections include: Section 44, which prevents judges from being members of Parliament; Section 47, which prevents being a members of South Australian parliament and the Commonwealth Parliament simultaneously, Sections 48 and 48A, which guarantees the right of women to vote and be members of Parliament. This part provides for
5481-423: The present day Glenelg ) in November 1836. The commencement of colonial government was proclaimed on 28 December 1836, now known as Proclamation Day . South Australia is the only Australian state to have never received British convicts. Another free settlement, Swan River colony was established in 1829 but Western Australia later sought convict labour, and in 1849 Western Australia was formally constituted as
5568-428: The process of a Bill proposing a change passing all readings, approval by a majority of members in both houses of parliament prior to being assented to by the Governor. It also specifies those sections of the South Australian Constitution that must not only pass a majority vote in both Houses but must then be put to the people of South Australia at a referendum . The first Act to set out the South Australian Constitution
5655-406: The right to stand for election , a right not even the suffragists had been arguing for. Ward's intention was that this would seem so "ridiculous" that the whole Bill would be voted out. His efforts have been dubbed a "great miscalculation", leading to South Australian women becoming at the time "the most enfranchised women anywhere in the world". As the bill proposed constitutional amendment ,
5742-455: The state are relatively small; Mount Gambier , the second-largest centre, has a population of 26,878. South Australia shares borders with all the other mainland states. It is bordered to the west by Western Australia , to the north by the Northern Territory , to the north-east by Queensland , to the east by New South Wales , to the south-east by Victoria , and to the south by the Great Australian Bight . The state comprises less than 8% of
5829-410: The state as a whole for eight year terms. The terms of legislative councillors are staggered, meaning that only half of the council goes up for election every 4 years (11 out of 22). Section 23 provides that the members of the Legislative Council shall elect a President, to preside over the chamber. The House of Assembly is made up of 47 members elected from individual electoral districts situated around
5916-441: The state has a Mediterranean climate , while the rest of the state has either an arid or semi-arid climate . South Australia's main temperature range is 29 °C (84 °F) in January and 15 °C (59 °F) in July. The highest maximum temperature ever recorded was 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) at Oodnadatta on 2 January 1960, which is the highest official temperature recorded in Australia. The lowest minimum temperature
6003-400: The state's upper house with the balance of power controlled by a variety of minor parties and independents. Local government in South Australia is established by the Constitution Act 1934 (SA), the Local Government Act 1999 (SA), and the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 (SA). South Australia contains 68 councils and 6 Aboriginal and outback communities . Local councils, elected on
6090-436: The state. Every member of the House serves fixed four year terms. Section 34 provides for the election of a speaker by members of the House, to preside over the business of the Chamber. In 2021 an amendment was introduced to require that the Speaker either be an independent or vacate their party affiliation. Several sections in this part provide that any amendment that would abolish of either chamber of Parliament, or would alter
6177-417: The state. This was introduced in 2013, but section 2(3) of the amendment specifies that this recognition be of no legal force or effect. This part deals with the structure, functions and powers of the South Australian Parliament. It is composed of two chambers, the Legislative Council (the upper chamber), and the House of Assembly (the lower chamber). The Legislative Council is composed of 22 members elected by
6264-404: The territory, under the leadership of the new Governor John Hindmarsh , officially proclaimed the new Province of South Australia at Glenelg on 28 December 1836. The anniversary of this event is now a public holiday and is known as Proclamation Day . In 1838, the division of powers between the Governor and the Colonisation Commissioners was found to be unworkable and the 1834 Act was amended by
6351-520: The upper house, the Legislative Council, remained the exclusive domain of property owners until the Labor government of Don Dunstan managed to achieve reform of the chamber in 1973. Property qualifications were removed and the Council became a body elected via proportional representation by a single state-wide electorate. Since the following 1975 South Australian state election , no one party has had control of
6438-465: The vote to women over 25, and allowing women to vote by post in certain circumstances, all of which were defeated. The Act was initially only intended to extend the right of an adult male to vote to adult women. In an attempt to thwart the passage of the bill , Ebenezer Ward , an outspoken opponent of women's suffrage, moved an amendment in the upper house "to strike out Clause 4 barring women from being members of parliament". This would give women
6525-460: The vote would "make women masculine" and John Darling said the Bill was "too much for him" as "Woman's place was at the head of the household, to adorn, and assist her husband..." Nevertheless, the third reading of the Bill was carried by 13 votes to 9. Various amendments to the Bill were proposed during the ensuing debates, including restricting women from voting in the House of Assembly, restricting
6612-447: The world. Opal was first discovered near the town in 1915, and the town became the site of an opal rush, enticing immigrants from southern and eastern Europe in the aftermath of World War II . Higher education and research in Adelaide forms an important part of South Australia's economy. The South Australian Government and educational institutions have attempted to position Adelaide as Australia's education hub and have marketed it as
6699-536: Was cut off by rising sea levels . According to mitochondrial DNA research, Aboriginal people reached Eyre Peninsula 49,000-45,000 years ago from both the east (clockwise, along the coast, from northern Australia) and the west (anti-clockwise). The first recorded European sighting of the South Australian coast was in 1627 when the Dutch ship the Gulden Zeepaert , captained by François Thijssen , examined and mapped
6786-477: Was elected on a broad male franchise. The adoption of the "one man, one vote" principle removed the ability of voters to vote in any electorate in which they owned property. The Act also defined the rules of tenure for the parliamentarians. The Act was amended by the Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894 to give women the right to both vote and stand for parliament. With the enactment of
6873-608: Was expanded to not more than 24 members, a third to be appointed by the Queen and the remainder to be elected. The Act also gave the power to the respective colonial legislatures to enact their own colonial constitutions. Empowered by the Australian Constitutions Act, the South Australian Legislative Council enacted its first proper Constitution in 1856, titled the 'South Australian Constitution Act'. It
6960-575: Was first discovered in 1831 by Captain Collet Barker and later accurately charted in 1836–37 by Colonel William Light , leader of the South Australian Colonization Commissioners' 'First Expedition' and first Surveyor-General of South Australia. The land which now forms the state of South Australia was claimed for Britain in 1788 as part of the colony of New South Wales . Although the new colony included almost two-thirds of
7047-650: Was the Constitution Act 1856 , which was the first Constitution in the Australian colonies to provide universal manhood suffrage . South Australia's Constitutional structure has undergone numerous changes since its settlement by Europeans in the 19th century. In 1834 the Imperial Parliament passed the South Australian Colonisation Act 1834 , which authorised the King-in-Council to establish
7134-461: Was the first Australian colony not to have an official state religion, and the colony became attractive to people who had experienced religious discrimination, including Methodists and Unitarians . South Australia also had thousands of Prussian Old Lutheran immigrants, some of whom established their own form of Lutheranism. As a result, the Lutheran Church of Australia remains separate from
7221-401: Was the first Constitution in the Australian colonies to provide manhood suffrage , that is, all male residents of the colony over 21 years of age could vote in elections. This Act provided for a bicameral Parliament with full authority to enact laws, apart from a few Acts requiring Royal Assent. The Legislative Council was elected by property owners only, while the 37-member House of Assembly
7308-450: Was the first legislation in the world to grant the right for women to be elected to a parliament , and made the colony the fourth place in the world to give women the vote after the Isle of Man (1880), New Zealand (1893) and Colorado (1893). The Act enfranchised female citizens of South Australia, including indigenous women. However, indigenous Australians who were not already on
7395-470: Was to be religious freedom and no established religion. Sales of land to colonists created an Emigration Fund to pay the costs of transferring a poor young labouring population to South Australia. In early 1838 the colonists became concerned after it was reported that convicts who had escaped from the eastern states may make their way to South Australia. The South Australia Police was formed in April 1838 to protect
7482-610: Was upgraded to AAA by Standard & Poor's in September 2004 and to AAA by Moody's in November 2004, the highest credit ratings achievable by any company or sovereign. The state had previously lost these ratings in the State Bank collapse. However, in 2012 Standard & Poor's downgraded the state's credit rating to AA+ due to declining revenues, new spending initiatives and a weaker than expected budgetary outlook. South Australia receives
7569-769: Was −8.2 °C (17.2 °F) at Yongala on 20 July 1976. The region's overall dry weather is owed to the Australian High on the Great Australian Bight. As of 2016, South Australia had 746,105 people employed out of a total workforce of 806,593, giving an unemployment rate of 7.5%. South Australia's largest employment sector is health care and social assistance, making up 14.8% of the state's total employment, followed by retail (10.7%), education and training (8.6%), manufacturing (8%), and construction (7.6%). South Australia's economy relies on exports more than any other state in Australia. South Australia's credit rating
#644355